However, there are a number of things you can do to considerably reduce this fear and build your confidence so that communicating in public no longer fills you with terror.

We interviewed Maggie about her new book and got some great tips to help make you a better public speaker.

Confidence
The thought of public speaking may completely freak you out, but you can actually overcome this fear.

“The first thing I say to people is be yourself. Be natural – there’s no one else like you,” says Maggie. “Talk with imagery and talk in pictures. Use anecdotes – if you use anecdotes people will always remember the stories. And just believe in who you are.”

A big part of confidence is knowing your stuff, being prepared and being well rehearsed. Maggie believes it is important to always rehearse before you give a presentation. If you can watch yourself rehearse, even better. “The most powerful thing you can do is to get your speech filmed,” Maggie says. “It’s good to make mistakes, how else do you learn?”

Key tips to build self confidence:

Know your material inside out. You are the expert. Speak from the heart.

Body Language
Body language tells your audience exactly how you feel and what you’re thinking - it tells them a lot more than the words you actually speak. In fact 55% of your impact in communication is determined by your body language. Therefore you need to be aware of your body language and make sure it projects the right message.

“Women, especially younger women are often very conscious of how they look,” says Maggie. “Look at your posture – are you hunching or are you standing up straight? Often when we are embarrassed we will use closed body language like folded arms.”

Maggie also explains that gestures are important. “If you gesture, it means your voice has highs and lows and it shows you are confident. More importantly it looks expressive,” she says. “Make sure you really engage with your audience and have at least five to seven seconds of eye contact with different people.”

Key tips on body language:

Avoid unconscious gestures: this includes hand wringing, fiddling with jewellery or touching face and hair. These gestures convey nervousness.

Voice Tone
What makes some people’s presentations more persuasive or powerful than others? It often has a lot to do with the voice – those who speak with conviction and passion from the heart give presentations that are more memorable.  But how can you change your voice? Maggie believes it is very easy.

“Changing your voice is a decision,” she says. “It’s about the mind – if you have a negative thought in your mind like ‘I’ve got a quiet voice, nobody will hear me’, this will inevitably have an impact on your presentation. I believe we sometimes hide behind shyness. It’s important to say ‘I’m going to be heard’.”

Doing exercises before a presentation is a good way to ensure you are heard. The tongue is a muscle and you need to exercise the jaw by opening the mouth and enunciating the vowels.

Key tips to get a better voice:

Make eye contact with your audience: This will provide focus for your voice and help you make your audience listen.

First Impressions
A person makes a judgement about you within ten seconds of meeting you. That’s not very long to make a good impression! But these good impressions can lead to friendships, networking, business relationships and even make you money. So how do we make sure the first impression we make is a good one?

Maggie believes that putting effort into things is a vital part of making a good impression. “We put effort into going out on a date – we think about it for weeks; what am I going to wear? We put all this effort into the date because we want to make a good impression on the date. We want that person to like us.”

What you wear has a big impact on the impression you create. You need to decide how you want people to see you. Do you want to be viewed as conservative, funky edgy or sweet? As well as this it’s important to dress appropriately for the situation.

Key tips on making a good impression: