Guest post by Julie Smith who offers some tips about how to be a better public speaker. She is a sought-after leadership coach, author of Coach Yourself Confident: Ditch the self-doubt tax, unlock humble confidence (Practical Inspiration Publishing, £14.99) and founder of leadership consultancy Talent Sprout.Glossophobia, or fear of public speaking, is one of the most common and powerful fears. And it's an understandable one because delivering a talk puts us in the vulnerable position of potentially being judged. And what happens when we fear that we're about to be judged? Our body reacts to the threat - our heart rate speeds up, our stomach churns, our palms become sweaty.This is the fight or flight response in action, and it can feel unpleasant. We don't necessarily want our heart to feel like it's beating out of our chest, cartoon-style, just as we're being introduced. Fortunately it's possible to calm our nervous system in the moment, and it's possible to reduce our fear of public speaking over time.How to be a better public speakerHere are five practices to try:1: Understand what builds confidenceRemind yourself that feeling nerves is actually an essential part of building your confidence. Paradoxically, in order to build confidence, we must push ourselves to take action without it. It's the repeated experience of acting, learning and progressing - in spite of our self-doubt - that grows our confidence over time. Fear is a critical element in the process of building confidence. Everytime you push yourself to speak in public, you find out a bit more about what you're capable of.And if you keep pushing yourself to do it, then eventually it will become less scary. You might even start to enjoy it.2: Settle yourselfWhen you notice your heart racing and your face becoming red, try using the calming power of physical touch to take the body's stress meter down a notch. Our skin is an incredibly sensitive organ, and research indicates that physical touch releases oxytocin (which helps to regulate our emotional response) and calms cardiovascular stress. Find a way to lay a hand on your bare skin.In short sleeves, this could be by purposefully folding your arms and gently holding your upper arms with your hands.In long sleeves, you might try putting a hand to the back of your neck and holding it there for a moment. This doesn't require any explanation to those around you; it's unlikely that anyone will notice what you're doing. You can quietly settle yourself, getting ready to do yourself justice.3: Stand tallResearch has shown that our physical posture has an impact on our level of confidence. In 2012, American social psychologist Amy Cuddy gave one of the most watched TED talks of all time: 'Your body language may shape who you are.' In this talk, Cuddy advocated for a power pose - an expansive posture in which we take up more space; shoulders back, head up, feet planted firmly on the ground.Her argument was that standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don't feel confident - can boost self-belief and help us to perform better. Whilst this idea hasn't been without controversy, follow-up research has confirmed that slouching or making yourself small feeds self-doubt. So be careful that your posture doesn't sap your confidence. Take up space, stand tall.4: Remember that you can't mindreadYou are presenting and Bradley on the front row yawns theatrically and rubs his face with his hands. Your mind is immediately full of doubt: he's absolutely bored to tears and everyone else must feel the same. If this is what you're telling yourself, then it's not surprising that your confidence takes a hit. A reminder: unless someone tells you what they are thinking, there is no way that you can possibly know what is going through their mind.You can pick up clues, of course you can, but you need to accept that you might not be right. What to do if you notice yourself mindreading? Remind yourself that your interpretatio...