How can you overcome shyness or anxiety when speaking English in front of others?
17 answers from our tutors
Best answer
Saying this from my own experience: practice public speaking, generally. It is not as much about a specific language, but confidence in your rhetorical skills. There was nothing more terrifying throughout all of my education than speaking in front of other people. Did not matter how many of them. I was not able to overcome this fear until University level classes required of me to speak with confidence about my projects or research. To overcome this extreme fear of uttering a single word on a public forum with English being my second language, I started taking opportunities to speak instead of hiding. This was the only way to start speaking freely, while thinking about my next words without anxiety.
عن طريق الممارسة
Take a glass of water to the talk. Use the restroom immediately before the talk. Go to the room early early;, to prepare equipments and your podium. Practice your talk one last time. Challenge negative thinking - Continue positive thinking. Dress for success, Comfortably and appropriate for the situation. Look your best. ....
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- Sivuyile Bianca NtsongeA certified ESL teacher. Book and learn English like a PRO, join my class.
Be calm and be yourself
Yes ofcourse. The more practice you do the more perfect you get.
Role-play in class would be really helpful.
- JennyCertified ESL Teacher who helps her student in Conversational English.
Practice at home. Trust yourself.
Hope this ways could help 1. Explore fears and shyness--Why are so scared or too shy to speak in front of other people? 2. Identify weak points--Are you weak in sentence structure, grammar, pronunciation?--try to improve them. 3. Start by talking to one person. 4. Go to events where you can practice.
Take a deep breath and imagine you are at an empty room alone and enjoying.
- John Kenmuir(AKA John Connor) Cambridge certified teacher since 1998, former IELTS speaking examiner
Speaking is "muscle memory" (like breathing or blinking). Thinking about what to do while you're doing it only makes it harder. Lots of practice & experience builds confidence. Professional actors have a technique called "talking to the mirror". They stand in front of a mirror and talk to themselves. At first it seems silly but being able to see yourself when you're talking and knowing how others see you will build your confidence even more quickly.
Keep in mind that everyone makes mistakes. So if they do, why wouldn't you? And making mistakes is simply a part of the learning process. Besides, people are generally very happy they can talk to you, so they don't give a second thought to it if your language is not perfect.
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Best answer
Hi there. I can assist you with that. I specialise in TOEFL, IELTS, CAE and LanguageCert. I have a curriculum that I use along with the LiveXP teaching material.
