How To Get Up On Stage & Speak With Confidence

Have you ever seen one of your favorite movie or TV stars and wondered how they developed the courage to get up in front of so many people and speak to them?

Do you ever notice how anxious the pageant contestants become when they are asked to answer questions and speak to everyone in the audience?

While some might assume that these glamorous people were born to be on stage, the truth is that many of our famous celebrities had to learn public speaking.

As reported by BritishCouncil.org, famous people such as Nicole Kidman, Rene Zelwegger, Ghandi, and even some of our great presidents like Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson all dreaded the idea of getting up on stage and talking to a live audience.

Comfortable for almost no one, intimidating for everyone and Earth shattering for some, welcome to the world of public speaking. Sooner or later, most people find themselves in-front of an audience whose full attention is on the speaker, waiting for something special, and when your the speaker it can feel like the world is falling in on you, but fear not, you can survive your fifteen minutes in the sun.

The truth is that if you want to take your writing career to the next level, public speaking is going to be important just like creating more vocal stories. So if you have ever dreamed of getting up on stage and speaking to a crowd, here are five things your should consider:

1. Realize your the one they're listening to. Whether your an expert, the recipient of an award or simply the person who has something to say, you're up there for a reason. Stick with that thought; you're there to present something important to the audience, and therefore, you are important. Let the confidence of that thought flow through you, use it to stand up tall, look ahead and get your job done.

"As an inspirational speaker, it is my job to elevate the audience and inspire them to become the best version of themselves" says John Rogan from the Motivational Speaker website. "If I doubt or second guess myself in any way then I will lose the trust and faith in the audience which is why it's important to always remember that you are on that stage for a reason."

2. Now that you have the confidence to stand in front of an audience, your going to have to speak to them. Don't force your speech or presentation on the listeners, engage them, remember your job is to persuade, present and inform them, nothing more, nothing less. The more confident you seem, the easier this will be. If you can puff your chest out while letting your hair down, then you're going to make yourself a much harder target to find fault with.

3. Have an outline, but ditch the full speech. "Always speak from the heart and never try and memorize your speech" says Dan Smith of Keynote Speaker. "If you're constantly looking down, or worse, reading line from line from a sheet, then you can't be engaging your audience." An outline not only provides a better presentation, it shows that you have real confidence with your material, and that you know your material instead of delivering a rehearsed regurgitation of facts and figures.

4. Use some type of model or design. It can be anything appropriate to take the eyes of the audience off of you. Also, when you use slides or another physical object, it lets you walk the audience through the speech and helps you to not fall into the trap of talking at an audience.

5. Use hand gestures sparingly. It's great to emphasize points when speaking but over reaching movements take away from that all important confidence and, if not nipped quickly, can lead to a full blown confidence meltdown. A little movement can clip some of that nervousness, but nonstop movements just say your looking for an outlet for all that nervous energy.

So, stand tall, know your material, take the heat off yourself, and know that your in front of an audience for a reason. Odds are, if you weren't supposed to be up there, you wouldn't be, so, take heart, smile, stand up, and give the speech of your life.