Confidence can carry you through a lot in life. It can help you perform better in job interviews, appear more authoritative when addressing a crowd, and land more deals and partnerships in your business. Unfortunately, most of us don’t feel confident 100% of the time, and when we do feel confident it doesn’t always project outward in ways that enable us to succeed.
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During the course of conversation, there are several tricks you can use to make your words sound more authoritative and to address your audience with greater overall confidence. Here are seven of them.
Speaking confidently in public is a skill that anyone can develop with practice and preparation Even people who feel anxious or timid about public speaking can build their confidence.
In this comprehensive guide, we will explore proven techniques to help you speak up with greater confidence in meetings, presentations and beyond. Let’s conquer those speaking jitters together!
Why Confident Speaking Matters
Being able to share your ideas and expertise confidently has many advantages, As a confident speaker you can
- Inspire and persuade people with your message
- Build credibility and influence with audiences
- Advance your career by showcasing your skills
- Share knowledge and shape decisions
- Motivate teams as a strong leader
- Expand your professional network
Whether you are leading a team meeting, delivering a keynote or presenting at a conference, confident speaking helps you connect with people and achieve your goals. Let’s look at some key tips to grow your public speaking confidence.
How to Be Confident Speaking in Public
Here are powerful strategies to help you speak up with greater confidence:
1. Prepare Thoroughly
Thorough preparation is vital for boosting confidence. When you deeply understand your material, you can relax and focus on your delivery.
- Research your topic fully and create a detailed outline
- Practice your speech or presentation repeatedly
- Time your talk and refine the content to fit the allotted time
With careful preparation, you will walk on stage feeling calm and fully prepared.
2. Know Your Material
Memorize key points, statistics or quotes you want to highlight. Know your flow and structure. But avoid memorizing every word, which can sound robotic.
Having command of your content allows you to speak smoothly and naturally. If you miss a point, you can easily circle back. Preparation lets your confidence shine through.
3. Practice Positive Self-Talk
What you tell yourself matters. Silence your inner critic with empowering self-talk such as:
- “I’ve got this!”
- “Stay calm and focused.”
- “I am ready.”
- “I can inspire this audience.”
Positive self-talk crowds out negative thoughts and affirms your capabilities. Use it before and during your talk to override nerves.
4. Visualize Success
Envision yourself skillfully delivering your speech and the audience responding positively. See their attentive faces and imagine the feeling of accomplishment.
Mental rehearsals boost confidence by priming your mind and body for success. Visualize often enough, and the real thing will feel familiar.
5. Arrive Early
Make sure you arrive early to check out the speaking venue and get comfortable on stage. Set up your notes, test equipment and adjust the mic height.
Familiarizing yourself with the stage area gives you a confidence boost. You can relax knowing everything is ready to go flawlessly.
6. Engage the Audience
Connecting with your audience also builds your confidence, as you are focused on them rather than your own nerves.
- Make eye contact and smile warmly at various people.
- Ask questions to get people involved.
- Share stories and humor when appropriate to build rapport.
- Invite audience members to approach you afterwards with questions.
Engaging with people reminds you that you are having a conversation, not just delivering a one-way speech.
7. Use Movement Wisely
Move around the stage a bit as you speak. Movement creates energy and draws focus. But avoid pacing nervously – move purposefully.
Claim the stage and use natural gestures. Passionate hand movements can channel nervous energy into expressions of confidence and conviction.
8. Pause for Emphasis
Strategic pauses demonstrate confidence and emphasize important points. Pausing gives the audience a moment to absorb an idea. Slow down a bit – rushing can betray anxiety.
Silences feel longer to the speaker than the audience. So pause with purpose to highlight key takeaways before continuing smoothly.
9. Speak Clearly and Loudly
Mumbling or speaking softly undermines confidence. Make sure you enunciate clearly and project your voice to the back row.
Focus on over-articulating words and speaking louder than your normal conversational volume. Clarity and vocal power will make you seem assured and authoritative.
10. Focus on Your Message
Finally, direct your concentration away from your nerves and outward to your message and audience. Keep the focus external.
You are the expert on your subject. The audience wants you to succeed. With preparation and poise, you can deliver an impactful speech.
How to Build Confidence in Speaking Over Time
In addition to speech-specific preparation, you can build enduring confidence in public speaking through:
Practice – Take any opportunity to speak up at meetings or volunteer for presentations. The more you practice, the more confidence you will gain.
Join Toastmasters – Attend Toastmasters meetings to get comfortable speaking in a supportive environment. You will improve dramatically.
Record Yourself – Video record practice sessions and review what you like and areas to improve. Seeing yourself builds awareness.
