20 Ways to Build Self Confidence in Public Speaking

20 Ways to Build Self-Confidence in Public Speaking

Public speaking is a powerful life skill, but for many, it’s also a major source of fear.

The mere thought of speaking in front of a group can trigger sweaty palms, shaky voices, and racing hearts.

Yet, the ability to express your thoughts clearly and confidently in front of others can open doors in both your personal and professional life.

The truth is, no one is born a confident speaker. It’s a skill built with intentional practice, strategy, and experience.

If you’ve ever felt that you “just aren’t a speaker,” it’s time to challenge that belief.

To build self-confidence in public speaking doesn’t mean the absence of nerves; it means you’ve learned to manage them, speak with clarity, and stand grounded in your message.

These 20 techniques will not only help you overcome anxiety but also help you grow into a speaker who captivates, informs, and inspires.

Here’s how to build lasting self-confidence as a speaker, one step at a time:

1. Know Your Material Inside and Out

When you thoroughly understand your topic, you naturally speak with more authority and comfort.

Instead of worrying about forgetting your next point, you can focus on your tone, energy, and delivery.

Knowing your material gives you a strong foundation to stand on. Rather than simply memorising a script, aim to deeply internalise the main ideas.

If you’re familiar with the structure of your talk and the key takeaways, you’ll be able to adapt in real time if something unexpected happens, like a technical issue or a time limit change.

The more confident you feel in your knowledge, the more natural and fluid your presentation will become.

Audiences respond to confidence, and that confidence starts with mastery of your subject.

2. Practice Out Loud and Often

Practising in your head is not enough. Speaking your talk out loud allows you to hear how the words sound, where you stumble, and how your pacing feels.

It also helps you get used to the rhythm of your speech and find a natural flow.

The more you practice aloud, the less dependent you’ll be on your notes. You’ll build muscle memory, which reduces mental strain when you’re actually speaking.

This also helps you deliver your message with more spontaneity and authenticity.

Practising often also gives you the chance to refine and improve your skills.

Record yourself using any of the available free software to enhance audio quality or rehearse in front of a friend.

Each repetition helps you to build self-confidence and fluency.

3. Record Yourself and Watch It Back

Recording your speech might feel awkward at first, but it’s one of the best ways to identify what’s working and what’s not.

Watching yourself allows you to observe things you may miss in the moment, like distracting gestures, rushed delivery, or lack of eye contact.

As you analyse the playback, pay attention to your tone, clarity, and body language. Are you engaging? Do you seem relaxed? Are you smiling when appropriate?

All these elements affect how the audience perceives you, and how you perceive yourself.

This technique gives you a clear path for improvement. Over time, you’ll be able to track your progress and feel proud of how far you’ve come. 

4. Start Small to Build Momentum

If you’re new to public speaking, it’s best to begin with smaller audiences in low-pressure environments.

These could be team meetings, book clubs, classroom presentations, or even casual storytelling at social gatherings.

Small wins are confidence boosters. They provide you with real-time feedback and allow you to experiment without overwhelming pressure.

This is one of the most efficient ways to build confidence and self-esteem in adults. You’ll learn how to respond to different energy levels and engagement styles from the audience.

As your comfort grows, you can gradually take on bigger speaking opportunities. With every step, your confidence builds until you’re ready to handle larger and more formal audiences.

5. Use Deep Breathing to Stay Grounded

Nerves often manifest physically: a racing heart, sweaty palms, or a shaky voice. Deep breathing is a quick and effective way to calm your body and mind.

It sends signals to your nervous system that you’re safe and in control.

Before speaking, take a few minutes to practice deep belly breathing, inhaling slowly for a count of four, holding for four, and exhaling for four.

This grounds you and reduces the fight-or-flight response.

You can also use breathing to pace yourself during your speech. Pausing to breathe helps you collect your thoughts and stay composed throughout your delivery.

6. Visualise a Successful Speech

Visualisation is a mental rehearsal that primes your brain for confidence and success.

Before your talk, close your eyes and vividly imagine yourself walking on stage, speaking clearly, engaging the audience, and receiving positive feedback.

When you do this regularly, your brain starts to accept this imagined success as familiar, which reduces anxiety during the actual event.

This is a technique used by elite athletes and performers across the world.

Make the imagery as detailed as possible, what you’re wearing, how the audience looks, and how you feel during and after the talk.

The more real it feels in your mind, the more prepared and confident you’ll feel in reality. This is also one of the major ways to be the best version of yourself.

