If public speaking scares you, you are far from alone. Public speaking is the
single most common fear. People don’t even fear death as much as
standing up in front of a group of peers or strangers to give a speech
or presentation. I absolutely hated it until I learned these 6 lessons.
Dr. Jubbal, MedSchoolInsiders.com
As a student, and particularly as someone who wants to get into medical school and
become a doctor, public speaking is something you cannot escape.
You’ll face group work, class presentations, interviews, and presenting research findings,
and it doesn’t stop there. You’ll also need to regularly interact with colleagues once
you have a job or with patients and their families if you choose to become a doctor.
While you can’t escape it, there are ways to make public speaking more tolerable and, dare I say,
even enjoyable. Here are 6 strategies for improving your public speaking.
The first tip is simple but one that cannot be skipped—You can’t get around practicing.
As with most things in life, if you truly want to improve,
you need to put in the reps. Without consistent practice, you will remain
afraid and continue to believe yourself incapable of speaking in front of a crowd.
There isn’t a magic trick. You weren’t born lacking something that all other
people have. Good public speakers got that way through exposure and practice.
Sure, some may have a bit more natural confidence, but engaging,
inspiring speakers got that way by working hard and refining their skills over time.
Practicing public speaking doesn’t mean you have to stand in front of a large
crowd and give a speech every weekend. There are plenty of ways to practice
in the comfort of your home or by joining groups that have a public speaking element.
Start small by volunteering to answer questions during class. Try being the
presenter of your group’s classwork, or offer to give a toast at a family gathering.
Take it one step further by joining an improv group.
While it may be intimidating at first, improv groups don’t take themselves seriously and
are usually very welcoming. Plus, improv will teach you how to think on your toes
and be witty on the fly—an invaluable skill for public speakers to possess.
Practicing at home isn't as effective, but it’s certainly better than nothing. If you’re
practicing alone at home, film yourself so you can pinpoint what you can improve upon.
Next, record yourself and watch it back. Even though this may be a painful
experience, it’s the best way to capture a realistic view of what other people see.
Watching yourself speak has two chief benefits. First,
it allows you to see what you’re doing well. We’re often our very worst critics,
and we may think a presentation or speech went terribly when it actually wasn’t bad at all.
You’ll also be able to pinpoint your public speaking weaknesses.
Do you speak too fast or too slow? Do you slouch? What do you do with your hands?
Do you frequently put “um” or “like” in between your thoughts or sentences?
Once you’ve isolated a few weaknesses,
pick out a couple specific things to work on during your practice time.
Third, even if you don’t feel confident,
if you look it, people won’t realize you’re actually terrified on the inside.
Poor body language, such as slouching, keeping your hands in your pockets,
fiddling with items in your hands, or looking at the ground instead of in people’s eyes,
will make you look nervous, timid, or apathetic. And not only that,
slouching, slumping your shoulders, and constantly breaking eye contact can make you feel shy, too.
Your body language speaks volumes. What you say often takes a backseat
to how you say it. Effective body language requires time to refine,
so get started right away, regardless of your current confidence level.
Be proactive about improving your body language by standing in front
of a mirror as well as recording yourself and watching it back.
Remember to consistently and intentionally reset your posture. To do so, stand up straight
and raise your hands up to the ceiling. Then roll your shoulders back and allow your arms
to slowly fall to either side. Your chest will likely feel unnaturally puffed out,
but this is actually proper posture, and it will make you both feel and look more confident.
Meet your own eyes in the mirror and practice smiling and nodding. These nonverbal cues let
the person you’re speaking with, as well as your audience, know that you’re listening and engaged.
Ask roommates, friends, and family
about any bad body language habits they’ve noticed in you. What can you do to improve?
Next, consistently expose yourself to discomfort.
Making an effort to step outside of your comfort zone will condition you
to be comfortable being uncomfortable. Most of us avoid all forms of discomfort
and stick with the familiar because it’s, well, familiar. It’s easy.
But the more we stick with what we know, the less confident and the less capable we
feel. If you keep telling yourself you can’t do something, you’ll believe it.
Shake things up by facing your fears and doing something you wouldn’t ordinarily do. You are
capable of much more than you think. Take a dance class, go scuba diving, play a sport
you’ve never tried, travel to a new country, or eat an insect—whatever you find intimidating.
The more you face the unfamiliar, the more capable you’ll realize you are,
and slowly but surely, you’ll build your confidence.
Remember that confidence isn’t born; it’s made. The more you build a diverse set of
skills and prove to yourself that you can do whatever you put your mind to,
the more confident you will feel. Before long, public speaking won’t
seem like that big of a deal because you’ll know all that you’re capable of.
This kind of skill building, resilience,
and tolerance for discomfort will carry forward into all aspects of your life.
Next, get your nerves under control by utilizing slow and intentional breathing. This will activate
your parasympathetic nervous system and calm down your sympathetic nervous system.
When we get nervous, our fight-or-flight response, originating from our sympathetic nervous system,
is triggered. Our body tries to get our muscles as much oxygen as possible in preparation to
either fight or flee. The trouble is, public speaking requires neither of those things.
While we can take in all the oxygen we want, our bodies cannot produce carbon dioxide at the
same rate, so our oxygen and CO2 levels become imbalanced, further exacerbating our anxiety.
We can bring our levels back to normal with slow, intentional breathing.
There are many, many breathing exercises out there. A simple one we recommend is
4 by 4 breathing, also known as Box Breathing,
which is popular among Navy SEALs. Start by inhaling slowly for four seconds. Hold that
breath for four seconds. Then exhale for four seconds. Hold that and do not inhale
for four seconds. Then inhale for four seconds and repeat the process four times.
Box Breathing will calm you down and enable you to focus before
your presentation or speech. And while you’re speaking, don’t forget to breathe!
Lastly, before speaking, don’t forget to warm up.
Just like you would before exercising or playing sports,
warm up your voice before stepping on the stage or in front of your class.
If you don’t warm up your voice, you’re much more likely to mumble or get tongue tied. If you
don’t warm up your face, it will appear dull and indifferent as opposed to confident and engaged.
To get your mouth moving, perform tongue twisters before your presentation,
such as “red leather, yellow leather” and “she sells seashells by the seashore”.
Don’t stop until you can clearly enunciate each syllable. Start slowly and focus. You
aren’t doing yourself any favors by rushing through the tongue twisters. Your insights
will be lost on your audience if they can’t understand what you’re saying.
It’s also essential to warm up your face. Our skin tightens when it’s dry,
which stiffens our face and makes us appear apathetic and disengaged—both of
which are deeply unappealing in a public speaker.
To get the blood flowing, open up your mouth and eyes as wide as possible, as if you’ve just seen
a ghost. Then, pinch your mouth and eyes as if you’ve just bitten into the sourest lemon
imaginable. Alternate between these movements multiple times. If you’re wearing makeup,
after the exercise, look in the mirror to make sure you haven’t made any lines.
This will liven up your face and make you appear more engaged.
For more face and vocal warm ups, check out our guide linked in the description.
Public speaking isn’t a magic trick or an elusive skill only some people are
born with. Great speakers hone their skills with preparation,
practice, and continually putting themselves in situations where they will learn and grow.
For more student strategies, check out our shorts channel at MedSchoolInsidersShorts.