The Fear Factor: Mastering the Fear of Public Speaking, Part I

by Terry Gault

Most people's anxiety about public speaking stems from the desire not to look foolish or stupid in front of their peers, clients or others in the proposed audience. They fear that their mind will go blank or their performance will be inadequate to impress others. Being humiliated can injure the ego. It can really ruin your day.

That presentation you have carefully crafted may sound great in front of your mirror at home but the minute your name is called to perform in front of an audience, it feels as if the life force is seeping out of your very being. Instead, a frigid formality replaces your quick wit and easy grace. Your previously expressive face turns into a sober mask, and your friendly patter is replaced by "ums" and "you knows."

Presentations – whether one-on-one meetings, small group discussions or speaking before a huge audience – can drive fear to exquisitely high levels.

Some fear is useful; it forces you to take time out of your crammed schedule to prepare the presentation. But when fear crosses the line from excitement to dread, it can impair concentration and kill energy.  It can negatively affect that carefully crafted speech and make you swear off presentations forever … which would be a shame. 

Few skills will propel your career faster than the ability to speak in public.

How to overcome this? Three basic responses to that question: Ignore, Evade or Transcend. How will you respond to your fear?  More on The Fear Factor >>