Practical Tips for Conquering Workplace Public-Speaking Nerves

A fear of speaking can curtail a career.

You can’t be a decent manager without confidently leading team meetings. Salespeople can’t persuade clients to buy something without seeming self-assured in presentations. Becoming a senior leader invariably means giving speeches to departments, investors or even your whole company.

Yet most of us feel anxious about public-speaking in work, to some extent. The important thing is to learn the skills and self-help techniques to stop this fear becoming crippling.

I am the only person in the UK with a PhD in "public-speaking anxiety and performing under pressure”. I also created the Public Speaking Threats Inventory ®, a tool that gives you tailored insights into what is stopping you from presenting well.

As founder of speaking training company Improv4Business,  and working with major organisations such as Vista, ITV and The Entertainer, I have developed several anxiety-combatting tips and tricks. They can help anyone fight their public-speaking fear, no matter what industry they are in.‍

What exactly are you worried about?‍

Before you can overcome your anxiety, you must identify what’s really bothering you. Do you worry you’ll dry up, muff your lines or sound dull? Is the pressure of trying to be inspirational to your staff too much?

Once you’ve worked out the problem, you can start to tackle it, using the tips below, but also through speaking practice. Working on your pitch, tempo and how best you’ll feel prepared for your speech are vital.

‍Start things slowly‍

Don’t rush headlong into a company address in front of 500 people – and if your workplace tells you have to, push back or at least ask for as much preparation time as possible.

Build up your confidence gradually by speaking in front of one person, then maybe two or three or ten, and so on. Start with just one line, then two, five minutes of speaking, then half an hour and more.

‍Visualise success‍

Before you speak, tell yourself you’re not nervous, you’re excited. Turn a negative thought pattern into a positive.

Imagine clearly what you’ll look like making a confident, stirring address to an impressed audience who give you a hearty round of applause or provide terrific feedback. Drawing a sketch of what success looks like can help, too.

‍Fuel yourself

‍If you’re hungry or dehydrated it’s likely to make the symptoms of your speaking nervousness worse. You’ll get a dry mouth or your voice will crack. You’ll feel light-headed, struggle to concentrate and low-blood sugar can make you shaky.

Have a healthy snack, such as a banana, muesli bar or small sandwich, an hour before you speak, and keep back-up snacks close at hand. Drink around 200ml of water, five minutes before your presentation and take a glass or bottle of water on stage with you. A quick sip during your speech creates a natural pause for you and your audience, and can help settle your nerves.

‍Shake it off‍

It's good to have adrenaline coursing through your system before you speak. But not too much. Get rid of the excess through star jumps, running on the spot, some press-ups or just wiggling your arms and legs.

‍Music to your ears

Our physiology tends to synchronise with external stimuli, so playing music you find soothing is a great way to calm you down. That could be classical, hardcore rock, Taylor Swift or whatever feels right for you.

Stand tall and breathe deeply

If you face your audience with your shoulders back and your chest open, you’ll look confident to them and you might convince yourself you’re confident, too.

Before speaking, breath in slowly for four seconds, hold for four, breath out for four, then hold again for four more. Alternatively, try nostril breathing, taking in air through one nostril, then releasing it through the other, then repeat.

Another trick for instantly increasing your sense of status and control is imaging everyone you are talking to owes you money.

‍Nobody else knows what you wrote in your speech‍

A very common fear is forgetting your lines or not sticking to your carefully prepared script. But your audience don’t know exactly what you had planned to say. So, if you make a mistake, pause, breath and carry on.

Colleagues and clients aren’t expecting a flawless performance from you. They want to learn new information, be engaged or inspired. Many probably dread public speaking as much as you do, so are willing you on to do well. ‍

Consider coaching‍

Speaking tutors often conduct group-training sessions for companies, but many offer individual coaching too. 

I have worked with employees and senior leaders from SMEs and larger companies in sectors ranging from education to manufacturing and IT. I’ve seen how speech training tailored to people’s specific concerns and the skills they need to develop can be invaluable. Clients have seen improved sales results, career progression and better company-wide communication.

Dr Alexander McWilliam is founder and managing director of Improv4Business. It provides presentation and speaking training, including executive coaching, team sessions and bespoke programmes, primarily for B2B clients. 

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