About 40% of people have some degree of anxiety or fear when it comes to public speaking. It can be stressful in any situation, but when delivering a eulogy at a funeral home, you may experience even more anxiety. However, there are things you can do to overcome your fears and get through your speech eloquently. To help, consider some of the following tips. 

4 Ways to Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking

1. Prepare and Practice

When you're confident that you know what you're going to say, and how you'll say it, you can reduce anxiety drastically. To help you prepare for delivering a eulogy, think about what you want to say well in advance. Don't necessarily write the speech out word for word. Instead, make a few bullet points and practice delivering your speech in front of a mirror or a loved one. By only memorizing your main points, you won't be worried about messing up a small, inconsequential word or two.

2. Focus on Family 

Once you're in front of everyone, find someone in the audience that you love and care for and focus on them. Most often, this is family or friends at the funeral home. You don't need to look at them during the whole speech, but identifying them at the beginning can help give you confidence and reassurance while you're addressing everyone else. If you start to get nervous in the middle of the eulogy, refocus on your loved ones.

3. Be Yourself

Public speaking scares many people because they feel like they need to be someone else. However, the most successful speakers are those who maintain their personalities during the delivery. Speaking at a funeral is a solemn event, but it's also a time to celebrate life. Do what makes you comfortable when addressing the audience and remember to just be yourself.

4. Take Time to Breathe

It can be difficult to speak publicly, especially during a eulogy. If you find your mind racing or your thoughts wandering, take a second and just breathe. It's OK to pause in the middle of your speech to gain your composure, so don't try to fight through overpowering emotions if they come up. Be patient and go slow, and you'll be able to deliver the eulogy from start to finish.

When looking for the right funeral home to hold your celebration of life, you can trust Brown Funeral Homes & Cremations in Martinsburg, WV. They've been providing the community with a number of services to help ensure loved ones are laid to rest peacefully since 1880. In addition to housing services, they also offer funeral preplanning, cremation services, and more. For more information about their comprehensive services, visit their website or call (304) 263-8896 today.