Overcoming Anxiety and Building Credibility in Public Speaking
We know credibility is important. Not only have scholars noted it, real-life experience also tells us that a speech delivered by someone in whom we lack trust is unlikely to move us or to impress us. We have all witnessed speeches that fell flat and well short of the speaker’s goals simply because they were difficult to trust. Imagine an insurance seminar provided by someone who had a difficulty pronouncing common industry terms correctly, or a speech about a highly complicated political matter delivered by a child. In either case, regardless of the actual content of the speech, it will not be a great success. A lack of credibility can ruin an otherwise perfect speech.
Of course, the examples noted are egregious. Rarely will credibility problems be quite that pronounced. However, there are often cases when a speech can be adversely impacted by a lack of ethos. Plus, all speeches can certainly benefit from a speaker who possesses a great deal of credibility with the audience. There are few ways to help improve one’s credibility when presenting a speech that should be evaluated. Anyone interesting in improving their public speaking skills will benefit from understanding these techniques.
First, one can spend some time in the speech intentionally developing their credentials. Often, you will see this done briefly at the beginning of a speech. It is almost like an oral delivery of the speakers resume, designed to advise the audience of the speaker’s qualifications. In other cases, speakers will more subtly make references to their own history, experience or expertise throughout a speech in order to bolster their credibility. Introductions to a speaker delivered by a host or other person can serve this function as well. This is an obvious way to boost credibility. However, one must be sure not to appear to lack humility. If one spends too much time discussing their expertise and how qualified they are, it can begin to seem like more of a self-serving boast than a necessary speech component.
Second, one must make sure that the speak the audience’s language. This is not meant merely in a literal sense of course. Understanding an audience is critical to speechmaking success, and can play a role in credibility. By using language and concepts to which an audience can effectively relate, the speaker is perceived as a believable and credible source of information on the subject matter. This area of credibility building would also include making sure that any terms commonly used by practitioners in the subject matter are used correctly and pronounced properly.
Third, one can improve their credibility immediately by reducing their level of visible speech anxiety. We naturally tend to find those who seem calm and collected as more reliable information and opinion sources than those who might seem fidgety or unsure of themselves. The appearance of confidence can elevate questionable public speakers to the level of apparent experts in and of itself. Speech anxiety is, of course, a common problem. Fortunately, many of those expert in the subject matter have developed tested techniques to help conquer the fear of presentation.
Finally, appropriate appearance can assist in building ethos. One could argue that this is a matter of elitism and potentially discriminatory, and they would have a point. Speeches would, in a perfect world, be judged by their content and logic, not by the appearance of the speaker. However, in our imperfect real world things such as style of dress and grooming do make a difference in how audiences respond to presentations. Dressing in a manner consistent with audience expectations and maintaining other norms in appearance can help to build credibility. Only the most talented public speakers can overcome this fact and it is a very rare few who can actually use their uniqueness in appearance or style as a means of improving their ethos.
These techniques can help a speaker build their credibility. Since a high level of ethos is essential to successful public speaking, anyone planning to play the role of presenter should be acquainted with them.
