Why do you fear public speaking so much?

I work as a Public Speaking and confidence coach and in coaching sessions many people ask me why they have their public speaking fear.

Often I reply that it could be due to a variety of reasons, but generally those with this fear are holding a belief that there is something defective or wrong with them that they are afraid to show to people.

Being on stage for the performance anxiety sufferer is one of the only places where they realise that they will no longer be able to hide this ‘defect’.

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On stage especially during a speech or musical performance, we are at our most vulnerable. Sometimes there is literally nowhere to hide, we are laid bare in front of a handful, or hundreds or even thousands of people which can be terrifying to our minds.

We become convinced that any ‘mistake’ in our performance will reveal our inherent flaws that will then repulse or shock or disappoint the audience.

As soon as we realise there is nothing we can do, to stop the audience judging us, our minds interpret this situation as dangerous, and something we must then flee and get away from.

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Our mind becomes filled with panic and sends a false and incorrect message to our body telling us we are in serious and immediate danger, and must get out, no matter what.

Our body, which is a faithful servant of the mind, only believes what the mind tells it no matter how irrational Adrenalin levels rise, the heart rate becomes more rapid, breathing shallower as the body tells us to get the hell out of that situation or prepare to fight to the death!!! The speaker or performer then experiences a full on fight or flight response.

Although the speaker or performer might be in a safe, warm room or hall with supportive family and friends wishing them nothing but the best, their mind and body have told them they are in an immediately serious danger against which they must protect themselves.

This is why our stage fright has always seemed so irrational. We could never understand why we felt so scared at speaking in front of a few friends, or talking about a topic at work we know like the back of our hand.

Damian Muirhead is a Public Speaking and Performance Coach Specialising in helping people overcome Performance Anxiety and Fear of Public Speaking

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