Public Speaking and the Anxiety of Facing the Crowd or Camera

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Standing in front a crowd can be terrifying. There's no way to completely avoid the tension and stress of being on stage or in front of the camera. We all feel it in one environment or another. Barbara Streisand has crippling stage freight. Rhianna and Adele struggle with stage fright too. 

However, there are good ideas to help you manage and focus the negative energy of public speaking. Here are article links with helpful tips:

• Mayo Clinic on Options for Managing Public Speaking Stress

• 15 Ways to Calm Your Stress Prior to Public Speaking 

• Embrace the Stress of Public Speaking

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Every article on managing the stress of public speaking puts emphasis on this one idea at some point: PREPARE. In an article posted by Mayo Clinic, Craig N. Sawchuk writes: "Know your topic. The better you understand what you're talking about — and the more you care about the topic — the less likely you'll make a mistake or get off track." 

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Know what you want to say, have a plan, develop supporting materials (PowerPoint? props?), and find a way to engage the audience first thing. Then, practice. Practice for friends.Practice in the mirror. Practice in the room where you'll speak if you can. Practice in the shower. Practice in the car. Know your stuff so that you feel confident about the material even if you're less confident about stepping on stage.

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Building Your Story on the Chassis of Great Story Tellers

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During our Zoom Session 4, we analyzed Duerte's comments on charting your story then closely examined Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" with Duerte's ideas in mind.

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After lively discussions, insightful observations, and lively commentary, we made a list of important ingredients for a speech to follow Duerte's advice.

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• Make the Audience the Hero of the Story. 

  • ​Duerte does this in her first line, and Dr. King does a variation of the same thing in his opening welcome.

• Have a Focused Topic.

  • ​Go narrow and deep rather than wide and general. Duerte is charting a speech. Dr. King is sharing a dream. Both are powerful, and Dr. King's is shorter. [Two of the greatest speeches in U.S. history are under 10 minutes: Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and Dr. King's I Have a Dream.

• Target/Identify a Specific Audience.

  • ​Think about what they know, what they don't know, and what they're interested in knowing about your and the topic.

• Open with The Trouble.

  • Provide context of the way things are and why the way things are is a problem.

• Provide Setting and Context. Comment on the setting in a way that adds context (who, where, what, why) for the story.

  • The Greeks used the term kiaros for making the right argument at the right time. The trouble and context help your audience understand why this is the right argument for this moment.

• Share Your Story.

  • ​Narrate, in a concise yet detailed way, part of your story up front. Then, build on that story more later. 

  • Imagine your speech and the way it could be charted a pulsing with energy or rolling in like ocean waves, cresting and falling--like Duerte's chart. Find ways to rise and fall to make the speech more powerful and engaging.

• Artifacts: Comment On, Show, and Specifically Name Artifacts.

  • ​Allow the artifact to open up into metaphor. Duerte uses a poster, several charts, sailboat physics, images from her childhood, and returns to the poster. Dr. King uses the monument, historical documents, concrete/common artifacts his audience could relate to (the check, the bank, etc), and re-iterates the setting and promise of this moment.

• Address the Resistance.

  • ​At some point, clearly address the resistance (the counterargument) that you anticipate your audience is thinking. Duerte uses the sailboat analogy to address resistance, then she speaks to resistance to her message. King speaks to the arguments for gradual change and resorting to violence.

• Close with the audience as the hero in a hopeful future.

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