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.
Why avoiding public speaking is worse than doing it! It is career-limiting, stressful, and harder than you think.
Verbal communication skills are valued by employers. They consistently rank highly on lists of the top “soft skills”. For example, the LinkedIn Learning 2020 Workplace report found that employers ranked “persuasion” as their number two soft skill requirement. And you can’t persuade without good verbal communication skills. Public speaking...
Is a Fear of Public Speaking Affecting Your Career? Why You Need to Act and What You Can Do.
A few months ago, I had a phone call from a young woman who needed help. Anna (not her real name) was a marketing graduate who had landed a great first job in the grocery sector. But she was suffering from anxiety because she was...
How to be an authentic speaker – and what it really means
It is easy to recognise an “authentic” speaker but unpacking what it really means is harder. After all, public speaking is a performance – so how can you perform and be authentic at the same time? Although public speaking is a performance, it is not...
Will an online (live) course help me with my fear of public speaking?
Previously I have rejected suggestions to run Fear-less courses online because I was not convinced that it would work effectively. Then Covid19 came along! I had to cancel a course due to start on the first day of lockdown. And I had to decide whether...
Seven stories of people who once had a crippling fear of public speaking and did something about it!
I am doing something new for this month’s blog article. I want to tell the stories of seven people who decided that they were no longer going to let their fear of public speaking define them. Why am I doing this? Most people with a...
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...
How to act on your resolution to improve your public speaking – and three traps to avoid
Have you made a New Year’s resolution to ‘do something’ about your fear of public speaking? That’s fantastic! You won’t regret it. Read this article to find out how to keep this resolution! You probably felt great (even euphoric!) when you made a decision that...
“Think purpose, not performance” and reduce your public speaking nerves
Thinking about your purpose rather than your performance when public speaking is the key to managing your public speaking anxiety. When you are standing in front of an audience it is very easy to think that it is all about you. And that makes you...
How to look like a confident public speaker (even when you don’t feel like one!)
We all want to look confident when we are presenting. We also want to feel confident – but most people can handle feeling a bit nervous as long as they can hide it from others! This in itself is interesting and I touched on it in...
How to apply a ‘growth mindset’ to public speaking
I had a cooking teacher at high school who told us that “good cooks are born, not made” which left me confused about why she had decided to become a cooking teacher! Her comment is a perfect illustration of a ‘fixed mindset’ described by Carol...
Why the Imposter Syndrome may explain your fear of public speaking- and what you can do about it
Research shows that 70% of people will experience the ‘Imposter Syndrome’ at some stage in their life. There are conflicting statistics about how many people fear public speaking. But we know that it is a common fear. And I am willing to bet that there is a...
Why introverts can be great public speakers – and why some extroverts are scared of public speaking!
People often assume that extroverts have an advantage in public speaking. Intuitively it sounds logical. Extroverts love the limelight while introverts shun it!But my experience coaching people with public speaking anxiety, suggests something different. For a start, I don’t believe there is any clear relationship...
Fight, flight, or freeze response to fear of public speaking
In a previous article I talked about how a fear of public speaking could have an evolutionary basis. The fight, flight or freeze response that many people experience is a primitive response to danger. Although the danger is clearly not life-threatening, our bodies respond as...
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 . Its messages are just as relevant today and are highly applicable to fear of public speaking. According to a website dedicated to Susan’s work, she identified five...
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...