Mindset Shifts
Your Fear of Public Speaking is Not the Problem – It is Your Fear of the Fear
“Overcome”, “conquer”, “kill”, “get over”, and “cure the fear of public speaking” are all terms that people google. I know – I have done the keyword research!If you are anxious about public speaking, you probably see your anxiety as a big problem. You worry that...
Why Reading Your Speech is Like Riding a Bike with Training Wheels
Remember learning to ride a bike? You probably started with training wheels. What happened when your parents removed the training wheels? Perhaps you went, wobble, wobble, wobble, splat. The next time the wobble lasted a little longer before the splat, and then maybe by the...
Why You Are Wrong About What Your Audience Thinks of You – If They Think of You at All!
When I ask clients why they think so many people fear public speaking, I get the same answer almost every time: “Because we’re scared of being judged.” While people will form some impression, you are almost certainly wrong about how much people are judging you...
Five Triggers for Public Speaking Anxiety – and One Solution
Surveys show that most people are nervous about public speaking, and around 10% of people have an extreme fear. Glossophobia is the term used to describe persistent and excessive anxiety about public speaking. I have written before about why people fear public speaking. It is primarily a...
No Good at Public Speaking? Six Reasons Why Improving Is Just Like Learning to Play a New Sport (Or Any Other Complex Skill)
I recently heard someone describe the three phases he goes through when learning a new skill. The first stage is fear. The second stage is grit – the hard work that goes into getting good at anything. Thirdly, there is mastery – the feeling of...
Have You Had an Epic Public Speaking Fail? Here Is How to Stop Beating Yourself Up
Many of my clients come to me after an epic and humiliating public speaking fail – or a series of more minor fails.I spend the first half of the course explaining the reasons why we are hypercritical of ourselves and why they have probably overestimated...
Nervous About Public Speaking? Self-Talk That Actually Helps
You’ve got an important presentation coming up. Your stomach’s in knots, your heart’s pounding, and your mind is already racing ahead to all the ways it could go wrong. You barely slept last night, and the thought of standing in front of a room full...
How to Become a More Confident Public Speaker by Moving Outside of Your Comfort Zone (and Why Public Speaking Courses Get Results!)
More than 80% of people who register for Fear-less public speaking courses are actively avoiding public speaking. Some have chosen their career to avoid it. Others have turned down a promotion. Many palm off every speaking ‘opportunity’ to someone else. As well as being highly...
Think Purpose, Not Performance – How to Feel Less Anxious When You Speak
Imagine you are in a room full of people and a fire breaks out. You are the only person who can direct people to safety. Would you spend even one millisecond hesitating because you are nervous about speaking in front of a group? Of course...
How to Look Confident as a Public Speaker – Even When You Feel Nervous
Most people want the same thing when they present. They want to feel confident. But if that is not possible, they at least want to look confident. In my coaching, I often hear people say they could cope with the nerves if only no one...
Good Speakers Aren’t Born. They’re Made: What a Growth Mindset Can Teach Us about Public Speaking
First written in 2019, updated in 2025. I once had a high-school cooking teacher who told us that “good cooks are born, not made.” I remember feeling confused. If that were true, why had she decided to become a cooking teacher? Her comment is a...
Why the Imposter Syndrome May Explain Your Fear of Public Speaking- And What You Can Do About It
If you have ever stepped up to speak and thought, “Who am I to be talking about this?”, you are in very good company. In fact, those moments of doubt often show up most strongly in people who are highly capable, hard-working, and quietly ambitious....
Public Speaking – the Myth of the Confident Extrovert and the Nervous Introvert
I often have clients tell me that the reason they struggle with public speaking is that they are introverted by nature. Most people assume that extroverts make better public speakers. They tend to be outgoing, sociable, and happy to talk. Introverts, on the other hand,...
Feel the Fear of Public Speaking and Do It Anyway!
Susan Jeffers’ seminal self-help book Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway was first published in 1987. Nearly forty years on, its central message still lands with uncomfortable accuracy for anyone who fears public speaking. Jeffers identified five core truths about fear. When I recently...
Public Speaking and the Shame of Appearing Nervous – Why Do We Care and What Can We Do?
Do you worry that your audience will notice your trembling hands or shaking voice? In this article I explore why we care about looking nervous, whether the audience really does notice (or care), and what we can do to hide the nerves. Why do we...