Stage Fright: The Fear of Public Speaking

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/stage-fright

Whether it's a speech at a professional meeting, a wedding toast, or

competing in a sports event, sweaty palms and shaky knees are
commonplace when speaking or performing in front of a group of
people. In fact, most people experience some form of
performance anxiety, even if only mild. A lot can be at stake, since a
good public showing might advance a career, for example. Yet fear can
trip anyone up with an increased heart rate and a suddenly blank mind.

There are many practical tips for overcoming the anxiety associated
with stage fright. The first is to have a firm grip on the topic or situation
at hand—winging it doesn’t usually work. Practice helps, and rehearsing
in front of a mirror or a friend while using index cards, if necessary, is
even better. Finally, it is essential to prepare for inevitable questions,
which, again, goes back to being very familiar with the topic at hand.

Conquering Stage Fright

It seems impossible, but high-profile performers, like singers Adele and

Rhianna, suffer stage fright just like the rest of us. Sometimes, such
phobia may be part of a larger issue that can include symptoms such as
dry mouth, nausea, stuttering, tachycardia, changes in vision, tics, and
even tremors. An extreme fear of public speaking is a subtype of social
anxiety disorder, and some 7 percent of the adult American population
suffers from this condition.

Simple adjustments can help ease this fear—for example, bring notes,
don’t convince yourself that you will bomb, and make eye contact to
reduce the tension. Relaxation techniques such as deep
breathing, meditation, and yoga can also calm the mind before a big
event. With proper treatment, people can conquer stage fright and
excel in a variety of public performances.
Conquer Your Fear of Public Speaking With These 5 Tips:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/adaptation/201811/conque
r-your-fear-public-speaking-these-5-tips-0

Public speaking is the single most difficult task in many people's

professional lives. As Mark Twain once famously quipped: "There are
only two types of speakers in the world: (1) The nervous and (2) the
liars." But it doesn't necessarily have to be this way. Use these five
practical tips to help make public speaking a confident part of your own
professional repertoire.

1. Step into the shoes of your audience. Especially if you’re nervous

about presenting, it’s really hard to step into the shoes of your
audience—probably because you’re so focused on getting everything
right on your end, and perhaps also on calming your own anxiety. But
understanding your audience is so important to public speaking.

Even before you step on stage, you should be thinking about your
audience when crafting your content. What do they know about your
topic? Where should you then start in terms of explanation? What do
they care about? What matters to them? And how can what you have to
say solve their problem… or help answer their questions… or provide
something useful to them? That should be the driving focus as you write
your speech: to craft what you have to deliver in a way that truly delivers
value to your audience, and in a way that they can easily understand and
appreciate.

2. Get honest feedback—and make sure you’re willing to receive

it. Public speaking is a skill—and like any skill, you need practice and
get feedback to improve. So, especially as a young person just starting
out, it’s really key to find ways to practice in front of an audience—even
a small audience—and to get feedback, both about the content you’re
sharing and also about you as a presenter.
In terms of the content: You want to make sure your audience receives
what you’re trying to deliver. Do they understand your message and
framework? Do they get those two or three key points you really want
them to come away with?

And then, in terms of your style as a presenter: Are you engaging? Do

you keep the audience’s attention? Can you bring elements of
your personality to the table, even if you fumble a bit? Find people
whose opinions you trust to give you this feedback and be open to
receiving it.

3. Focus on why your content matters—and let that be your source

of confidence. Everyone is nervous about public speaking—and
especially about the impression we’ll have on others. And there’s no
question that this external evaluation is a legitimate and important
concern.

But equally important, in my experience, is making sure that you

yourself really love the talk you’re giving; that you care about the ideas;
that you stand behind the concepts; that you feel like you’re doing
something meaningful—and delivering something truly of value to the
audience. Because if that’s the case, you’ll likely feel much more
comfortable—and confident—delivering your message, and you’ll be
more likely to impress your audience as well. So, bottom line: Wow
yourself before even thinking of wowing a crowd.

4. Do your best to leave your notes behind. It’s certainly more

comfortable to speak with notes… and perhaps even to put those notes
up on a podium. But it also creates a barrier with your audience, which
makes it much harder to connect and engage with them.

I learned this lesson myself early in my career when taking a public

speaking class. We all spoke with notes in the class until the professor
suddenly took away our notes one session and never let us speak with
them again. To this day, I remember that sense of dread of having my
notes taken away. But it also was a blessing in disguise. Ever since then,
I’ve spoken without notes and with a much greater sense of connection
with my audience.

5. Identify what worries you most… and work on a solution to that. Not all
fears of public speaking are alike. For some, it’s the idea of speaking to
a room of complete strangers. For others, it might be the fear of
forgetting what you wanted to say… Or the fear that what you present
will fall flat and be uninspiring.

So, the antidote here is to locate the source of your worry and work on
that specifically. For example, if you’re concerned that your
presentation will fall flat, practice it in front of a crowd of trusted
colleagues for feedback. If you’re worried that you’ll forget your
content, bring notes, or create slides that guide you through the
presentation. The point is that you have more power than you might
think to craft a solution that makes public speaking just a little bit easier
and doable for you.

In the end, there’s no denying that public speaking is challenging for

many. But with a thoughtful strategy in mind and the courage to see it
through, you’ll be surprised at the positive impact you can achieve in
relatively little time.