Yow Kia

I attended a chapter meeting held at Bradell Heights Advanced Toastmasters Club on 23rd July 2007. There was a guest speaker called Ernest Chen (DTM), who is an author of a public speaking book called “Ernestly Speaking”. He was sharing the tips in how to conquer the fear of public speaking

Here is the summary of the sharing. The common fear of public speaking can be categorized in three main points:

i) Fear of performance
- Preparation and practice
Through preparation and practice, the level of fear will be reduced. Every great speaker does practise regularly before their actual presentation.
- Creative visualization
Go to the presentation venue one day before the presentation, to familiarize with the environment. In your mind, try to use your imagination to visualize the actual situation. Run the imaginary scene in your memory for a few times. You will be surprised that on the actual day, the presentation is just like what was run in your memory.
- Light exercise
Breathing can help to reduce your nervous energy. Take in a full depth of breath and breathe out; continue doing this for a few cycles until you don’t feel so nervous.

ii) Fear of audience
- The audience is usually very friendly. You, as a speaker, the audience are under you control. Therefore, there is no point to fear of audience.

iii) Fear of content
- Research your content properly. A thorough research topic will make you feel more comfortable to speak it out.

After sharing the three points of common fear, Ernest went around to ask each of the audience, what is their main fear in public speaking. Surprisingly, there were around 30 audiences in the room, the fear that they are having, all fall within the three points!

There were a few questions asked during the Q & A session.

i) How to tackle impromptu speech?
- Impromptu speech is meant for practicing to think on your own feet. Therefore, the more you practise, the better you will become.
- Think about these questions: What to say? How to start? What to follow next? How to end?

ii) How if I got stuck half-way during the presentation?
- Always get ready the speech notes in your pocket. Only take out your notes if you really can’t continue your speech.

iii) How to prepare a solid content?
- Think about these questions: Is it relevant to the audience? Does it show importance? Does it show urgency? What is the speech value? Is it a life changing experience?