Anxiety Self HelpFind helpful information about anxiety.

Did you ever suffer stress or anxiety before speaking in front of a crowd? Anxiety can be triggered by various environmental conditions and stressors, and one of them is the fear of public speaking. Lack of experience on stage and fear of failure are among the causes of public speaking anxiety. More often than not, a person’s fundamental belief system is the basis of the fear of speaking publicly. So that you can reduce the risk of panic attack on stage and public speaking anxiety, you can follow these few simple rules:

1. Prepare your speech ahead of time. When you are not prepared, the risk of having public speaking anxiety increases, so make sure that you do what you need to do to lower your risk of stage fright. It will help to practice your speech in front of a mirror or take a video of yourself so that you know how you appear to the audience.

2. Practice ‘big belly’ breathing. The University Center Rochester (UCR) reports that there are several ways to manage anxiety associated with giving a speech or a public speaking presentation. Experts at the University point out the importance of ‘big belly’ breathing because fear typically slows down the breathe and makes it difficult to concentrate. ‘Big belly’ breathing will help to open up your lunges and encourage oxygen flow throughout your body.

3. Plan to move while you speak. Standing in a single, fixed position for the entire speech may trigger some public speaking anxiety, so plan to move while you are delivering your speech. Moving your hands and walking across the stage will also help you communicate your message better with the audience.

4. Take breaks and pauses. One of the mistakes that many people make when they’re prone to experiencing public speaking anxiety is that they don’t take the time to take a break or pause during the session. This is especially important when you’re using visual aids because you need to guide the audience from point to point.

5. Avoid excessive caffeine and sugar. Caffeine can make you more nervous and jittery than you need to be when delivering your speech, and if you’ve experienced public speaking anxiety in the past, you should steer clear of caffeine and sugar. Both of these substances can make your heart race, make you sweat, and make it difficult to focus on the task at hand.

6. Wear comfortable clothing and shoes. You don’t want to worry about tugging at your shirt or walking a certain way to look calm and composed when you’re on stage. Some people experience public speaking anxiety because they simply aren’t comfortable when they’re up on stage. Prepare your outfit beforehand so that you know what you’re going to look like on stage, and how you feel in your outfit.

It will take time and practice to overcome public speaking anxiety. To be able to give a professional speech or presentation that will make an impact on your audience, use these tips to reduce the risk of your getting a panic attack before or during your speech.

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