Fear of Public Speaking – Does Stage Fright Stop You?

This is a big one, guys. Like huge. The fear of public speaking is often larger than the fear of death for many people. Even the thought of having to say a few words in front of a group of people- small or large- can be incredibly panic-inducing.

“Everyone will be looking at me!”

“What if I forget what to say?”

“They’ll just be making fun of me!”

“What if I totally freeze up?”

The Reality of Stage Fright and Anxiety

The idea of having ‘all eyes on me’ is overwhelming for so many people- even for people who seem relatively confident in other situations. Anxiety is not rational, nor is it necessarily predictable. Someone who is cool as a cucumber when speaking one on one may completely fall apart because of their fear of public speaking. Different situations trigger different people to varying degrees.

In anticipation of my own TEDx presentation, I recently highlighted some of YouTube’s best TEDx talks on Anxiety in a post and one of the videos that I featured was of Jordan Raskopoulos who speaks about her absolute love of and comfort in the arena of public speaking which stands in stark contrast to her anxiety disorder. No stage fright, and yet palpable anxiety in certain situations. It seems to make no sense when taken at face value, but again, anxiety does not discriminate and is so much more nuanced than presenting as ‘scared all the time’.

How to Handle Your Fear of Public Speaking

For most of us, the fear of public speaking is something that will have to be worked through at one point or another. Be it for a school presentation, a wedding speech or an obligation at work, we will likely be called upon to say a few words in front of a group of people. I have many clients and acquaintances who struggle with this so recently, I went LIVE on YouTube to offer tips to handle your fear of public speaking and overcome stage fright. (Follow me to know when I go LIVE next!)

Enjoy!

Tips on How to Handle Your Fear of Public SpeakingClick To Tweet

Breathe. You got this.

By now you realize how rampant the fear of public speaking is. You are definitely not alone. And there is hope!

Apply the advice I give in the video above and be super duper gentle with yourself. You will get through it. It will not be as bad as you think. You may, in fact, inspire and uplift others. Sharing does that. Speaking with genuineness and authenticity does that. You can do that.

Knock ’em dead!

What tricks have you used to help get you through a speech or presentation? Share with me.

2 thoughts on “Fear of Public Speaking – Does Stage Fright Stop You?”

  1. How to get rid out of fear of public speaking is the most important information I needed and by reading your content. I got every point you would like to share. I have applied every point you share and if you believe, it helped me a lot. Thank you so much for sharing this worthy information.

  2. People in public are just like we are, though it is very hard to overcome public speaking fear but at the same time it is not impossible too. Keep on working. You will be there one day.

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