I've heard it said and totally believe that more than anything else, including death, illness, divorce, critters and things that go bump in the night . . . humans fear speaking before an audience.
In our business, we almost have to conquer that fear. Yet it never completely goes away. The best performers will tell you that using the butterflies as an energizing force is what puts their performance over the top!
Still, the more we can hone speaking and public presentation skills, the better we will be in our profession. We are on stage, it's showtime!
Found a great article comparing speaking to performing music!
Here's another one about presenting yourself . . .
Check it out, and I will add a couple of tips that have worked for me:
1. SHRINK your audience. This does not mean minimize or trivialize them. Simply envision yourself as a bit taller, larger. It will give you confidence. If that means high heels, do it. Or just stand up straighter. Or envision yourself as taller. You get it!
2. SEND your voice out. Imagine your voice as a long trumpet, and physically push that sound out to the very back of the room. Half the time you lose your audience it is because they cannot actually HEAR you. And ARTICULATE your words. Even overly so, just to make them resonate. With you and your audience.
3. (This comes via a mentor of mine from the 1970s who was THE voice of a huge cartoon production company) BE HUMAN. He used to have signs up in his classes "You're allowed to be boring" "You're allowed to be embarrassed" Not every point will sparkle. Some are mundane. The important thing is to find a way to connect and relate to your recipient and go from there. Some find too much razzle dazzle suspect. Tailor your presentation to your recipient or audience.
If you're still scared to talk to people, call me and I'll give you a pep talk!