The Fear-Less Public Speaking Blog

You will find articles here, mainly about public speaking nerves. These articles feature many of my clients and their stories about dealing with public speaking anxiety. 

If you are interested in a course or one-on-one coaching, see what others say for direct testimonials. 

How a Lack of Confidence Can Stop a Good Public Speaker From Being Great

Skilled speakers exude confidence, right?Not necessarily. Many reasonably good speakers suffer from intense self-doubt, which ruins the experience of speaking for them and holds them back from becoming great speakers. ​If you are an anxious speaker, you have probably decided you are rubbish at it...

13 October 2022

If You Are Avoiding Public Speaking You Are Not Alone  – But You Are Not Doing Yourself Any Favours.

I run courses for people with public speaking anxiety. In the pre-course questionnaire, 80% of participants say that they avoid public speaking if they possibly can. They turn down opportunities, get ‘sick’ on the day, ask others to step in for them, and even turn...

28 September 2022

Six Tips to Help You Get the Most From Your Public Speaking Course

​So, you have finally decided to do something about your public speaking anxiety and signed up for a course. Congratulations – you have taken a great first step!As a public speaking coach, I see so many people get amazing results – but not everyone gets...

28 July 2022

Seven Things I Have Learned From Seven Years of Coaching Public Speaking

I have been coaching young people and adults in public speaking for seven years – initially in a school as a volunteer – and now with adults as a paid coach. When I started, I experienced imposter syndrome. I was a good public speaker and...

29 June 2022

Why a ‘Service Mindset’ Will make You a Better Public Speaker – And a Less Nervous One!

Public speaking is a performance, but it is not the same as acting. There are two main differences. The first is fairly obvious – as an actor, you are being someone else, but as a public speaker, ideally, you are being yourself. Many people struggle...

19 May 2022

How I Am Using Yoodli — A New AI Tool — To Support My Public Speaking Coaching

Yoodli is an exciting new AI public speaking tool that I am using in my coaching.A lot of my work is with people who have extreme public speaking anxiety that holds them back from achieving their career and life goals. ​ In my experience, there...

20 April 2022

Giving a Good Presentation Is One Thing – But Having Impact Is Another

​Recently someone approach me for private coaching. She was nervous about an upcoming presentation. Before she ran through her presentation, she told me that her topic was important to her audience and she really wanted to have impact. Then she practiced her presentation by sharing...

29 March 2022

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...

20 February 2022

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...

31 January 2022

What Type of Person Fears Public Speaking?

​The short answer is most people! But some people have extra high levels of anxiety about public speaking. This article explores how different personality types or attributes can affect people’s anxiety levels. The typical demographic profile for people who take the Fear-less public speaking course...

15 December 2021

Experiencing ‘Zoom Panic’? You Are Not Alone.

You have heard of ‘Zoom fatigue’ – the experience of feeling exhausted from being online all day.  But have you experienced ‘Zoom panic’? During and post-COVID, I had a spate of calls from people who have had a bad experience presenting online. Some of them...

12 November 2021

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...

27 October 2021

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...

23 August 2021

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...

27 July 2021

How to Share Something Personal With an Audience Without Oversharing! Seven Questions That Will Help if You Are Unsure

On the first night of my public speaking course, I tell people the story of my epic public speaking fail. You can read all about it on my Medium site. The short version is that I had a panic attack in front of the senior...

26 June 2021