Overcome Your Fear Of Public Speaking (according to Dan M. Jones)
I sat in the car park of Didsbury Speakers (Toastmasters) club, feeling like I was about to have a panic attack at the thought of walking into a public speaking class.
6 months later I’m president of the very same club and have performed stand up comedy in front of over 100 people at the Frog and Bucket Comedy club.
My fear of public speaking had completely gone away.
Toastmasters (Didsbury Speakers) was a big part of that, but there were a few other things that helped too.
I’ve shared these consistently during my presidency, but as that comes to an end I wanted to document this here to hopefully help someone else in the future.
And here’s my promise to you: if you do as I say, you will destroy your fear of public speaking in 6 months (or less).
I truly believe that the only way you’ll still have high anxiety when speaking in public, is if you don’t take action on what I’m about to share.
So if you really want to fix this and you’re not willing to accept that you’re just someone who’s scared of public speaking, here’s what to do:
1. Join A Toastmasters Club (or 2)
Didsbury Speakers Christmas 2025
This one’s obvious so I won’t bang on about it too much. I learned about Toastmasters from Dan Pena and Brian Tracy.
The idea is that by getting up and speaking in front of a room full of people every few weeks, your nervous system eventually realises it’s safe.
It’s all about consistency, so if you can join a second club and get 4 reps in per month - do it. I joined Salford Speakers as well as Didsbury Speakers and got so much from that club.
Every club has a different vibe, so going to a couple will help if you’re trying to improve as fast as possible.
2. Get Up At Open Mics
Dan M. Jones at an open min in Manchester
I understand this one seems scary at first, but there’s a lot of open mics in Manchester for comedy and spoken word.
And initially you might think “well I’m not a comedian”, but if you actually go along to these open mics you’ll soon realise that many of the people there aren’t comedians either.
At least I hope they’re not, because they’re not very funny. So when I got up and wasn’t funny either, I fit right in.
Same thing with spoken word, there were people there who shared some beautifully deep poetry. And there were also people there who shared the most boring things I’ve ever heard.
So when I got up and shared a story about how fat my dad is, no one really cared.
(except for my dad when I told him).
My point is, the worst that can happen is that you’re boring, and if that’s the case, they’re all going to forget about you anyway.
None of this really matters in the grand scheme of things.
Similar to your ah counter report, do you think anyone is going to say 2 years from now “do you remember when they said 28 ums during their speech? Despicable!!”
No one really cares, except for you.
3. Do Improv
I know, improv probably isn’t your sort of thing and if you’ve ever seen improv you’re probably thinking you don’t want to be like those people.
A lot of people get into public speaking for professional reasons, so improv likely seems like moving in the wrong direction.
It was again Dan Pena who first mentioned it, and then Toastmasters District 71 Area Director Clésia Mendes told me about it. And at that point I finally decided to give it a go.
Dan M. Jones, Clesia Mendes and Steve Campion
I did a 6 week course at Salford Uni and got so much from it. I found myself so much more at ease when on stage. And it became much easier to deal with the difficult things that come with public speaking, like thinking on your feet when people shout out while you’re on stage.
At times it felt somewhat humiliating, but that’s good. Because if you can act like an elephant in front of a room full of people (who I should add, are also acting like an elephant), you can give a presentation at a conference or workplace.
4. Film Yourself Speaking At Home, While Imagining An Audience
I do this a lot, and early on it made me feel like an absolute weirdo.
But I got used to it. And hopefully my neighbours have too. I like to think that they’ve probably learned a lot from overhearing my late night speeches in my apartment.
The main thing here is that this is another rep, even if there’s no one there watching. It’s like hitting a punch bag, there might not be anyone hitting back and no audience - but you’re still training for the same event.
And watch yourself back and ask, is this how I want to look while speaking?
Am I keeping my energy small because I’m afraid people will judge me?
Am I moving around at all, or do I look like a deer in headlights?
Don’t over obsess to the point where it becomes self hate, but knowing your weaknesses is often enough to allow your subconscious to start working on them.
5. Read These 2 Books
Or more specifically, get the audio versions of:
Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln
Speak To Win
I found these 2 really helpful as they break down some of the tactics that’ll help your public speaking.
I also think listening to books like these help because it normalises the idea of public speaking in your mind.
Like me, you may not have grown up around people who spoke in public. And hearing the thoughts and ideas of people who do makes it feel that little bit more normal.
I’ll also add that being around other people who speak in public (such as at your TM club, helps with this too), as you start to think “if my peers are doing this, so can I”.
The Exact Order I Recommend
I understand I’ve given a lot of info here and it’s easier if there’s a clear plan of action, so here it is.
This is exactly what I’d do if I was starting again:
Immediately join a Toastmasters club and start taking on roles straight away. You don’t even need to worry about speeches to be honest, you’re just trying to get used to speaking in front of people so take on the ah counter role, time keeper role and then grammarian role. Listen to the evaluations people give so you can learn how to do the same and then start giving them too. You don’t need to be an experienced speaker. Try to take the toastmaster role as soon as possible, it’s not that hard and gives you loads of stage time. Also consider joining a second club so you’re getting 4 times speaking in front of people per month
Join an improv class after 1 month of Toastmasters. I know this sounds intimidating but the sooner you do this the better. You don’t need to do this for 6 months, just do a 6 to 8 week course so you get the experience. If you do it early, everything you learn there will compound - making toastmasters much easier. And speeding up your journey. So join the improv class after month 1, don’t wait until you’ve built more confidence. Trust me.
After 1 month of Toastmasters, also start filming yourself at home. And do it daily for 2 months. The reason I say do a month of TM first is because the main thing is just getting in front of people. How you come across really doesn’t matter at that point. You can start filming yourself sooner, but I don’t want you to get too self critical early on. So it depends on the person. You know yourself best!
At month 3, get the 2 audiobooks I mentioned and stick them on while you're walking or doing monotonous work. I wouldn’t do this early as it’ll make you focus on things in the wrong order. Get your confidence up with TM and improv first.
At month 4 get up at an open mic. Do spoken word first, it’s easier. Just share something that happened to you. It doesn’t need to be deep, you can share a fun memory that made you happy, something funny that happened - anything you want.
After that it’s just more of the same - keep doing Toastmasters and taking any opportunity to speak in front of people that you can. Like I say, spoken word and comedy open mics are good for that.
And look, I’m not stupid (despite what those IQ tests say!) I know it’s not as easy as “just do it”. But I promise you: if you put yourself through this for 6 months - you will come out the other end a stronger, more confident person.
And that’ll affect everything you do from then on. For the rest of your life.
So you might as well, even if it’s stressful as hell for the first few months. You won’t regret it 10, 20 years from now. You’ll be bloody pleased.
So make it happen. Enjoy the journey. And then tell me about it one day. Dan M. Jones
Please note: the views expressed in this article are those of Dan M. Jones and not those of Didsbury Speakers or Toastmasters International.
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