4 Ways To Look Confident In Front Of An Audience
Imagine this: you have the opportunity to speak or perform in front of a group of people, but just before you take the stage, your hands start to sweat, and you have cold feet. Perhaps you have looked at the best drum machine for live performance, you have researched the best microphones and practised your speech until you know it like the back of your hand - but you cannot shake off that overriding feeling of anxiety. If this seems like something you have experienced before, you might find it helpful to read the following tips on how to look confident in front of people.
Public speaking anxiety, often known as PSA, affects many people like you. One in five people shares this feature, making it one of the most frequent forms of anxiety people experience today. It is fairly common.
Thank goodness you will not have to put up with it for the rest of your life. According to research, it is possible to learn how to manage your anxiety and perform effectively when you have an engagement that requires public speaking if you practice the appropriate techniques and put in some time.
Maintain a calm posture.
When you have strong body language, people will get the impression that you are self-assured. When referring to a public speaker, excellent body language will allude to a comfortable posture that conveys a sense of self-control and confidence in one's abilities.
Strategies for coming off as self-assured
Your body language is going to be a huge help in establishing that connection with the audience.
Your audience will see at a glance that you lack self-assurance if you give the impression of being tense, apprehensive, or stressed out while you are speaking. As a consequence, you will fail to capture their attention and harm your credibility in relation to the topic you are addressing. The following tips may help:
Start at your shoulders and work down to your ankles, stacking one joint atop the next.
Ensure that your shoulder blades are pulled back towards your back and that you keep your shoulders relaxed and away from your ears. In addition, let them fall naturally down your back and spread your collarbones to project an image of tranquilly. Always keep your shoulders back and avoid hunching or rolling them forward.
Raise the top of your breastbone so it is facing straight upwards, and do this without bringing your lower front ribs forward.
Contract your abdominal muscles and hold them softly, without allowing them to droop.
Maintaining good posture can help you exude confidence while also assisting you in taking control of your voice. Therefore, be sure to maintain a healthy posture whenever you are on stage.
Keep your jaw flexible
One who is skilled in public speaking exudes an air of self-assurance via their articulate and precise speech. It is impossible to do so unless you maintain an open mouth and flexible jaw.
People who have a history of being nervous or uncomfortable in public settings sometimes restrict the range of motion of their jaw muscles and clench their jaws more tightly. This may appear to be an easy fix, but it is really rather common.
If you pronounce your words correctly, enunciate, and project a strong voice, you will be better able to convey the ideas that you are trying to communicate. That can be helped by loosening up your jaw.
Therefore, before going on stage to give that big presentation, make an effort to loosen up the muscles in your jaw by stretching them out. This will help you talk with more assurance.
Be cheerful and active.
People that lack confidence typically have a low amount of energy, and it is very obvious why. Therefore, if you want to convey confidence, you should keep your demeanour upbeat and lively. You should really let your magnetic personality show through on the audience since everyone in the crowd is looking for the speaker to have some form of passion. It is a desirable quality in public speakers to be able to convey their material with complete and total delight, since this allows them to capture the attention of their audience.
On the other side, if you have a delivery that is dull and lifeless with a low monotonous voice, uninterested facial expressions, and a general air of lethargy, this is a formula for losing the attention of an audience in you.
One further essential component is that your energy should exude organically rather than appearing artificial or forced. It should come naturally from your genuine excitement about the event and about the opportunity to share ideas. If you try to exaggerate it or fake it, it will be obvious, and it might have the opposite effect on new speakers. The audience may become frustrated or overwhelmed by the artificial over-the-top excitement.
The best strategy is to radiate positive energy from inside, which should be bright and warm. You will be able to walk and talk with confidence if, before stepping on stage, you devote some of your mental and emotional attention to yourself and take a few seconds to bring yourself into the present moment and find your centre.
Do not overdo it
Even if it is essential to do things like keep excellent body language, eye contact, hand gestures, and a strong voice, among other things, overdoing it or overthinking your efforts can do just as much harm as good.
If you are very concerned with achieving mechanical perfection in everything you do, others will perceive you as being unauthentic or dishonest. You should instead focus on exuding the charisma that comes naturally to you.
Therefore, ensure that you are standing up straight, that your shoulders are pulled back, and that your chin is kept up: adopting this physical posture will automatically boost your level of confidence. Keep your attention on the good results that came from your efforts. It will assist you in sending nonverbal clues that communicate warmth and likeability.