What is the fear of public speaking called? Glossophobia: why fear of speaking occurs

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Public speech - common reason trembling in the knees and horror. People are sure that anxiety before such a performance comes to shy individuals. But in reality, everyone goes through such feelings. Even experienced speakers get nervous when they have to give a presentation new topic and an unfamiliar audience.

As strange as it may sound, such fear is the most popular phobia on the planet. Everyone felt anxiety when giving a report, toast, speech, or even a poem at a creative evening. Depending on the audience, the importance of the event, the alarm has varying degrees. At these moments, the heartbeat quickens, trembling, hoarseness occurs, and the body breaks out in red spots.

Reasons for fear of public speaking

The fear of speaking in public is caused by the unknown. This scares people most often, especially those who have no experience. It causes anxiety even among experienced speakers.

In addition, education is the basis of fear. Parents do not allow children to speak loudly in public. This is justified by the fact that people look, it’s not beautiful, etc. As a result, when the baby grows up, the adult person begins to feel shy in public.

The main thing is to understand that you are not alone; 9 out of 10 speakers face such a phobia. But excitement visits all people before the performance itself. Those who are terrified of speaking are called glossophobes.

Getting rid of fear. Main methods

The effective way is practice. To avoid anxiety, you must constantly overcome it. Regular performances reduce such public fear. Take every chance to get practice.

The next point is preparation. The best method reducing anxiety is good preparation. For a successful presentation, it is important to have a good understanding of the topic. You can rehearse the performance in advance and think about all the nuances. The stronger your confidence in your knowledge, the less fear there is that you will find yourself in a ridiculous position.

Don't worry about always being perfect. Many of us are afraid of the public because we are afraid of making mistakes in front of everyone. This only increases the likelihood. But mistakes do not cause a death sentence; nothing terrible will happen.

Think about the appearance. It's important to look good when performing. There is such a psychological moment at work here. For example, a girl has a line on her tights, she is worried about it, but even though 90% of people won’t notice it, she will still worry. Such thoughts steal confidence. Think through all the nuances so that there is no discomfort.

How to get rid of fear before speaking

So, let’s figure out how you can get rid of fears specifically before a performance:

rehearse and prepare;

It is very important to carefully analyze the audience. Stage fright is often a combination of several. Negative influence brings fear of the unknown. To get rid of this, it is important to find out where, how and in front of which listeners you are. If possible, analyze how many people there will be, their interests and views. Removing fears is about your knowledge and awareness.

Once you know who your audience will be, start preparing diligently. The report must be structured based on the average intelligence of the listeners. You should not make complex logical chains, use narrowly targeted terms, etc. Don't use words whose meaning you don't fully understand. If there is a short report coming up, preparation cannot be ignored. It is important to study the topic thoroughly.

After writing your speech, you should think about questions from your audience. Be sure to train in advance, imagine a state that is comfortable for you. Practice speaking in front of one of your friends or acquaintances.

calm down;

If you don't understand how to relax and get rid of fear, then some exercises will help. Meditation is distinguished by a technique called conscious breathing. Its essence is focusing on exhalation and inhalation. It is necessary to hold the air on a count from 1 to 5. This gives a chance to reduce tension and anxiety. Another option: tense all the muscles in your body for a couple of seconds. Then relax completely and repeat again.

find support;

If there are friends or relatives among the public, then ask them for support. Any contact will be beneficial. Before starting your speech, find someone you know among the audience.

think about the non-verbal part.

It is important to assess the need for the non-verbal part of the report. It is interesting that 60% of the data each person receives from this source. If phrases sometimes give an erroneous idea, then gestures are read correctly by the subconscious.

How to get rid of fear while speaking

Even if you manage to completely calm yourself before speaking in public, fear arises again when you go on stage. There are methods that make it possible to get rid of fear directly during the performance.

A popular method for relieving stress is affirmations with text that encourages and encourages you. It is important to choose positive phrases, such as “I love everyone present, and they love me”, “Everyone is waiting for my interesting report”, “I know how to be a good speaker”, etc.

