Advice to Student: How to Overcome Shyness in Public Speaking
Please I need your help.
I’m in my first year in a federal university. I’m quite intelligent (so to say) but there’s something that’s always bothering me.
I’m a very shy person and it’s affecting my education. Anytime I want to speak in public, I find myself stammering even when I know what to say; I just can’t express myself as I should.
Is there anyway I can improve on that??
I really want to be confident, I want to be able to express myself very well. The English is not the problem ‘cus I’m developing it gradually.
Please is there suggestions? Anything I can do to improve?
Chuks
***
Dear Chuks
1, Read articles on gaining confidence. They abound on the internet. You could read one or two good books on it too. For me, the book How to Build Confidence (can’t remember the author ) was helpful for me. I also read CNN’s Larry King’s book, How to Talk to Anyone, Anytime. Another greay book. It contains valuable tips. I also read articles online. They were very helpful.
2, Prepare. Prepare. Prepare. Anytime you know you have to talk in public, practice in the room. When in school, I practised my presentations in the room in advance. Now, there will be times when this will not be applicable, but where it is applicable, apply it.
3, Psyche. Have at the back of your mind that there were people worse than you. I was probably worse than you because I was raised in a local community and initially struggled to integrate, communication wise, with city folks when in school until I later realized that I was better in writing that most of them, even though they spoke better. That helped my psychology – if I could best them in writing, I should be able to get close to them in speaking too. Still on psychology, the day I read Larry’s book, where he mentioned that he also prepared and rehearsed before TV show, my confidence was boosted a great deal. If the best public speakers also prepare and rehearse, who am I.
4, Participate in social activities. This can’t be overemphasized. You wont improve if you don’t find the opportunity to get better, no matter what you know in theory. Find opportunity to use the tips you read.
5, Know your stuff. If you know your stuff, it helps in confidence building. If you wake me up and ask me to talk on issues I have passion for (e.g oil and gas, taxation, careers etc), I exude confidence better than topics I am not great at. Start by finding opportunity to talk on your comfort zone.
6, Dressing well also helps in confidence building. Reading wide and being versatile also help. If you are loaded and know more than most of the people you want to talk to, helps your confidence.
Although I am still only an average speaker – probably still below – but I know I have improved a lot in the last 10 years. My activities as a career advisor at JarusHub also meant I can’t shy away from talking to people. I got a lot of exposure in the last 5 years (through JarusHub) that meant I can’t shy away from public speaking again. I get a lot of invites from universities to associations to TV stations to come and talk on one topic or another, it came with my modest profile in the last 5 years. At that point, I had no option than to work on myself.
I still have a long way to go too, but the above was helpful.
Jarus
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