Solutions for Stage Fright
Introduction
Most of us start having butterflies in our stomach once we are called upon to present a public speech. Other physical symptoms of stage fright include rapid heart beat and breathing, dry mouth, increased perspiration, trembling hands, shaky knees and a trembling body. According to Dale and Wolf (2000:83), famous people who have had stage fright include:
(1) Winston Churchill who once said that he thought there was a block of ice in his stomach each time he made a speech.
(2) Julio Iglesias has revealed that he is nervous about his pronunciation when speaking English.
(3) Jane Fonda has admitted to having "tremendous fear."
(4) Olivia Newton-John admits to shaking and crying before a performance.
According to them, the solutions for stage fright can be divided into short-term and long-term. These are as follows:
Solutions for Stage Fright
Short-term Solutions
(1) Be thoroughly prepared and practice before a presentation.
(2) Take your time before you start to speak:
(a) Gently put your notes on the speaker's stand.
(b) Establish eye contact with your audience before beginning.
(c) Take several deep breaths before beginning.
Another way of overcoming stage fright is by seeing your audience as your friends and remembering that nobody in this world is perfect. Try smiling to create rapport with your audience and also use body language (see chapter 3) to relax and make your speech more interesting, natural and effective. Think first before opening your mouth. Use pauses to replace vocal fillers like "Eh..", "Um…" etc. which can be very distracting to the audience.
Long-term Solutions
(1) Remember that stage fright is normal.
(2) Get as much experience as possible.
(3) Talk about stage fright with friends.
Dale and Wolf (2000:83) have suggested some causes of stage fright which are as follows:
(1) Many people worry that they'll forget what they want to say.
(2) Others are afraid that they'll look silly.
(3) Some people think that the audience won't like them.
(4) International students might worry that their English isn't very good.
They suggest that there are steps to follow for preparing an informative speech and a persuasive speech. The details of both can be found in Chapter One. The steps Dale and Wolf (2000:65) suggest for preparing an informative and persuasive speech are:
(1) Analysing your audience.
(2) Choosing your topic.
(3) Narrowing your topic.
(4) Gathering information.
(5) Preparing visual aids.
(6) Organising your speech.
Steps for Preparing a Persuasive Speech are as follows:
(1) Determining your specific purpose.
(2) Choosing your topic.
(3) Analysing your audience.
(4) Gathering information.
(5) Preparing visual aids.
(6) Organising your speech.
By following these steps, they suggest you can come up with speeches which are interesting and effective.
According to Kahn (1991:495), many leaders owe their fame to being good orators. The great speeches of Elizabeth I, Winston Churchill and John F. Kennedy are as memorable as their achievements. He suggests being an effective speaker is still one of the best ways of achieving prominence in public life, as well as influencing others in your private and business life. And as with so many other things in life, success in public speaking depends on both careful preparation and careful presentation.
Preparation is essential–to choose and organize appropriate material, rehearse adequately, and build up your confidence. Give yourself plenty of time to prepare a good speech. Effective speakers pay as much attention to style as to content, to how they will speak and look, as to what they will say. Aim to finish preparing the content of your speech early to allow you to rehearse and refine it.
Preparation and Research
Thinking things through before a speech will make the difference between success and failure. Analyse the audience before preparing your speech. Know their age, gender and audience and gear your speech towards their liking. Get to know the audience's knowledge of the subject. In this way you can use technical jargon for an educated, technologically informed audience but simplify your speech to cater to the needs of a mixed audience by spelling out the background in more detail, and explaining step-by-step your various arguments and the conclusion you reach.
Next, know the audience's attitude towards the topic. If you expect some opposition to your ideas, then plan accordingly and try establishing your credentials or reaction to newspaper coverage of the issues.
Make sure you know exactly when and where you are speaking, and for how long. If the audience have been assembled for a couple of hours before you make your speech, they may well be relieved if you keep it brief and to the point. You need to know if you are preceding or following other speakers, and who they are. If, you are following a speaker who has a very different outlook from your own, you must be prepared to answer the kinds of points that speaker is likely to make in his speech.
Ask too about the size of the audience, and the room layout. Will you have to speak from behind a lectern or on a platform? Find out what technical equipment is available.
Gathering Your Materials
Start gathering your materials by jotting down ideas and doing any necessary research immediately, even if much of what you come up with does not seem impressive. Write down your objectives. Research in libraries, internet, magazines, newspapers, journals, find out statistics, ask friends and colleagues who have knowledge in your speech area–interview them, try to dig out appropriate anecdotes, jokes, and quotations. Finally, sit down and prepare your speech.
Structuring Your Speech
Now start thinking about how you are going to structure your speech. Kahn (1991:497) has given some examples of ways in which you can structure a speech. These are:
1. Topic by topic –
The speaker takes different aspects of the subject and covers them one by one. So a speaker talking about adult education might cover evening classes, part-time courses at polytechnics, universities, business schools, and correspondence courses.
2. Geographically –
The speaker might choose to cover adult education in Britain, Australia, and Europe. This method is particularly suitable when different countries or cultures have radically different approaches.
3. Chronologically –
This structure gives a historical perspective. Adult education could be covered thus: adult education opportunities 20 years ago, adult education opportunities now and plans or hopes for the future.
4. Using a problem and solution structure –
Here the speaker takes a number of problem areas and proposes solutions. This is likely to produce a persuasive speech. Adult education could be dealt with like this: problems that prevent adults from getting further education and ways of overcoming these difficulties.
Speeches can also be a mixture of these forms. For instance, the adult education speech could be organized in this way: a history of adult education; the different sorts–evening classes, universities, polytechnics, distant learning; differences among Britain, America, and Europe; problems facing those seeking further education; and finally, how to overcome them. Be careful of mixing the forms or you may end up with an overcomplex speech.
Introduction
According to Kahn (1991:498), learn to seize your listeners' attention with your opening, and you are well on the way to success. Consider the mood of the audience and react appropriately to them. Some tried and tested opening devices as suggested by Kahn (1991:498) are as follows:
(1) Seize the attention of the audience and amuse them at the same time, by saying or doing something in character with the topic.
(2) Invite direct audience involvement through questions and requests.
(3) Surprise the audience and challenge its assumptions. Strong, short, controversial statements, or statements that contradict what the audience probably expected you to say can be effective in grabbing your listeners' attention.
(4) Call the audience to attention, greet them, and remind them why they are gathered together.
(5) Thank the organizers for asking you to speak, and say how pleased you are to be there.
Body
As a public speaker, you take your audience on a journey, and you need to signpost the route. Give the outline or preview, spell out things more clearly in the explanations of the topic sentences, plot your humour so that it comes at intervals throughout your speech, try to surprise the audience by asking direct questions and asking for a show of hands, get your listeners to write things down and use visual aids. Also be careful with criticism and controversy. This must be backed by solid argument and evidence. Most people like to think they are intelligent, well-informed and generous. Appeal to them in these areas, particularly in persuasive speeches. Appeal also to people's financial and social aspirations, or group pride–their desire to be identified with a particular group in society. Finally, appeal to the instinct to explore new ideas in a persuasive speech and suggest that the audience be receptive to innovation.
Conclusion
Kahn (1991:499) suggests that your conclusion needs to be memorable and make sure this is uppermost in the audience's minds when they leave. Do not introduce new points into the conclusion. Reiterate in strong, memorable words and phrases the thrust of the whole speech. It is a good idea to learn your conclusion, like your opening lines.