Another way is to accept fears. Give yourself permission to worry, because you are a living person. After acceptance this fact it becomes noticeably easier. But remember that it is important to set yourself up for a good outcome. Don't waste energy on negative memories.

Experts say it's important for overly anxious people to publicly acknowledge their fears. This removes responsibility if you suddenly forget information or go off topic. But you can’t use this method often, because the audience will react negatively to the statement next time. Frankness is suitable for the first speech. Use this method only if others do not help.

For speakers without experience, impromptu best solution. Few of us have the skills to extricate ourselves from difficulties. For this reason, it is better not to imprison yourself difficult situation. If you have to give answers to questions, then it is more correct to pronounce platitudes that are suitable for the situation.

There are others interesting tips, how to overcome your stage fright. Imagine that the audience is not serious figures, but kittens or rabbits. Positive thoughts will bring positive thoughts. But these tips are given by experienced speakers, and they work on those who do not have panic fear.

For glossophobes, any of the options listed above are suitable to relieve anxiety and tension. If you don't neglect practice, you will see progress very soon.

Experience is the main key to achieving success in the art of public speaking. Start small - make toasts in the company of friends. Then practice speaking loudly in public places. This helps combat the fear of negative reactions from people. You will see that the tone will become more impressive, more patronizing.

Once you have gained some confidence, take action at work. Ask questions of other speakers. This way you will reduce your fear of being the center of other people's attention and notice your desire to perform.

January 18, 2014, 11:37

The ability to speak in public is the most valuable skill of the modern business man. Representatives of many professions, due to their responsibilities, are faced with the need to speak in front of an audience quite often: a top manager needs to motivate his subordinates, a sales representative needs to convince a client to buy his company’s product. - the basis of social connections; without speaking abilities it is very difficult to achieve a positive result for yourself in working with other people. Given the importance, responsibility for the outcome also increases. This rightly explains the fear of public speaking, but as many public speaking teachers believe, it can be overcome. In this article you will find useful tips, how to overcome and overcome the fear of public speaking even in front of the most demanding audience.

Fear

The WikiHow project claims that fear of public speaking ranks high on the list of phobias among residents. North America. In psychology, there are even special terms that refer to fear of public speaking and stage fright - peiraphobia or glossophobia.

To fight fear, you need to understand its cause. Journalists would write: “You need to know the enemy by sight,” and they would be absolutely right. Genetic predisposition to fear of public speaking (temperament, accentuation and neuroticism) actually plays a small role. A number of factors of social origin have a significantly greater influence on the fear of speaking in front of an audience: upbringing, negative experience and others. From childhood, many are taught not to shout, but to speak quietly, so as not to attract unnecessary attention. This attitude persists and leads to discomfort when you have to speak in front of a large audience. Negativity also provokes an attitude towards performing at school. Think about how often Hollywood films about education are full of scenes where elementary school children defend home projects by speaking in front of the class. Whether this solves the problem or not, we’ll leave it to teachers to figure out, but this practice began to be used in our country only recently and in a rather limited form.

Scientists have noticed that as a result of speaking in public, some people release the same amount of adrenaline as those who jump with a parachute. Such a surge of emotions is difficult to curb, especially when you are not in flight, but in front of other people who, moreover, are trying to evaluate you. But a well-known principle comes into play here: the first time is much more difficult than subsequent times. Based on this, it can be stated that that constant practice helps reduce fear.

Methods for overcoming fear of public speaking

Identify the source of the fear. We are not afraid of the performance, but of how the audience will react to it. The uncertainty is scary: what will happen after going on stage? It's very important factor is the understanding that almost always the vast majority of people hope to benefit from your speech, and accordingly they are sincerely interested and want you to succeed.

Don't deny your fear. If you are perfectly prepared for the presentation and master the topic, you have nothing to be afraid of. Fear is just a defense mechanism against a situation in which you may find yourself during a performance, but most likely you will never find yourself. Take it as an additional challenge and motivation. How to cope with fear, anxiety and stress is described in detail in our course.

People don't see your nervousness. Only a few appearance can tell how worried the other person is. It is a mistake to assume that the audience can see how worried you are. This means that there is at least one less reason to fear.

