Introduction
Being an introvert doesn’t mean you’re destined to be a bad public speaker. In fact, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that being an introvert has certain advantages when it comes to speaking in public. But if you’re more comfortable staying at home than being put under the spotlight, don’t worry! There are lots of ways for introverts like us to overcome our fears and speak confidently in front of groups large or small. So let’s jump right into it:
Don’t try to be more extroverted.
You can’t change who you are, but you can work on improving your public speaking skills.
Don’t try to be more extroverted. Don’t try to be more introverted. Don’t try to be anything other than what you are right now.
You don’t need any special tricks or strategies because every single person has their own unique set of challenges they face when speaking in front of others.
We all have our strengths and weaknesses as speakers, so don’t waste time trying to fake it until you make it—just focus on doing what works best for YOU!
Don’t apologize for being an introvert.
This is a powerful step because it changes the way you view yourself, and your speaking abilities.
It allows you to be more confident in who you are and how you speak, as well as giving you more energy and enthusiasm for public speaking.
When we apologize for being an introvert, we send the message that our personality trait is something negative or weak.
The truth is that being an introvert is actually a strength! Introverts have many positive qualities that make them excellent at delivering presentations: they don’t get easily bored on stage (no matter how long), they’re more likely to think before they speak, they’re better listeners and therefore have better audience engagement skills–the list goes on! Not only does this mindset help with confidence, but knowing this can also improve your performance as well as your relationship with other people who may judge what being an introvert means negatively (i.e., “Oh sorry I’m not talking enough”).
Know your material cold.
The importance of knowing your material cold cannot be overstated. If you don’t know your stuff, it shows in the way you speak, and it’s easy for people to tell that you’re nervous.
Your speech will be much more effective if it sounds like you know what you’re talking about.
It’s also important to know your audience—what they care about and how their lives are different from yours.
For example, if there’s a large number of seniors in the room, think about how your message might resonate differently with them than with people who are younger or in jobs closer to your own.
Before giving a speech make sure you have an idea of what points are most important for listeners; don’t just assume they’ll all get what’s being said because “it’s obvious”.
Make note cards or bullet points so that when delivering the presentation these points can be referenced easily instead of having them running through one’s head while presenting which could lead up trying too hard at times during delivery.”
Talk to your audience as if you are talking to one person.
When you’re speaking, focus on your audience, not yourself. The goal of public speaking is to communicate and share knowledge with an audience.
If you’re worried about how you look or whether you sound good enough, then that’s all the audience will notice as well. Remember that although this may be a scary experience for you, your audience is there to help make it less so—and they want to see that they’ve done just that!
So what should I do if I feel like I’m going over?
First of all: breathe! We all get nervous sometimes but don’t let it take over your mind or body. Take a deep breath in through your nose and exhale slowly out through your mouth while counting down from three until the feeling passes. This should help keep things under control until it’s time for questions!
Rehearse and practice.
Rehearse and practice.
When you’re putting together your presentation, rehearse it out loud. You’ll be surprised how much you can learn by hearing yourself say things—even if the only person in the room is yourself.
You can also practice in front of a mirror or on video (with or without sound). The more you do this, the better you’ll get at delivering your content effectively and confidently with little thought to how long it’s been since someone last talked to you.
Memorize a few lines you want to nail during your presentation, but don’t memorize your entire speech word for word.
- Memorize a few key points to help keep you on track. If you have them memorized, you’ll be less likely to get lost in your own head and forget what comes next.
- Memorize a few lines that will help you relax and feel more confident. These should be lines where you’re saying something that’s true about yourself—not just something that sounds good, like “I’m the best public speaker in the world.” The goal here is to reduce unnecessary anxiety by reminding yourself of who you are and what value your speech has for others—this will improve both how people perceive your confidence (which matters) as well as how much confidence they actually feel from hearing it (which also matters).
- Memorize a few lines that will help seem more confident when speaking publicly—and make sure those lines are meaningful! This might sound like it contradicts everything else we’ve been saying about not trying too hard or being overly rehearsed; however, there’s an important distinction between sounding prepared without seeming overly rehearsed or trying too hard: if done right, these memorized words can communicate sincerity without sounding scripted!
Prepare yourself for questions by reading the room and anticipating what they might ask before they do.
It’s natural to be nervous about public speaking, regardless of how experienced you are. But if you want to be a good speaker and give an excellent performance, don’t let your nerves get the best of you. You can’t control what questions people will ask.
However, you can prepare for the questions you anticipate and try to anticipate some that might be off the wall so that when they do come up, your response is more polished than if it had been unprepared.
Even though it’s impossible to predict everything (and thank goodness), we all have at least one person in mind who regularly asks us questions we didn’t think of—so don’t worry too much about being unprepared!
Talk yourself up before the event.
If you’re like me, then you might be a little bit more nervous than excited about the upcoming event. This is normal and understandable. However, if you want to have a successful speech and make sure that everyone enjoys it as much as possible, you’ll need to prepare yourself mentally before the event happens. Here are some ways for how introverts can talk themselves up before public speaking:
- Talk yourself up in front of the mirror
- Talk yourself up while alone in your car
- Talk yourself up while taking a shower (in which case, I recommend talking loudly enough so that people can hear it outside)
You have the power to succeed in public speaking situations, even if you’re an introvert!
The first step to public speaking success is to have self-confidence. If you don’t believe in yourself, how will anyone else? But there is more than one way to build self-confidence, and this guide will show you several of them.
The next step is using your newfound confidence to your advantage. You can use it when dealing with people who doubt your abilities; they won’t be able to tell what kind of speaker you are just by looking at or talking with you! You can also use it when preparing for speeches; knowing that people see value in what you have to say will help motivate you keep practicing until the big day comes around.
Finally (and this might come as a surprise), introverts may actually benefit from being quiet and reserved before going up on stage and speaking about an important topic! There’s nothing worse than having someone ramble nervously or stutter uncontrollably while trying to give their speech; however, if they were instead calm and collected beforehand then their presentation will go much smoother without any embarrassing moments happening along the way!
Conclusion
We’re sure that this guide has given you a lot more confidence in your ability to speak in public. Remember: no matter how nervous you are, just remember that this is an opportunity for growth. And if all else fails, don’t worry so much about everything going perfectly! If something goes wrong during your presentation or Q&A session, it will help the audience see how human we all are—which means they’ll be more likely to forgive our mistakes (and even learn from them).