Fear of Public Speaking?

My students and I have been talking a great deal lately about the fear of public speaking. I have read that many people fear it more than snakes, airplanes, or even "Snakes on a Plane!" Having taught Public Speaking for over 16 years myself, I can honestly say that I still get some of what I choose to call "nervous energy" before I speak. Luckily for me, nothing cements information into one's mind like teaching it! So I have an entire box of tools to share regarding overcoming one's fears in this and other areas. I look forward to sharing those tools via this blog.

As a "weekend" Communication Consultant, I thoroughly enjoy giving academic and private-sector workshops on "Overcoming CA (Communication Apprehension)," and "Building Self Esteem," as well as motivational speeches like "Empowerment Through Service."

Some of the best experience I have to share with a nervous speaker?

1) Water the roots, not the lemons.
OK, what the heck does that mean? If you have a lemon tree, and your lemons are drying out, do you water the lemons? Of course not. Well, self-confidence is much the same--your greatest benefit will be obtained from nurturing the root of your self-esteeem, rather than trying to focus so much on confidence in public speaking.

I recommend my students start with something like shaking hands with every new person they meet. No "dead fish," and no "knuckle-busters." A firm, but loose grip is best.

I also recommend smiling--with the teeth showing. It is amazing how smiling actually improves one's attitude and confidence. Don't believe me? Check out the evolutionary concept of intermodal matching. It says that, as infants, we learn which facial expressions accompany different emotions by mimicking the expressions given by our caregivers, and then examining how those expressions make us feel! Of course, biofeedback evidence abounds for the fact that endorphins are released when we smile. Actually, other endorphin releasing activities can also boost one's confidence, by lifting overall mood (small amounts of dark chocolate and regular exercise can do wonders!)

I also charge my students with the challenge to avoid all negative self-talk. Americans are addicted to being right, and can you guess the easiest way to ensure one's being right? Predicting one's own failure. Why? Because we can make ourselves fail. Have you ever said something like, "I hate public speaking," "I am so afraid," or "I'm not good at that"? Take a risk. Predict success. Or at least stop predicting failure. You may have a different audience each time you say something negative against yourself or your performance, but one person hears it every time. You.

Consider correcting yourself when you catch yourself engaging in negative self-talk. Stop yourself, and say something like, "Actually, I have historically thought that was true, but I read this awesome blog that has really opened my eyes" . . . = )

2) The second piece of experience that has helped my charges the most? Focus on Service.
If I am thinking about you, I cannot be thinking about me. Topic choice? Focus on what will help the audience. Sources? What will most benefit the audience? Attention-getter? What will hook this particular audience? A powerful piece of advice from sage public speaking textbook author Stephen Beebe says, "Let the audience write the speech." Of course, wouldn't it be nice if he meant that literally? What he means, of course, is that every element of the speech is optimized by a focus on the audience. Holding these thoughts can help the nervous speaker harness his or her fear and channel it into energy. These thoughts, then, can supplant the old ways of thinking like, "I hope I don't burp after drinking that Dr. Pepper,"I am so nervous?" "Is my fly open," or the ever-popular, "Does this speech make my butt look big?"

3) Learn more about the normalcy of the fear of public speaking, and about its very normal origins that have led to some very misunderstood physical reactions.
As stated earlier, this is often considered the #1 fear in American society. Could hearing that statistic actually tell us to be afraid? What if the statistic said that public speaking was America's favorite pass-time, and that baseball was our #1 fear? Ever hear of the nocebo effect? Turns out that cancer patients who are told they are given chemo, but are actually given placebo-chemo will lose their hair as if they were administered the real thing. There is at least one documented case of a man who died from cancer that he did not have (see Discovery Channel special, "The Placebo Effect." Fascinating. Brings a whole new light to the statement that, "The only thing we have to fear is fear, itself." I use a statistical instrument called the PRPSA (Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety--the 34-item test and its scoring method can be found via google, in case you are interested) to test the beginning (time 1), middle (time 2) and ending (time 3) levels of Communication Apprehension in my speech students. Many are surprised at their dramatic drop in score from time 2 to time 3. Last semester, I had one student drop over 30 points on this 136-point measure! Guess why her jump was so impressive. Because an indepth analysis of her questionairre showed that the items she scored high on were all of the items about anticipating giving a speech, rather than those assessing nervousness during or after a speech. In other words, she was afraid of being afraid.

In class, we also focus a great deal on the evolutionary view of this type of fear. You may be saying, "Oh great, a Darwinist. I suppose she has one of those skeletal plastic fish with the legs on it on the back of her car." Well I can promise you that, as one who attempts to hold a truly open mind, I fail to see how evolutionism and creationism are mutually exclusive. That may mean I am in both camps, or it may mean I am in neither. If this bothers you, I hope you will consider keeping the baby and throwing out only the bathwater. (I teach at a Christian University, so I give this disclaimer often. Can you tell?). Having said that . . .

Picture cavepeople. Not those dressed up Geigo guys, but actual non-speaking, no locks on the doors, saber-tooth-tiger-outside-the-cave-type cavepeople. Their fears are of physical dangers. Someone or something might steal their food or harm them or their loved ones. Their options to escape these dangers when they arise: fight or flee (hence the popularly touted, little fully discussed "fight or flight response."). Their bodies react to make them stronger, more attentive and faster. Eyes widen in surprise: this allows them to take in more of the scene. Extremities shake and they may sweat, because both blood and adrenaline are pumping to all the right places to help them run or hit, as needed. These are wonderful built-in defense mechanisms. And by fighting or fleeing the source of danger, we "burn off" the adrenaline and other built-up physical responses to fear.

The problem is that our bodies have carried with them down through the ages this stone-age computer program, and no one has deleted it from our collective (sub) consciousness. Therefore, today, when we are afriad, even though our fears may be social (e.g., your boss asks you to speak about what you learned at last week's conference. At the weekly business meeting. In front of 12 people. In 5 minutes.). Your eyes widen, your cardiovascular system and adrenal glands begin working overtime. You may perspire. Well, you can't punch your boss in the face and run out of the room. Not if you wish to maintain employment, that is. So what do you do.? You work on reprogramming. Channel that energy, and remember to call it "energy." It is there to serve you, not to harm you. Use it to be enthusiastic and engaging. Gesture, and use disciplined movement and visual aids to "burn up" some of that energy.

4) And finally, forget that old advice about looking over people's heads. Look us in the eye. And I do mean "eye." Looking in both eyes at once can feel awkward, so pick an eye, any eye. I promise, no one can tell. Try it. The awsome thing about giving eye contact is that it can act as a magnet, attracting the eyes (and hence, a greater level of attention from) your audience. You can feel when someone is looking at you. Try it. Look at a random stranger in the mall. She or he will turn and "catch" you pretty quickly. Any further actions on your part are your responsibility not mine--look away, or go introduce yourself. That's up to you.

Well, folks, there you have it, in a nutshell. My $.02 about the fear of speaking in public, and my experience about what has helped me and hundreds of frightened students to overcome and harness their fears. I actually do have one more piece of advice: Speak!!! In the communication field, we call it systematic desensitization. It means that the more you speak in public, the less sensitive to it you become. Start small. And from the heart. All the rest can fall into place.
Karla