Get better at . There are many books and practical trainings, which will help you learn how to prepare for a performance, attract an audience, maintain contact and, as a result, make the performance more comfortable.

The most important thing is preparation. Confidence comes from being in control. Make sure you know the material, try to predict the questions. Make a detailed plan for your speech and break it down into main points to remember. Make the speech not boring, include a couple of jokes, quotes, stories.

Make yourself smile as soon as they came on stage. Psychologists are sure that smiling relieves stress. Moreover, on a subconscious level, this will endear you to part of the audience.

Relaxation. There are many techniques for relaxation, self-hypnosis, based on meditation or breathing exercises. The following exercise can be used as an example. Focus all your attention on inhalation and exhalation. Breathe deeply, holding your breath for a few seconds. As you exhale, count in your mind from 1 to 5. Focus for at least 5 minutes, this will relieve tension.

1. No falsehood. Insincerity is easy to spot.

2. During the presentation, do not take anything personally (questions, comments, etc.)

3. Remember: every time you go on stage, you learn something new.

4. Try to avoid any physical barriers between you and the audience (lecterns, tables, podiums) unless provided for by the organization.

5. If you don’t know the correct answer to asked question, do not answer incorrectly. Use a formula like: “We will return to this issue later.”

6. You can also redirect this question to the audience. This will allow you to both understand the answer and enhance interaction with listeners.

7. It’s good if there are your friends or acquaintances in the hall. Make eye contact with them. This will give you the opportunity to feel surrounded by loved ones and cope with anxiety.

"How to stop being afraid public speaking? - a relevant question for people of all ages and professions. For the first time we are faced with the need to speak in front of a serious public already at the institute or at work. And if at school speaking in front of your classmates made you feel uncomfortable, and you caught yourself thinking, “I’m afraid to do this,” then work assignments where you need to convey certain information to professionals most likely terrify you.

But all this fear of public speaking is only in our heads, so you can easily get rid of it by first explaining to yourself how it arises and what ways to overcome it exist.

The anxiety before performing on stage can be different, but we feel the same state, which is extremely difficult to overcome: our hands and knees are shaking, our mouth is dry, our voice sounds as if from the outside, the audience turns into one frightening mass. To understand why fear controls us so much and how we can cope with it, let’s find out its causes.

Perhaps the first and most underestimated cause of fear of public speaking begins in childhood. When small child speaks loudly for the first time in a public place, the parent will silence him. Subsequently, this will be the explanation of why a person has a phobia of expressing thoughts loudly in front of an audience.

When the voice is suppressed, it leads to anxiety, and ultimately to fear. Of course, they won’t forget to add fuel to the fire. school teachers, belittling abilities, and classmates who can hurt feelings without thinking about the consequences. These moments are the causes of social phobias, including those that provoke fear of public speaking.

The second reason why fearless public speaking eludes us has to do with the psychological component of fear. Fear used to be synonymous with the word danger. I felt cold - I tried to warm up faster, went to the edge of the abyss - I was afraid of heights and walked away. Under the influence of everyday stress: work, study, economic and political changes in society, the instinct of self-preservation has undergone changes. As a result, we begin to worry in unjustified situations, including before performing on stage. The reasons that awaken this fear in us are the following:

Fear of people as such due to low social activity.
Fear of saying something stupid or slipping up.
Constantly telling yourself that the listeners are negatively disposed towards you and will closely evaluate your performance.

Another reason is not having the information necessary for the presentation. And the last one is agoraphobia or fear of crowds. Unlike the fear of people described above, this fear is deeper, and people do not even realize that they are afraid of large crowds of people and suffer from this type of phobia.

Why you shouldn't be afraid to perform on stage

Having understood the sources of the formation of a phobia for stage performances, you must first of all convince yourself that this fear does not exist, that we are starting to worry in vain.

The main point on the path to overcoming fear, which you need to realize and feel, is that public speaking is an opportunity to express yourself with the best side and evaluate your skills in working with an audience. This is important because every day, at work or school, we communicate with people, and when this brings us discomfort, our productivity drops, our mood worsens, etc.

