Fear of Public Speaking

Ways to successfully tame the fear of public speaking

If you develop cold feet while on stage, if words don’t seem to come of your mouth and if you suddenly get excessively nervous, chances are you’re suffering from the fear of public speaking. For most people, the fear of public speaking is one of the largest obstacles to career growth in an organization.

There is a way out

Public speaking need not be a harrowing experience anymore. You can now effortlessly speak on any topic of choice provided you know how to overcome your fear of public speaking. There are many programs designed these days to help people overcome issues like stage fright and facing a large audience.

They are as human as you are!

It’s important to remember that when you are on stage you are essentially speaking to humans – just like you! Trembling legs, shaky voices and a lack of confidence is something many orators have learnt to overcome. When they could successfully overcome their fear of public speaking so can you!

Don’t form preconceived notions

Most of us perceive successful public speakers as being witty and smart with loads of polished appeal. That is far from the truth. We perceive them that way because their fear of public speaking is never brought to the fore. It’s all about the way you project yourself vis-à-vis the way you actually are!

Keep it simple!

Follow the KISS principle – Keep It Simple and Short. You’ll never go wrong! Fact is, most famous public speakers don’t go on and on about a topic. They break it up with interesting anecdotes, jokes and incidents. That’s what helps also in overcoming the fear of public speaking. Try and stick to two or at the most three main points. Elaborate on them and illustrate with interesting examples.

Why am I speaking?

The goal of every public speech is to accomplish a certain objective in the end. Many people who have the fear of public speaking think it is sufficient to just have a good topic and sound interesting. That’s not entirely true. You also need to have a purpose in mind. You shouldn’t set out making a speech thinking you need to impress the audience. No matter how good you become or how much you overcome your fear of public speaking you can never ever get 100% approval from the audience. The trick to success lies in accepting this fact first!

Just be yourself – and the world will like you!

Many of us perceive successful public speakers as being eloquent and charming with certain distinct attributes. That’s not true. Most famous public speakers have not only overcome their fear of public speaking but have remained true to themselves. They are just being themselves when they talk on stage! That’s what makes their speeches more likeable.

Don’t boast

People who flatter themselves and indulge in puffery almost always remain unpopular. The same goes for public speaking too. One of the ways to overcome the fear of public speaking is to remain humble and have a sense of humor. It makes the speech livelier.

Three Mindsets behind the Fear of Public Speaking

The actor George Jessel was known in his lifetime as the Toastmaster General of the United States because of his frequent stints at hosting and acting as a master of ceremonies in various affairs, both political and showbiz. He once said that, “The human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in public.” That is a very apt way to describe the fear of public speaking. To a lot of people, nothing is more frightening than the prospect of speaking in front of a crowd.

However, not many people are aware of the fact that it is they themselves who are causing their own fear of public speaking. More often than not, the fear of public speaking is something that the mind creates on its own. It becomes a kind of self-fulfilling mantra; once the mind conceives of it, it starts to believe in it.

So, if a person has a fear of public speaking, most likely he or she is only afraid because of a certain mindset that he or she has come to have. What are the mindsets that cause people to have a fear of public speaking? Here are three:

1. The mindset that public speaking is difficult. Sometimes, the fear of public speaking stems from the mindset that a person may have, which is that public speaking is a difficult task and that should be left only to those who are capable of doing it. And so, the people who have this mindset shy away from opportunities of speaking in public because they think they are not capable of doing it.

2. The mindset that public speaking is for smart people. There are times that the fear of public speaking comes from the notion of some people that in public speaking, it is essential for them to appear smart. Certainly, the need to look smart adds to a person’s credibility as a public speaker, but sometimes it is taken too seriously. As a result, they convey far too much information than what is necessary in their presentation, they mimic other public speakers instead of just being themselves, or they brag about being an expert on the topic they are handling instead of showing humility before their audience.

3. The mindset that in public speaking, the audience needs to be controlled. In some cases, a person’s fear of public speaking rises from the belief that his or her audience needs to be controlled as the speech or the presentation is delivered. The thing is, the members of the audience will fidget and talk among themselves no matter what the speaker does. The speaker will never be able to control his or her audience; what the speaker can control are his or her own thoughts, behaviour and visual aids.

Public speaking is a challenging, but nonetheless a rewarding and fulfilling task. However, there are a number of mindsets that lead people to have a fear of public speaking. To overcome the fear of public speaking, these mindsets must be overcome as well.