Get Feedback – Ask coworkers or friends to give you honest feedback after speeches. Refine where needed.
Be Authentic – Play to your natural strengths and personality. Don’t force a style that feels unnatural.
Remember Past Successes – Recall times when you spoke well previously. This builds confidence to do it again.
Imagine the Worst, Then Carry On – Think through what the worst case scenario would be, then realize you could handle it!
Focus Outward – Keep your attention on helping the audience, not your fears. Their needs matter most.
Find Balance – Don’t strive for perfection or beat yourself up over small mistakes. Keep perspective.
Relax – Ease tension through deep breathing, visualization, positive self-talk and lightheartedness.
Helpful Tips for Building Confidence in Public Speaking
Here are a few more tips to boost your public speaking moxie:
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Dress professionally – Look sharp and feel confident. Avoid distracting or ill-fitting clothes.
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Bring water – Keep water handy on stage in case your mouth gets dry. A sip can re-center you.
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Avoid apology – Don’t apologize for being nervous or new at public speaking. The audience expects beginners to grow.
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Handle mistakes gracefully – If you make a mistake, correct it and move forward smoothly without dwelling on it.
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Own the stage – Command the stage to project confidence. Move purposefully and own the audience’s attention.
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Support others – When part of the audience, offer encouraging smiles and applause to boost other speakers too.
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Remember to breathe – Stress often causes speakers to hold their breath. Make sure you keep breathing!
Believe in yourself and your value. With practice and courage, you can inspire audiences and advance your career through confident public speaking. You’ve got this!
Being able to speak skillfully in public provides huge advantages in business and life. Leaders recognize the power of delivering a clear message with confidence and conviction.
We all feel nervous at times when speaking in public. Yet with careful preparation and practice, anyone can strengthen their public speaking abilities and confidence overtime.
Use these techniques to prepare thoroughly, connect with audiences, and focus on sharing your message with authority. You have something important to say – let your voice be heard!
The more you make speaking opportunities count by delivering value to audiences, the more your confidence will rise. Soon you can step up to a podium ready to inspire people and shape outcomes for the better. Your ideas are worth hearing.
Use Pauses to Your Advantage
Using pauses is another strategy that can help you speak slower, but it’s effective in its own right. Work on creatively using pauses to give more impact to your speaking. For example, if you have an opening for a public presentation that’s eight sentences long and you make a significant point after sentence three, throw in a sizable seconds-long pause. It will add more weight to whatever your last sentence was and give your audience time to soak it in. It also gives you a chance to collect your thoughts and prepare for the next section of your speech, adding to the total amount of authority and confidence you project.
In a scenario that allows for preparation, such as giving a speech to a public audience, asides are fine. You have advance time to prepare them, determine if they’re relevant, and include them if they are. In more natural conversations, however, improvised asides can be damaging. For example, if you’re in a job interview and you answer a question directly, then spiral into a related story about something that happened to you a few years ago, it could be a sign that you’re nervous and looking to fill conversational space. Instead, focus only on what’s immediately relevant.
Speak More Slowly
Some of us speak faster when we’re nervous. Some of us are naturally fast talkers. Regardless of your motivations, conscious or subconscious, speaking too quickly indicates a lack of authority or a lack of confidence. In addition, while speaking quickly, you’re more likely to make mistakes in your enunciation, and you have less time to think through your words. Focus on speaking more slowly in your conversation, allowing your words to draw out and giving your sentences a weightier rhythm. Your audience will have more time to digest the words you’re speaking, and you’ll be less likely to make any critical errors that compromise your speaking integrity.
The surprising secret to speaking with confidence | Caroline Goyder | TEDxBrixton
How to speak confidently in public?
If you want to speak with confidence, appearances matter. Find out your confident clothes and wear them to bring out your A-game! To speak confidently in public, adopt a mindset where you assume the audience is eager to hear what you have to say.
How do you speak well and confidently?
If you want to know how to speak well and confidently, you’ve got to believe in yourself, speak slowly and carefully, and have strong convictions about what you’re saying. If you want to know how to sound intelligent and thoughtful when you speak, then see Step 1 to get started. State your opinions with conviction.
How do I become more confident when speaking?
Review these steps to determine how to become more confident when speaking: 1. Embrace your weaknesses If you want to become more confident speaking in front of groups or voicing your ideas, you first need to embrace your weaknesses. This means being okay with making mistakes and learning from them.
How do you speak English confidently?
To speak slowly and confidently, consciously pause at punctuation marks while speaking, and control your breathing to maintain a calm, measured pace. Try practicing slow speaking in low-stakes situations, like with baristas or customer support reps. Speaking English confidently requires regular practice, especially in conversational settings.
