YES, AND...

WINGING IT

In our introduction, we met Joanna as she prepped for her big interview. She wrote out some talking points with her audience in mind, but she also wants to appear natural, confident, and authentic when she's speaking.

So, how does she do that? Doesn't being natural and authentic imply spontaneous flexibility? How exactly do you prepare to be spontaneous, anyway?

Small Talk, Big Results

You might not think standing around the water cooler with your colleagues as you recount the weekend is a public speaking engagement, but you can turn it into rehearsal time if you want.

Have an elevator pitch you've been dying to get feedback on? Even if you don't have something specific you need to communicate with Kelly in accounting, you can use your chat to practice pacing, variation in cadence, pitch, and tone, but more importantly, you can use it as chance to reflect on how you respond in the moment to questions you didn't anticipate coming your way.

Ever opened your mouth and nothing came out, or experienced a truly cringe-worthy moment when you sounded like a blathering idiot? Everybody's been there at some point, but you can also rehearse sounding more articulate, even while standing around the water cooler.

Slate published the best answer to a question posed on Quora: "How do you become more articulate in everyday speech? Read the article here. It's chock-full o' tips on using every interaction as a way to practice your speech and overcome fear on the big day.

As you read, consider the following points:

• Which speech variables (pitch pauses, speed, voice projection, sentence length) do you believe are your strengths? Which are areas where you need improvement?

• How do you vary your vocabulary to match your audience?

• What celebrity public figure has a polished public speaking style you'd like to emulate? (We like Michelle Obama).

• What two or three tips would you like to incorporate in your next water cooler conversation?

Book More Speeches

One of the best ways to decrease fear and anxiety around any activity—whether it's a fear of heights, fear of spiders, fear of small spaces, whatever—is through exposure therapy.

As the therapist gradually exposes the client to the fearful stimulus, in closer and closer proximity and for longer periods of time, the client uses relaxation strategies to manage anxiety around the stimulus. Eventually, many clients are able to completely eradicate their fears.

But uh, if you have a paralyzing fear of heights, we don't recommend you sign up for sky diving tomorrow. Take it slow, people.

If you're like most people, you fear public speaking on some level, and you can help ease that fear by creating your own kind of exposure therapy by booking even more speeches. They say practice makes perfect, so the more you speak publicly, and even more importantly, the more you reflect on those experiences and make goals for your next event, the better you're going to get and the less fear you'll have around public speaking in general.

You can start with low-stakes opportunities, such as:

• Giving the update on your department's progress at the upcoming all-staff meeting.

• Introducing a speaker at a conference you're attending.

• Canvassing door-to-door for a political candidate.

If you start to feel confident in these situations, up the ante a little:

• Give a three-minute speech to local school board about the need for an art program in your child's school.

• Join your local Toastmasters group and prepare a speech for each meeting.

• Tell a story at a local storytelling event like The Moth.

If you're really on a roll, try these opportunities on for size:

• Create an animated slideshow and present your proposal at your company's next board meeting, leaving time for a question and answer session.

• Write a set of jokes and try them out on an audience at a local open mic event. (Warning: Don't expect this to be a confidence booster, but definitely expect to get immediate feedback).

• Give a speech at a local TedX event.

Try to think of two or three opportunities you might have to practice your public speaking. After these events, be sure to reflect on what you feel you did well, what you need to work on, and how you'll incorporate that feedback into your next performance.

Nobody said practicing was easy, but taking risks is all part of conquering our fears.

Improv Love

Speaking of risk-takers—have you even watched an improv show like "Whose Line is It Anyway" and thought, "Exactly how does Wayne Brady make up those perfectly rhyming lyrics on the spot?"

The show's not scripted, but yeah, Wayne Brady's a master improviser because he's practiced, practiced, practiced. He listened to thousands of songs from a range of decades and genres—country, R&B, rock, pop, folk, alternative—until he could mimic the conventions of each genre and the mannerisms of each performer.

And then he got up on stage, night after night, and practiced. He made lots of mistakes, fell on his face more than once, but he got up and kept going.

"Sure, but Wayne Brady's not afraid speaking in public the way I am," you might be thinking. Maybe not now, but as child, Brady stuttered, and often stayed quiet as a way to avoid being bullied. (Source)

Performance and improv helped Brady overcome his fears, and it can help you, too. If you live near a Second City or Upright Citizen's Brigade training center, you can't go wrong with an introductory improv class. Comedy clubs in many cities offer improv classes, as do community centers, colleges, and theaters.

In improv, you'll learn (at least) three fundamental things:

• Know that everything you say and do is right

• Trust your instinct

• Reserve judgment of self and others

Once you've got these basic precepts under your belt, you'll feel confident enough to take even bolder risks. Maybe you'll graduate to level two improv and join a cast of travelling sketch comedians.

Or maybe you'll just have to drop the mic after your killer speech at the PTA meeting.

Introverts Unite

For the introvert's perspective on conquering fear of public speaking through preparation, read this article from The New York Times. As you read, consider the following questions:

• Was the author's bad public speaking experience in college a result of not knowing her topic well enough or simply not being prepared?

• What did the author learn about giving a speech from memory?

• How does the author gain knowledge of her audience to help tailor her speech?

Back to Joanna

We started our lesson with Joanna's story. She was preparing for a big interview, and she knew she tended to get nervous in high-stake situations like this.

The good news is Joanna had been preparing for the interview months before she submitted her application. How?

• She'd been making an effort to engage and talk with her coworkers during lunchtime, practicing her small talk.

• Joanna volunteered to be her local Red Cross emergency liason, requiring her to give brief progress updates every month at the neighborhood council meeting.

• She joined an improv class at her local community college and performed a set of observational humor at an open mic event.

• She checked the LinkedIn profiles of the interview panel members so she could target her comments toward their interests.

After enduring a tepid audience at the open mic, Joanna realized the interview would be a piece of cake.

And btw…she got the job.