Anxiety before or during public speaking is not an uncommon one. In fact, many people will also experience the feeling of fear when asked to speak in public.

However, what if I told you that conquering that fear and anxiety isn't as hard as you may think? The reality is, at this very moment, you could be only 6 steps away from overcoming public speaking anxiety.

How To Overcome Public Speaking Anxiety

The first step in overcoming your own anxiety when speaking in public is simply to confront the fear itself. Public speaking anxiety is a common problem, and for most people, the most common way to overcome this particular problem is simply notion that something terrible could happen when we do it.

Here is the simple truth - nothing bad is going to happen! You aren't going to fall over dead and there is not a chance that your audience will die of boredom. And, in reality, any other issue you can come up with likely will not happen. Unless you're choosing to speak topics that are political or controversial, there is isn't even much chance that you'll manage to evoke a huge emotional response from your audience.

Realizing that above fact is your first step in overcoming your public speaking anxiety. Next the following techniques will help you to overcome the problem for good!

6 Steps to Overcoming Public Speaking Anxiety

Now that you know the truth about public speaking it's time for the steps to conquer your own public speech anxiety and beat the fear that cripples you.

1. Be Prepare - The best way to beat anxiety and gain self confidence is to come well prepared for a speech. Knowing your topic well is the key to gaining confidence. Good communications begins with an understanding of the audience. For example, if your audience is mostly primary school children, it is advisable to keep your sentence short and your language simple.

2. Focus on the Speech Itself - What is it that you think that crowd came to see? You? Unless you're a high-profile figure they didn't come to see you specifically. They came to hear your speech. In other words, it isn't you that is being scrutinized. Focus on what they came to hear, and stop worrying about what they may think of you personally.

3. A Little Humor Goes a Long Way - One simple approach to put your audience, as well as yourself relaxed is simply to use a little humor. In the face of an audience that is chuckling at your joke, you'll find it difficult to worry about what else they might be thinking.

4. Engage Your Audience - One common fear for the speaker is that they will bore their audience. A simple way to overcome this is simply to engage them right off the start. If possible, try to open your speech with a question, and encourage them to shout out their answers. In the event no one answers right away, gently make fun of them (with humor) to chide them into the discussion.

5. Visualize and Affirm - One simple way to overcome your anxiety before a speech is with simple visualizations and affirmations. Picture yourself giving that successful speech, affirm that picture with thought like "I will make a good speech" or "I will succeed". If you repeat this enough times, when the time comes for you to go in front of the crowd, you'll find yourself more relaxed and confident.

6. Self Hypnosis - Another great and fun technique for overcoming public speaking anxiety quickly is with self hypnosis. This technique can be used both to work to rid yourself of your speech anxieties, and also as a relaxation technique before your presentation.