Do you want to be better at speaking in front of an audience? Hereandrsquo;s a simple tip: stop trying to be perfect! Thatandrsquo;s the advice of public speaking expert Seymour Segnit.

Segnit, a well-known life coach who helps people overcome their fear of public speaking, says that many people inadvertently sabotage their speeches by setting too high a standard for themselves. In the process, they set themselves up for failure. Iandrsquo;m not saying you shouldnandrsquo;t try to be at your best, Segnit says, But donandrsquo;t obsess about it.

He is concerned about the cycle of negative thought that develops for people preparing to give a speech. As it is, most people are deeply afraid of speaking in front of a crowd, he says. If they expect their speech to be flawless, they are likely to experience panic when they make some minor gaffe. Of course youandrsquo;re going to make a mistake! Segnit says, You arenandrsquo;t perfect! No one is.

Some of the best public speakers of our generation andndash; including Tony Robins and Barak Obama - make speaking mistakes and trip over their words. But they donandrsquo;t get flustered by these minor gaffes. andldquo;They simply move on, or they brush it off with a little humor,andrdquo;
Advice? Just be as good as you can and enjoy the ride!
Segnit, whose company CTRN helps people overcome the fear of public speaking, has created a series of video lessons on dealing with speaking anxiety.

andldquo;There are lots of great resources out there about public speaking,andrdquo; he says, andldquo;But very few of them deal with the psychological aspects of giving a speech, and thatandrsquo;s what most people are really struggling with.andrdquo; Among his lessons, he encourages people to visualize a success scenario for the day of their speech.
andldquo;Most people dread giving a talk,andrdquo; he says, andldquo;So they wake up in the morning thinking andlsquo;Oh no! I have to give my speech today. I just know itandrsquo;s going to go badly.andrdquo;
But it doesnandrsquo;t have to be that way. Instead of envisioning a bad result, why not envision a successful speech that you feel great about?

andldquo;Why not?andrdquo; asks Segnit. andldquo;The dread you feel is just a made up result for something that hasnandrsquo;t happened yet. Why not make up a good result instead?andrdquo;

He encourages people to imagine their entire day up to the point where they finish their speech. andldquo;Imagine waking up and looking forward to your speech. Imagine it in detail, and imagine it as if you were experiencing it through your own eyes,andrdquo; he says, andldquo;Thatandrsquo;s very important.andrdquo;
But doesnandrsquo;t a success scenario mean you are trying to give a perfect speech? Segnit sees no contradiction.
andldquo;Successful speeches arenandrsquo;t perfect, and neither are successful speakers,andrdquo; he says. andldquo;But successful speakers donandrsquo;t undermine themselves with negativity.andrdquo;

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