Fear of public speaking
Public speaking, making presentations, giving a talk, making a speech, platform skills, etc. - however it's described it can be a terrifying experience for many, if not most, people.The term can be used to describe any situation where you are delivering more than a few sentences to more than, say, one or two people.
For most people this will involve addressing a small group of colleagues in a business meeting, making a sales presentation to three or four customers, talking in a committee or team setting, or announcing a toast at a wedding or birthday party.
The thought of having to give a talk, deliver a formal speech or make a business presentation holds little joy for the majority of people. Indeed, in surveys, this fear of facing a group of silent listeners is frequently rated higher than the fear of death!
You need some ‘nerves’
When setting out to reduce your fear of public speaking or making speeches aim to reduce your fear by about 75-80%.
Why not go for a 100% reduction?
Because, curiously, it is generally agreed that we actually need a degree of nervousness. Most professional speakers testify to the value of a certain degree of edginess before an important presentation, saying this provides just enough of adrenaline to ensure they come across in an interesting and engaging manner.Fear of those silent listeners…
There can be many reasons for being fearful of making presentations. We may imagine the listeners disapprove of us, are going to criticise us or will walk out of the room in the middle of our talk.Or we may remember feeling embarrassed in front of the class at school or in some less-than-successful public speaking performance. The range of possible explanations is endless. And pretty irrelevant.
Because when it comes to resolving this difficulty the historical reasons are much less important than what can you do to resolve the issue.
