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Three Tips on Speaking and Presenting

     Many people struggle to find the right words when speaking or presenting.  Whether they get in their own head, lack confidence, or are unprepared, not feeling equipped to speak is disappointing.  The only way to become a master speaker is to practice, and there are numerous ways to do so.  For one, many people make sure they do their research before speaking.  People also hype themselves up in order to increase their confidence levels.  Also, to combat anxiety when speaking, breathing exercises and different ways of thinking help in calming the mind and regaining focus.  We will go into more detail in a minute but just remember, no matter how young or old you are, it is never too late to improve your speaking skills.  The more you learn, the more confident you feel in life.
     First, doing research is the best way to feel confident when speaking.  If you are not prepared, you will most likely be lost for words.  Of course, you cannot prepare for every conversation completely but there are many different questions and strategies one can learn to broaden their speaking skills.  For example, simple questions such as, 'How are you?' or, 'Tell me about yourself.' as cliche, as they may sound, are perfect conversation starters.  They get the ball rolling and allow the other person(s) to contribute to the conversation, and if there is one thing people like to do it is to talk about themselves.  By doing this, you seem like a good conversationalist while saying very little.  
     When it comes to presenting, you have time to prepare and learn about the topic you'll be talking about.  Take the time to get to know the subject and practice what you are going to say.  Have questions ready for the audience so they can contribute and to keep them engaged.  The more prepared you are, the easier it will be to speak.  When we know about what we are talking about, we have more confidence when speaking about it.  We have to think less about what we are going to say and the speech flow is more natural.
     Second, to feel more confident there are ways to hype yourself up.  For example, positive reinforcement, such as telling yourself, 'I can do this,' can effectively boost your confidence and mood.  The more you hype yourself up, the easier it will be to speak to people in any setting, including presentations.  We tend to lean towards the negative because we often lack confidence in ourselves.  We can turn this around if we allow ourselves to do so, and when we do it is very rewarding.  Some of you may be skeptical but trust me when I say self-positivity is truly effective and has been proven to boost your mood and confidence.
     Lastly, if the confidence boosts do not work, it is probably because you are stressed or anxious.  This is perfectly natural and can be easily combated.  When we get in our own head like this, we have to mentally relax.  Deep breathing helps here because we focus more on breathing than the nerve-wracking situation.  Forgetting about what is stressing us out, even if it is for a minute, can be quite helpful when it is time to perform.  We tend to make things more difficult than they actually are, and when we finally relax we can see that more clearly.  We start seeing the situation differently and not as stressful.  Other ways to relax mentally include sleep; distractions such as hobbies, or spending time with loved ones to get your mind off the situation.  If you are short on time, think of different things that make you happy or relaxed to distract you.  Find what calms you down and use it to better yourself in the long run.

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