Visualize yourself on a stage. You are a subject matter expert on [business, healthcare, law, entertainment, etc.]. You are facing an audience of [10/100/1000] people that you do not know, but who are interested in what you have to say. And you have A LOT to say! You know your subject inside and out. You are prepared. You are passionate about getting your audience to learn/understand/change their minds. Someone important is introducing you to the audience and you know that in a few moments you will be in the spotlight.
HOW DO YOU FEEL?
If, at visualizing this scenario you start to feel nervous, anxious, and ready for a fight or flight, you are not alone. Many people in this situation will do anything they can to avoid it, even though it can:
- Show off their knowledge
- Attract more business
- Forward their careers
- Make a difference
This fear is considered one of the most common fear in the world. It even has a Latin name: Glossophobia.
I believe there are two main reasons that the fear of public speaking is so powerful. One is that it is public and the second that it is… speaking.
This is not a tongue-in-cheek description (well maybe a littleJ). The first issue that most people face is that they have had no experience in speaking in public during the formative years of childhood and adolescence. They have also been taught from the early age that how you are seen in public matters, and that unconscious belief creates more perceived judgment with every pair of eyes that is trained on you.
Second is that most people, from early childhood have been taught to be seen and not heard, and THIS unconscious belief makes most people feel like they are doing something wrong, just by opening their mouths in front of the audience.
These unconscious beliefs are the reason for most fears of public speaking. Addressing them can go a long way to helping you not be so fearful of speaking in public.
But HOW do you do it?
If you are suffering from fear of public speaking I would like to suggest a 5-step process towards getting you in front of the audience without so much fear:
- Accept the fact that you have Glossophobia and that you cannot fix it on your own
- Analyze what the steps that your fear manifests itself: when does it start? Where? How does it make you feel? What do you tend to do? By exposing the architecture of your fear you will make it more manageable
- REWARD yourself for small steps: start by being part of the audience, helping set up for a speech, etc. and
- VISUALIZE positive results as you go through the steps of giving a speech
- SEEK professional help from a trained speech coach and join Toastmasters—the single most supportive, effective and affordable way to learn how to speak in public
This 5-step process has helped many people I have trained and have made them ready for the next step: Learning to SPEAK with Power!
Be Well,
Leo Novsky
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