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.
Write it like you say it
August 23, 2009
Several months ago I was speaking with Rachel Pearson, past president of IABC Phoenix. I had asked her about getting more involved in the chapter. She suggested I volunteer for something that was out of my comfort zone. What could that be? Um, writing! So I volunteered to be the Content Coordinator for the IABC Phoenix Edit Express.
I share this with you because as a Communications Catalyst, it’s assumed I’m a credible writer. Just like anything else, the Communication field has many facets; verbal, written, strategic, media, training and on and on.
My expertise is verbal communications, helping and coaching my clients to be more effective oral communicators. One would not come to me for my editing or written commentary skill. I do feel I am proficient, just not the subject matter expert.
Writing a blog, as Rachel would put it, is out of my comfort zone. It’s so much easier and effective for me, to just say it. I understand the appeal of blogs. One has the ability to reach hundreds, thousands and for some even millions. That in itself can be daunting.
As I’m writing this, it is somewhat easier than I had thought. I’m sure like most things it gets better the more you do it. In my communication workshops, I’ll have participants do a presentation over again several times, knowing they get better each time.
Thanks for stopping by. I’ll keep posting and my writing will get better.
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