Fearless public speaking is the key to your self-confidence. By training skills by presenting information in front of other people, you bring actions to automatic execution, and over time you will no longer feel discomfort when communicating with people. Let's summarize the useful aspects that can be gained from performing on stage:

Experience communicating with large audiences to help develop communication skills.
In the process of preparation, you will deepen your knowledge related to the topic of the speech.
At work conferences or student summits, your speech will be noticed by influential figures, which can benefit you in the future.
At proper preparation to the reports, your speech will soon become more literate.

How to overcome stage fright

If it is too late to apply the above tips - the performance is already on your way, and the phobia haunts you, and you cannot get rid of it, then use the following techniques:

Relax. When the body is tense, you involuntarily want to shrink and not be the center of attention. Relax your body so as not to reinforce psychological discomfort. physical stress.
Your position on stage should be confident: both feet are on the ground, your arms are not in a closed position, your back is straight. Place your supporting leg forward for stability. This will allow your blood to circulate better, deliver more oxygen to your brain cells, and you will become less anxious.
It is important to normalize breathing so that the body is not stressed. To do this, inhale, count to 4, then exhale sharply. Repeat 10 times.
If you feel that your voice is breaking from excitement, do speech gymnastics in advance. Tell your speech without opening your mouth. Pronounce the letters as clearly and expressively as possible. This exercise will relax the muscles of the face and larynx and help cope with anxiety. Take water with you, otherwise at the wrong moment you will lose your voice and have to interrupt the performance.
If fearless public speaking suddenly causes your knees to tremble, try mentally directing your attention to them. Or trick your brain and consciously make your knees shake. After this, the trembling often stops.
Make eye contact with your listeners to maintain contact with them. This will show that the performance is aimed at their interest and impact.
If you made a mistake, the right decision would be not to focus attention on it and continue speaking. In addition to the task of presenting information, it is important to be able to concentrate on the main thing. Therefore, if you succinctly omit the error, none of the listeners will even notice it.

The recommendations in this article will help you overcome fear, and fearless public speaking will become a constant companion to your stage performances. You will never say, “I’m afraid to perform on stage, I won’t be able to cope with it.” Having felt confident in front of the public for the first time, you will realize that in life you have become much more liberated, and the phobia that haunts you has receded.

Many people's professional responsibilities include regular public speaking and being in constant contact with large audiences. The activities of politicians, teachers, lawyers, managers, and artists are directly related to the presence, interaction, communication and often persuasion of a large group of people.

In their life, almost every person is faced with a situation when there is a need to express their oratory and speak in front of an audience. According to psychologists, a certain level of fear of speaking is present in the vast majority of people - over 95% of the population. Stage fright is one of the most common phobias, which not only causes inconvenience, worsens mental well-being and physical health, but also makes it difficult to implement job responsibilities, hinders further career growth.

Many prominent artists and musicians who regularly perform in front of large audiences are familiar with such fears. The actress experienced severe pathological stage fright Faina Ranevskaya, singer Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, musicians Pablo Casals, Glenn Gould, Arthur Rubinstein.

For many people, stage fright is significant. stressful situation, untimely, incorrect and incomplete therapy and correction of which can become a factor in the accentuation of the personality and go into the category of mental disorders. As a result of the influence of fear as a traumatic factor, a person resorts to so-called defensive behavior. This mechanism helps only for a while, and if the problem is not resolved in the future, and the person is unable to cope with the existing fear, it is defense mechanisms become an obstacle personal growth. They give rise to new emotional problems, creating a desire to escape reality into the “artificial world of simplicity” and are the cause of mental illness.

Therefore, it is extremely important to recognize the symptoms in time, analyze the cause, give a frank and, at the same time, optimistic assessment of what is happening, and take psychological correction measures.

Manifestation of glossophobia

In psychology, a pathological fear of public speaking is called glossophobia or peiraphobia. One should clearly share the natural excitement that any person experiences before an upcoming solo monologue aimed at a large crowd of people, both familiar and unfamiliar. Thus, a completely adequate reaction of the body - excitement, arises before the upcoming solo performance of a beginning dancer and musician, before oral entrance exams to the university. At the same time, this person will not experience anxiety, tension and fear when he has to demonstrate his talents or read a report in front of a familiar audience: colleagues, classmates, teachers.

