Public speaking is one of the toughest things you’ll ever do.

I know.

My first presentation was a disaster.

The experience was so bad that it’s a miracle I ever tried again.

Way back then, a primary key to overcoming my fear of public speaking was to change my thinking.

It’s easy to get carried away with the formality of a presentation…

• Everything needs to be perfect.
• You are responsible for all the talking.
• The audience are there to judge you.
• Questions are tough and are being asked to test you.

At least, that’s what it feels like.

Here’s how I changed my thinking. Here’s how I became a more confident speaker.

I started to think about presentations the same way I did about any other social interaction…

• Mistakes are normal.
• If you talk about only what you want to talk about your audience will stop listening.
• The audience should be the focus.
• Questions demonstrate interest.

Things started to change for me once I stopped focusing on myself.

When I focused on the audience everything became easier. My speaking became more natural. I stopped panicking. I stopped hating public speaking.

Treat a presentation like any other social interaction.

Give it a try next time.

READ: The 10 ingredients of a knockout presentation.