Suddenly, your palms begin to sweat as your heart beats intensely against your chest. You thought it would explode soon, judging by the intensity, but it didn’t. You wished this moment would pass swiftly, and you also hope you haven’t made a fool of yourself.

You are not alone, and the reality is that many people have had problems expressing themselves at one point in their life. Some succeed in overcoming it, while some are battling it every day like a monster. Here is the truth: Effective communication is a raw element of success, and you can’t do without it.

Although most times, you might escape speaking to a large group of people, you won’t be able to slip through in your day to day communication requirements. Sometimes, situations would demand you to speak to a group of strangers, and nothing would save you, except for your current communication skills.

To become a confident communicator, here are a few tips that would help you.

1. Be yourself
One of the major mistakes people make during communication is to imitate someone they admire. It could be someone exceptional at speaking or a mentor. With such a borrowed vibe, you see them struggling to keep up. It is like a fish trying to walk on sand. It might succeed for a while, but failure still awaits.

To become a confident communicator who communicates effectively, you must learn to be yourself. To do that, you need to indulge in a whole lot of practice. You have to discover your voice and some techniques that help. Perhaps walking around keeps you calm, or maybe holding a bottle of water.

Envision your audience and think of them as friends. Think about how you talk to your group of friends. Imagine how relaxed you often appear and how there is no tension. That is the feeling and nature you need to bring up. Take some deep breaths, relax, and talk as you would to your friends. By frequently doing this, you will discover your unique style.

2. Focus on your audience and not yourself
There is no harm in making some references to yourself, but too much would probably repel your audience. That is the last feeling you want to evoke. To better communicate, try to make a lot of direct sentences using “YOU.”

If you can master this craft, everyone on the audience would feel almost as if you’re speaking directly to them. Your audience gets spellbound, hypnotized by you! This trick keeps their attention on you, and they might even forget to blink. But when there is a lot of “I” in your sentences, it becomes a turn-off.

3. Practice
The practice is the difference between winners and losers. You don’t become outstanding suddenly. Nah! You must work consistently to improve, to get better. In your bedroom, face the mirror and talk. You can practice on children if it makes you more comfortable. Great speakers today didn’t emerge overnight. They worked on their craft, consistently till they got better.

Another mistake people make is to stop practising after reaching a few milestones. Don’t fall into that trap. Even great speakers like TD Jakes never stop practising. No matter how good you think, you’ve become, never stop practising. Good speakers have mastered the craft of communication and have quit improving.

Great speakers, on the other hand, are continually growing in every sphere of their development.

4. Watch other great speakers
There are lots of great speakers to watch, like Tony Robbins, Les Brown and Eric Thomas. You must not copy them, but you can steal some ingredients that would help you become a better and confident communicator.

By watching these great speakers, you learn how they comport themselves on stage, how they present their topic of discussion, and how lively and free they make the environment. Don’t be the type that would say, “Aw. I can never be this good”.

The fact this, these so-called great speakers were once like you. Yes, pretty much like you, if not worse. But through determination and constant practice, they were able to hit the jackpot. Don’t just watch one speaker, watch as many as you can. Try to bring all the uniqueness together and incorporate it in yours. To be a fantastic and confident communicator, it demands you learn from the best and steal a few tips from them.

5. Video Yourself
At first, you will look so weird on camera. That is the moment you discover how ridiculous your side profile is, or maybe how plump your lips are. Don’t allow your inner insecurities to hit you and become a source of distraction. Your aim at this point is to master effective communication, and that should be your focus.

Being on camera is to watch how you perform, then make adjustments where needed. Perhaps you’re talking too fast or slow. Or maybe you’re forcing the speech or sounding robotic. Remember, you’re still trying to get the hang of it. You won’t master it overnight. But with frequent practice, you will notice a tremendous improvement.

Most of the time, you might turn out to be your most prominent critic. To ensure you’re not too hard on yourself, forward your video to someone more experienced. They would be able to make an honest assessment and also point a few areas that need more work.

6. Know your content cold
Nothing beats knowing your content. By knowing your stuff, you eliminate chances of stuttering or so many “ermm” in your speech. By knowing your content, you can create a terrific intro that captivates your audience immediately.

You need to do research before your presentation or speech. You must bury yourself in it and know the nitty-gritty. In cases where a member of the audience throws a question, you will be able to tackle it without sweating.

By knowing your content cold, you tend to speak with more confidence and alertness. You talk like an expert, and your audience would have no choice but to remain calm and pay full attention.

But when you don’t know your content well, your audience would perceive this. Pray never to find yourself in that situation, because it doesn’t always end well. Know your content, and your delivery would be a bomb.

7. Take Action
Days and nights of practice aren’t where it ends. You need to start speaking. Start with little gatherings, then walk your way to the top. There are lots of social groups that you can join that give individuals opportunities to express themselves.

When you do it once, twice, and thrice, you discover that speaking is not a big deal. It is merely an avenue to educate, motivate, or pass across a piece of information. Don’t waste time practising in your bedroom; there is no better place to practice than a stage filled with people.

Wrapping Up!
There are lots of tips out there when it comes to being a confident communicator. Among them all, you will notice that practice is an ingredient all of them have. If you want to be better, you need to be determined and practice a lot. Practice until you can’t anymore!

Chris C Aniche

Chris Chinedu has a accountPublic Speaking & Confidence Coach, Lawyer, Speaker and Author

CEO of Essex Public Speaking Academy

Website: https://essexpublicspeakingacademy.com/

Email: Chris@essexpublicspeakingacademy.com

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