7. Focus on the Audience, Not Yourself

Many speaking fears come from overthinking your own performance.

What if I mess up? What if they don’t like me? But when you shift your focus to the audience, what they need, what they want to hear, you take the pressure off yourself.

Ask yourself, “How can I serve these people?” or “What message do they need from me right now?” When your goal is to provide value, you automatically become more confident and less self-conscious.

This shift also helps you connect more genuinely.

Audiences can sense when a speaker cares more about them than about being perfect, and that connection builds trust and confidence.

8. Dress in a Way That Supports Confidence

The way you dress affects how you feel. Wearing clothes that make you feel comfortable, polished, and professional can immediately elevate your confidence before stepping on stage.

Choose an outfit that fits the context of your talk, something appropriate for your audience and the setting.

Avoid clothes that are too tight, distracting, or unfamiliar, as they may cause discomfort or insecurity.

This is one of the most helpful tips for happiness in daily life. When you feel good in your outfit, you’re more likely to project confidence with your posture, facial expressions, and tone.

It’s a simple but powerful part of your speaker toolkit, which contributes to building your confidence in public speaking.

9. Know Your Audience Before You Speak

Understanding your audience helps you tailor your message for maximum impact.

Are they professionals, students, or creatives? What do they already know, and what do they care about?

Doing a bit of research allows you to speak more directly to their interests, concerns, or language.

You’ll also feel more prepared, which increases your comfort level when addressing them.

This preparation makes you feel less like an outsider and more like someone who belongs in the room.

That mindset shift alone can boost your speaking confidence significantly.

10. Open Strong to Set the Tone

The first 30 seconds of your speech are crucial. A powerful opening grabs attention, sets the mood, and builds immediate credibility.

When your first lines go well, it builds your own confidence too.

You could start with a story, a quote, a surprising fact, or a thought-provoking question. 

Avoid flat openings like “Hi, I’m here to talk about…”, go for something that draws people in.

When your audience leans in, you feel the shift, and that energy boost helps carry you smoothly into the rest of your presentation.

It’s important to avoid straying too far from your main point in an attempt to be shocking.

For example, if your topic is “How assumptions affect communication,” making a joke about current fuel prices may not be appropriate. Therefore, considering context is crucial.

11. Replace Negative Self-Talk with Positive Affirmations

Your thoughts shape your experience. If you constantly tell yourself, “I’m not good at this” or “I always mess up,” your brain starts believing it, and your confidence plummets.

Negative self-talk reinforces fear and creates mental blocks before you even step onto the stage.

Start replacing those thoughts with positive, supportive affirmations. Say things like, “I’m improving every time I speak,” “My message matters,” or “I have value to share.”

Repeat these statements daily, especially before presentations, to rewire your mindset.

Over time, this shift in internal dialogue will help reduce anxiety and increase your belief in your ability.

Confidence grows from the inside out, and positive affirmations are powerful tools to help you speak from a place of strength.

12. Accept That Nervousness is Natural

Even seasoned professionals feel butterflies before a big presentation.

The difference is that they’ve learned to manage those nerves instead of letting them take over.

Rather than resisting anxiety, acknowledge it. Say, “This is just my body preparing me to do something important.” When you accept nerves as normal rather than a sign of failure, they become easier to handle.

Channelling your nervous energy into passion and focus is one of the most productive ways to build self-confidence.

A little adrenaline can actually sharpen your performance and give your delivery extra intensity if you learn to work with it instead of fighting against it.

13. Ask for Constructive Feedback and Use It Wisely

Feedback is one of the fastest ways to grow as a speaker.

After each presentation, ask trusted friends, colleagues, or mentors for their honest observations. What worked well? What could be improved? How did your message land?

Hearing outside perspectives helps you uncover blind spots and areas for growth.

You might learn that your pacing was too fast, your gestures too small, or that your storytelling was particularly effective.

These insights are invaluable. Don’t take feedback personally; it’s not judgment, but a gift. Use it as a roadmap to fine-tune your skills and build a better version of yourself as a communicator.

14. Join a Public Speaking Group or Club

There’s no better way to build consistent confidence than through regular speaking practice in a supportive environment.

Public speaking groups like Toastmasters offer a safe space to learn, experiment, and grow without fear of harsh judgment.

Being around others who understand why the comfort zone is dangerous and are also working to improve their speaking skills helps normalise the process.

