How to Overcome Speech Anxiety

From the physical symptoms you experience during anxiety, such as sweating, shaking and feeling lightheaded, to the emotional turmoil raging inside, anxiety is unpleasant. Many people suffer from speech anxiety, or the fear of talking to people. Whether it is due to a speech impediment that you think makes you hard to understand, or just that you have a hard time delivering a presentation in front of a large group of people, speech anxiety can be overcome. Practicing enunciation and watching yourself in a mirror to see how you appear to others can all help you overcome the phobia that is speech anxiety.

Things You'll Need

• Mirror
• Notes
• Water
• Props

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Instructions

• 1

  Talk in front of a mirror to help you become more comfortable with the image you project when you speak to others. This can be a helpful tool whether you are preparing for a meeting with one individual or a group of people. If you have physical challenges with speech, watching your mouth in the mirror can help you learn how to produce sounds more easily.

• 2

  Prepare for a presentation with plenty of notes if your speech anxiety stems from standing up in front of a crowd. Write down or print out cards with your main points bulleted so you can see them easily when you are speaking. Knowing your topic inside out can make you more comfortable in anxiety-provoking situations.

• 3

  Use relaxation techniques to overcome speech anxiety, both at the time of your speech or confrontation or when you get nervous thinking about it. Take slow, deep breaths and shake out your arm and leg muscles before you begin to speak. After a few sessions of relaxation exercises, you may find that your speech anxiety is lessening because you are feeling less tense physically as well as emotionally.

• 4

  Carry water with you if you suffer from speech anxiety during your everyday activities, and make sure to have a glass of water waiting for you if your anxiety shows up only when addressing a group. Being able to attend to the physical symptoms of anxiety by wetting your parched throat and lips may help make you less anxious and able to speak more naturally.

• 5

  Use pictures, charts, graphs and other visual aids to do some of the talking for you when you are fearful of giving a speech. This method may not decrease your performance anxiety completely, but props can be a way to illustrate your point with a minimum of words.

• 6

  Talk about your anxiety with friends and family. Being open about your fear and exactly what makes you scared instead of repressing your emotions can help you overcome it more readily. Many people think they present themselves in one way (usually negative to some degree) and are surprised to find that others do not see the negative aspects at all. Learning how other perceive you may help you realize that you do not have to be anxious about your speech.