Good morning everybody! It is nice to see you all here!

In our future professions as translators and especially as interpreters we are all going to speak in front of people in many different kinds of situations. And that's what we have been practicing here during this public speaking course. Also the theme on which I will talk today is closely tied to public speaking, or at least I have always thought so. We have probably all suffered from some kind of stage fright and nervousness during this course. And that's what I am going to talk about.

The Collins Dictionary defines stage fright as "nervousness or panic that may beset a person about to appear in front of an audience." We have all seen what can happen if the speaker is very nervous. He looks confused and doesn't look at the audience. Perhaps he keeps drumming his fingers on the table or he shifts body weight from one foot to the other, back and forth. Women often fiddle with their hair. The audience can find these kind of things very annoying.

Things like that can also cause disaster. I know a true story about an interpreter who was very nervous and twisted the wire in the interpreting booth around her finger. She kept doing that until, all of a sudden, the connection between the speaker's mike and all of the interpreters was lost. It took the organizers half an hour to find out what was wrong; and yes, it was she who had caused everything by twisting the wire around her finger.

We are usually afraid of the unknown and the things we think are either physically or mentally threatening. When we speak in front of people we feel mentally threatened. Maybe we don't trust ourselves enough. We are afraid that we will do badly, or that we can't remember what we were going to say. We are afraid that our hands will start trembling and the audience will notice it. Naturally all these things can make us very embarrassed. And that is the thing that is so frightening and threatening.

Stage fright is actually a very normal reaction. It is our body preparing itself for a big event; therefore it produces some extra adrenaline. It is the adrenaline that causes the symptoms of stage fright. But since we are individuals, the symptoms too are individual. Some people have just a little queasy feeling in their stomachs; others may feel a slight weakness at the back of the knees. Cold or sweaty palms are also fairly common. Or perhaps your heart just beats a shade faster than normal.

Some people feel the symptoms before they get to the podium, and when they finally are there, the symptoms disappear. Usually the symptoms are worse at the beginning of the speech, then they gradually vanish. But there are also people who say that the feeling doesn't go away until they've finished their speech and are off the podium.

Stage fright is also very common. Even professional performers often suffer from it. Some great perfomers say that stage fright actually makes you do well and gives you an extra kick. But for some people stage fright is not a positive thing. I, for example, have many times not been able to sleep well the night before my speech because of it. But even if one really can't eliminate stage fright, it is possible to lessen it, learn to live with it and change it into a positive feeling.

First you must of course know what you are afraid of. The point is: in order to lessen or eliminate the feeling of fear and nervousness you must know what it is that you really are afraid of.

Secondly, you must figure out why you are afraid of that thing. Perhaps the reason for your nervousness is that you're not sure if you can remember everything you are going to say. Or maybe there are some important persons in the audience on whom you want to make a good impression.

Thirdly, learn to discuss your fears with other people. You will find it relieving to share your feelings with somebody. That way you can discuss and analyse your fears and the reasons for them. You will probably also find out that you're not alone: other people suffer from nervousness and stage fright, too.

The next step is learn to get rid of the reasons for your fears. If you are afraid that you will not be able to remember your speech, the only way to get rid of that feeling is to practice. Make sure that you can remember the main points of your speech even when you're asleep. That way you will feel more confident in your speech delivery; you will know where you are going all the time.

Get to know the room where you are going to speak and check any possible equipment you are going to use in advance; that will also make you feel more confident. Or perhaps it is the audience that makes you nervous. You feel that it is you against them. You're alone, they have each other. Positive thinking will help; you are there to co-operate with the audience, and to give them information on something. And the audience is there to hear what you want to say; they're interested in your topic. They're not there to judge or criticize you.

The most important thing, however, is that no matter how afraid you are, how nervous and unsure you might feel, don't make excuses not to speak in many interesting situations just because of stage fright. Force yourself to go to situations where you must appear in front of an audience. It won't be easy, but if you just keep doing it often enough, the day will come when you'll get used to it. Notice that I said "get used to it," not "get rid of it," because that day may never come. However, you can reduce your fears, which will make you more confident and turn stage fright and nervousness into a positive feeling.