Understanding Public Speaking Anxiety
How Susan Cain overcame a fear of public speaking to give a TED talk that has been viewed more than 25 million times
Susan Cain, author and celebrated TED talk presenter, once had a crippling fear of public speaking. Her TED talk, The Power of Introverts, has more than 25 million views and is one of my all-time favourites. I am also a big fan of Tim Ferris, and...
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...
Nine ways to calm your nerves by connecting with your audience (and imagining your audience naked is not one of them!)
Presenting to an audience can feel unnatural. Most people don’t like being in the spotlight. It is tempting to become less noticeable by hiding behind a PowerPoint presentation. But that is an unhelpful strategy. We need to do the opposite because connecting with the audience...
Why Do So Many People Fear Public Speaking? – The ‘Spotlight Effect’ and Other Explanations
At my Toastmasters club, Talking Heads, we have a quote on our website that always gets a chuckle:“There are two types of speakers – those that are nervous and those that are liars.”– Mark Twain Sound familiar? You’ve probably seen the headlines too—those dramatic surveys...
Presentation anxiety in students – How can we help?
Periodically, a debate blows up on social media about whether young people should be forced to present in front of the class. The Atlantic reported one such debate in September 2018. The story was about a tweet posted by a 15-year-old high-school student: “Stop forcing students...
Using your nerves to enhance your public speaking performance
(Updated February 2020)Wouldn’t it be great to be able to stand in front of an audience and feel calm and relaxed? Actually, that should not be your aim! While it might be nice to feel calm, the reality is that you generally perform better when...
You don’t have to battle your fear of public speaking
Body language expert Mark Bowden, in his book “Winning Body Language” describes a man who came to him for help because he broke out in hives every time he presented. Mark urged him to accept his fear as the first step forward. Bowden says, “In...