You’ll learn from their experiences, pick up new techniques, and gain encouragement from shared successes and setbacks.

Over time, speaking in front of a group becomes second nature. What once felt terrifying starts to feel routine, and that shift is the very essence of lasting confidence.

15. Use Confident Posture and Body Language

Your body influences your mind. Standing tall with your shoulders back, feet grounded, and head held high signals confidence, not just to your audience, but to yourself.

This posture activates a mental state of alertness and control.

Avoid crossing your arms, slouching, or pacing. Instead, use open, intentional gestures that reinforce your words.

Make eye contact with different sections of the room to establish a connection and command attention.

As you become more aware of your physical presence, you’ll begin to notice how your body language directly affects your tone and delivery. Confident movement builds a confident message.

16. Embrace Pauses Instead of Rushing

Many nervous speakers talk too quickly because they’re afraid of silence.

But silence is not your enemy; it’s a tool. Strategic pauses give your audience time to absorb your message and allow you time to breathe and think.

Pausing after an important point adds emphasis. It signals to your audience that what you just said matters.

It also gives you the mental space to regroup if you lose your place or need to adjust on the fly.

Learning to control the rhythm of your speech through well-timed pauses will not only enhance your impact but also calm your nerves, leading to greater overall confidence.

In everyday conversations, using silence to reflect on what the other person has said before responding can be one of the significant ways to improve your listening skills. 

17. Recover from Mistakes with Humour and Grace

Mistakes happen; every speaker trips over words, forgets a point, or experiences technical difficulties now and then.

What separates confident speakers is how they recover from those moments. If you make a mistake, acknowledge it with a smile, correct it, and move on.

Sometimes, a little humour or self-awareness goes a long way in building rapport with your audience.

They appreciate honesty and authenticity more than robotic perfection.

Learning to roll with unexpected challenges builds resilience.

The more you recover smoothly from mistakes, the more your brain learns that “messing up” isn’t the end of the world, and your confidence soars as a result.

18. Celebrate Every Small Victory

Public speaking improvement doesn’t happen overnight. That’s why it’s crucial to recognise and celebrate progress, no matter how small.

Maybe you spoke up in a meeting, held better eye contact, or felt less nervous than last time; that’s a win.

Celebrating these moments reinforces your growth mindset.

It keeps you motivated, helps you appreciate the journey, and reminds you that you’re getting better with every effort.

You can even keep mementoes from your good days to help you through the bad days.

Documenting the occasions that you speak well is one of the best journaling ideas for self-growth, and it helps to keep you grateful and grounded.

To build self-confidence in public speaking isn’t achieved from one big speech; it’s built from many small victories stacked together over time. Acknowledge them. They matter more than you think.

19. Study Great Speakers and Learn from Them

Confidence can be contagious, especially when you watch and learn from those who already have it.

Study great speakers online: TED Talks, keynote speeches, or historical addresses.

Pay attention to how they structure their message, use their voice, and connect with the audience.

Notice the small things: their pacing, their eye contact, their body movement. Try to understand what makes them memorable or powerful.

Then, adapt those techniques into your own unique speaking style.

You don’t have to imitate anyone. But borrowing what works and shaping it to fit your voice will make you feel more equipped and inspired, and that leads directly to greater confidence.

20. Speak Regularly to Keep the Momentum

Like any other skill, public speaking requires consistent practice. The more often you speak, the more comfortable you become.

Look for opportunities to speak in team briefings, community events, virtual meetings, or local workshops.

Repetition helps desensitise you to fear. What once triggered anxiety starts to feel routine, and with that routine comes comfort, familiarity, and increased self-assurance.

Don’t wait for the perfect event or ideal circumstances. Doing what you love as many times as you can is one of the primary daily routine ideas for a happy life.

Every time you speak, no matter how small the audience, you’re adding a layer to your confidence foundation.

Keep going. Keep speaking. It pays off. 

Wrap-up

Building self-confidence in public speaking isn’t a trait you’re born with; it’s a skill you build, step by step.

By combining preparation, mindset shifts, practice, and feedback, you begin to transform your fear into focus and your nervous energy into meaningful expression.

There’s no shortcut to mastering public speaking, but there is a clear path: start small, speak often, and improve constantly.

Remember, your goal isn’t to be perfect, it’s to be real, prepared, and impactful.

With time, your voice will no longer tremble when you speak. It will resonate with clarity, courage, and confidence.

And when that happens, you won’t just be speaking to an audience, you’ll be moving them.