March 31, 2008
What is public-speaking fear?
London, UK
This week’s guest blogger is Public Speaking and Presentation Skills coach, Lisa Braithwaite from California. Lisa has a great blog called Speak Schmeak which is full of public speaking tips. Here’s Lisa on public speaking fear:
Many people claim to fear public speaking, but is it really “speaking” that they fear, or is it something else?
What people really fear is usually something much more personal, such as:
* Being judged
* Not being liked
* Boring the audience
* Being exposed as an imposter – someone who really doesn’t know what they’re talking about
* Making mistakes
* Being the centre of attention
Public speaking is perceived by many as a venue for scrutiny, and much of what people really fear is that their flaws will be revealed – and then judged or criticized. Most of what people fear about public speaking isn’t really “speaking” at all.
If this is the case, how do you reduce your fear of being judged or criticized so you can focus on giving an effective presentation?
You don’t have to be friends with everyone
Not everyone will resonate with what you have to say or with your personality. That’s just a fact of life. If you get over the idea that everyone in the audience has to love and adore you, that is step one!
A few people won’t engage with you, and some people won’t like you at all. It’s okay. Just let it go.
Reframe the way you see your audience
A fearful speaker usually has a hostile view of the audience. She expects that they will be critical and unsympathetic, and so braces herself for conflict with the “enemy.”
By reframing the audience as friendly and encouraging, she drops her own hostility toward the audience and becomes open to their cooperation.
The audience wants a speaker to do well; the audience expects that she is an expert on her topic and will engage them in learning. The audience does not, for a second, hope the speaker falls on her face.
Reframing might involve merely changing your negative self-talk from “They’ll think I’m a terrible speaker,” to “The audience wants me to succeed.” Or you may visualize the presentation from start to finish, seeing the audience smiling, nodding, engaging and applauding.
Meet the needs of your audience
Make the conscious decision to focus only on meeting the needs of the audience, rather than being obsessed with your own discomfort. Do this by applying adult learning principles to your talk.
For example, make sure your presentation has practical, applicable information that your audience can use immediately. Ask for input, and put your audience’s lifetime of knowledge and experience to good use. And make sure to offer your audience well-organized content, with tools and solutions to their problem, not just vague theories.
When you build a relationship with the audience based on trust, respect and connection, and you provide practical, useful information, you meet the audience’s needs.
When the audience’s needs are met, you can worry less about yourself and stop dwelling on your own anxiety.
These three steps will take you a long way toward reducing your fear, and once you let go, you might even find yourself enjoying speaking!
