Building your Confidence in Public Speaking
Build your confidence in public speaking with Media Mums
For our second Media Mums skill-sharing session, parents and volunteers Elsie, Omoyosola and Joanna share amazing activities and tips to help build your confidence in public speaking!
You can download their Public Speaking Hand Out Sheet
Warm Ups
Tongue Twisters
Tongue Twisters can relax your jaw and get your tongue and lips moving. Pretend you are chewing on some gum for 30 seconds or so. Practise the following tongue twister. It’s helpful to practise it slowly.
- Peter Piper Picked A Peck Of Pickled Peppers.
- How many Pickled Peppers did Peter Piper Picked
Body Scan
We spend so much time in our heads, it’s useful to check in with our bodies. This can help to promote relaxation, self-awareness and compassion for ourselves and others.
Follow the link for a guided body meditation scan.
Confidence booster
Our Great Qualities
We often spend a lot of time thinking about what is wrong with us, instead of what is right with us. It’s important to remember that we have some great qualities too, even if we forget about them from time to time.
Go back to the paragraph you wrote about the quality you like about yourself. Remember why you chose it. You can always choose a new quality to write about if the original isn’t helpful in your current situation.
Remember:
- What the quality is?
- Why you value this quality
- How have you demonstrated this quality in the past? This can be as big or small as you like
Finding Inspiration in Others
Looking to others for inspiration can help us feel more confident and help us identify how we would like to represent ourselves in public. It’s not inauthentic or fake, it’s about developing parts of yourself that you haven’t yet discovered as who we admire tells us a lot about ourselves.
Think of a person you admire. Close your eyes and imagine them. Stand in front of the mirror and stand or hold yourself like this person. Notice the changes in your body. Get to know yourself like this. It’s a part of you, you haven’t discovered yet. If you know what you are going to say then you can practice in front of the mirror
Find someone you trust
Find someone you trust who cares about you. Practice what you are going to say in front of them and ask them for constructive and kind feedback. When you are speaking in public and feel nervous, pretend you are speaking to that person.
Cheats and Tips
Eye contact
Eye contact can help us connect with others, but it can be intimidating.
If you are struggling, look at the gap between their eyes, where the nose starts. Nobody can tell the difference!
Wonder Woman
Power poses and smiling help reduce our stress hormones and boost our confidence hormones.
Stand in front of a mirror. Put your hands on your hips with stand with your legs apart like Wonder Woman. Smile even if you don’t feel like it for 30 seconds to a minute.
AND FINALLY REMEMBER …
PREPARE AND PRATICE
EVERYONE GETS NERVOUS ABOUT PUBLIC SPEAKING
IT’S OKAY IF THINGS GO WRONG
YOU’VE GOT THIS!
You can download their Public Speaking Hand Out Sheet