Glossophobia-The Fear of Public Speaking
September 6, 2009
I have read many publications that suggest the number one fear of all mankind is, the fear of public speaking. It’s more feared than death, taxes, spending time with your mother in law and “loaning” a family member money. I don’t mean to make light of it because it is a very real fear. In fact it has it’s own phobia-glossophobia.
My own experience brought me from that very real fear and now I help others overcome Glossophobia, in addition to becoming more effective, inspiring and influential communicators. Being a successful “manager” of Glossophobia puts me in a unique position to help others.
The fear causes speakers to do things that make matters worse when standing in front of that important audience. A frightening fact: most speakers don’t even know they are sabotaging themselves.
A case in point: Recently I was a part of a group presenting to an association of consultants. A person, who was very qualified on his subject matter stood up to do his presentation. From the moment he started, the audience became disengaged. Why?
- He was so fearful, he never looked at “his” audience. He looked down.
- He spoke as though English was his third language. He’s quite eloquent one-on-one.
- He continuously walked in front of the screen. At one point he stayed there.
- His presentation lacked energy and enthusiasm.
- He looked liked he didn’t want to be there and rushed to get through it.
- He was absolutely stiff-his gestures were non existent.
Hopefully you get the picture, because he didn’t. He actually felt he did a pretty good job. I was the only one who had the “courage” to give him an honest evaluation.
The fear of public speaking is real and is not to be taken lightly. There are many actions you can take to “manage” your fear such as joining a group like Toastmasters or attending specialized communication training. You have to be ready to face your fear of public speaking and take the first step.
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