1.

Physiology

Fear and anxiety involve the arousal of the autonomic nervous system in response to a potentially
threatening stimulus. When confronted with a threat, our bodies prepare for battle. This hyperarousal
leads to the emotional experience of fear, and it interferes with our ability to perform comfortably in
front of audiences. Eventually, it prevents people from pursuing opportunities for public speaking.

2. Thoughts

Another factor involves people’s beliefs about public speaking and about themselves as speakers. The
fear often arises when people overestimate the stakes of communicating their ideas in front of others,
viewing the speaking event as a potential threat to their credibility, image, and chance to reach an
audience. Negative views of oneself as a speaker (I am not good at speaking in front of crowds, I am not
a good public speaker, I am boring, etc.) can also raise anxiety and augment the fear of speaking in
public. Some theories make the distinction between a performance orientation and a communication
orientation. Performance orientation means you view public speaking as something that requires special
skills, and you see the role of the audience as judges who are evaluating how good of a presenter you
are. In contrast, communication orientation means that the main focus is on expressing your ideas,
presenting information, or telling your story. For people with this orientation, the objective is to get
through to their audience the same way they get through to people during everyday conversations.
Think about this in reverse: If you view any conversation that you have in the presence of another
person as a form of “public” speaking, you have enough evidence that you can express yourself clearly
and communicate effectively. You would then take the same approach to public speaking events where
the focus is simply on sharing ideas and information. However, when the focus shifts from being heard
and understood to being evaluated, the anxiety tends to be higher.

HBR

People were literally terrified of being eaten alive. In response to that prehistoric reality, the amygdala,
the part of our brain that helps us respond to danger, kicked into full gear. And when our fight-or-flight
response gets triggered, we understandably feel intense stress and anxiety. What does this have to do
with public speaking? Turns out, everything.

Fortunately, there is a solution: human generosity. The key to calming the amygdala and disarming our
organic panic button is to turn the focus away from ourselves — away from whether we will mess up or
whether the audience will like us — and toward helping the audience.

Studies have shown that an increase in generosity leads to a decrease in amygdala activity. Showing
kindness and generosity to others has been shown to activate the vagus nerve, which has the power to
calm the fight-or-flight response. When we are kind to others, we feel calmer and less stressed. The
same principle applies in public speaking. When we approach speaking with a spirit of generosity, we
counteract the sensation of being under attack and start to feel less nervous.

1. When you’re preparing, think about your audience.

When we start preparing for a presentation, the mistake we all make is starting with the topic. This
immediately gets us inside the details — and makes it harder to break down the wall between us and
others. Instead, start with the audience. Before diving into the information, ask yourself: Who will be in
the room? Why are they there? What do they need? Be specific in your answers. Identify the audience’s
needs, both spoken and unspoken, and craft a message that speaks directly to those needs.

Negative impact of public speaking fear on career statistics

4- Public speaking fear has 10% impairment on wages

5- Public speaking fear has 10% impairment on college graduation

6- Public speaking fear has a 15% impairment on promotion to management