Improve your public speaking skills

Poor public speaking skills limit both your wages and career progression according to one expert.

Communications coach John Deery who runs the Public Speaking Course says that those who fail to face their fear of speaking in public are putting themselves at a professional disadvantage, with their incomes likely to be impaired up to 10% and promotion prospects shrinking by 15%.

Those figures are from a Columbia University study. Studies have shown that the fear of public speaking or glossophobia affects as many as three in four of the population yet just 8% of people have taken deliberate measures to overcome it.

John Deery added that a fear of public speaking also affects the student population, reducing the likelihood of college graduation by 10%.

There are expectations in the UK that their government may make public speaking an educational priority in their upcoming curriculum review.

He said: “Humans are hardwired to be cautious about public speaking. We are social animals who evolved to rely on the group and so to avoid anything that might reduce our standing within it, like speaking out of turn.

“The good news is that modern psychology has given us tools to override our programming and while some of the techniques we deploy on the public speaking course are specific to the individual, many can be applied to every public speaking situation.

His examples include:

If you can, always check out where you are speaking beforehand. Break the ‘fear’ of the room

Before you begin, take slow, conscious breaths - in through the nose and out through the mouth. Your exhale should last twice as long as your inhale. This will calm you down in any situation

Stay present - be in the now

Remember you are telling a story - focus on the beginning, middle and end

Make eye contact with your audience where possible, but not in a weird way! Just for a split second, taking in all areas of the room

Use your body. Take up space. Don’t apologise for being there - just be fully present, no matter what happens during your talk If you make a mistake or go blank, acknowledge it

The Public Speaking Course runs monthly in Dublin and Cork.

Full details and booking information for the one-day intensive, which takes place on Saturdays, can be found at thepublicspeakingcourse.com. Communications coach John Deery delivers the Public Speaking Course on a monthly basis in Dublin and Cork.

He works with individuals, groups and organisations including global brands like Unilever, Apple and JP Morgan.