Psychologists emphasize that a moderate amount of anxiety and excitement has its positive aspects. In anticipation of an important event, a person becomes more attentive, more collected, more energetic, and as a result, his performance is successful and of high quality. And a “solo” in public for those who don’t feel nervous at all often turns out to be a failure.

An individual suffering from glossophobia will experience an inexplicable and overwhelming fear during or before speaking, even in front of well-known audiences or in front of a small group of people. His fear is not selective, but constant when in public.

Symptoms of the disorder

Although the factors causing distress in phobic disorders are different, they all cause essentially the same, nonspecific biological reaction. Before or upon the onset of a situation unfavorable for the individual, in this case - in anticipation of being in public, arose and increased emotional stress. High level of activity of the subcortical system, activating the cerebral cortex, motor centers, glands internal system, sympathetic autonomic system, changes the work internal organs. So, Common manifestations of stage fright:

Increased and tense muscles;
Changes in gestures and facial expressions;
Changing the timbre and tone of the voice;
Autonomic manifestations: excessive sweating, rapid heartbeat, “jumps” in blood pressure;
Headache, unpleasant, pressing sensations in the heart area.

An attack of glossophobia may be accompanied by:

dry mouth,
trembling voice,
loss of ability to speak
involuntary urination.

In rare cases, in people with increased nervous excitability, such a phobia causes fainting. of different durations. Loss of consciousness is usually preceded by dizziness, weakness, nausea, pallor of the face and lips, cold extremities, and a weak, rapid pulse.

The strength of manifestation and number of symptoms are purely individual and depend on the characteristics of a person’s character, the method of responding to alarm signals, the functional state of the body, mood, fatigue and the nature of activity at the moment

Reasons for appearance

The main reasons for the formation of glossophobia:

Genetic predisposition;
Social factors.

Genetic inheritance has an individual tendency to specific types of fear, fear of society in general, and an innate level of anxiety. A person, as a constituent unit of society, is afraid of not being accepted, not understood, not appreciated by the community, afraid of being socially isolated. Among the hereditary psychological characteristics, it is worth highlighting the basis for further character formation: temperament, genetic accentuation and the degree of anxiety. The psychological characteristics of parents and offspring are quite similar: they have similar fears, a certain way of perceiving them, the same strength of reaction and the degree of “stuckness.”

Psychologists consider social factors to be the most significant sources of the formation of phobia before public speaking:

incorrect, overly strict education;
incorrect behavior of parents in the family: intimidation, prohibitions, threats in childhood;
excessive sensitivity to criticism from others and internal “censorship”, giving rise to anankastic timidity and humility;
negative attitude towards one’s own “I”, low self-esteem, due to adult pressure on the child’s psyche;
negative childhood experiences that were subject to significant criticism for the individual;
distortion of the strength of stress factors towards their intensification;

Peiraphobia can manifest itself due to a lack of confidence to be understood by the audience, which is associated with poor, insufficient preparation and lack of necessary knowledge. For many, performing on stage is difficult due to lack of sufficient experience.

A likely factor in the development of stage fright is the desire for perfection. Very often, glossophobia manifests itself in perfectionist people who strive for ideals and have the habit of valuing public opinion.

Also, people whose anxiety is accompanied by pedantic-type accentuation are afraid to be in everyone's sight.

Treatment: how to fight?

Of course, it is necessary to get rid of this phobia, and these fears can be successfully and completely eliminated by appropriate specialists. Professional help to get rid of glossophobia is necessary only for those whose fears turn into fears, the clear boundaries of which can only be determined by a psychotherapist. For all other speakers, lecturers, actors and musicians, you can overcome your phobia on your own.

Steps to overcome your fear of speaking in public include four steps:

awareness of the problem;
analysis of the reasons for the appearance;
development of solution ideas;
testing ideas in practice.

Let us dwell in more detail on possible resolution methods designed to reduce anxiety levels, increase self-esteem and get rid of glossophobia.

Stage 1. Getting rid of unknowns

We carefully analyze the audience: numbers, social status, age, life positions, interests of the audience. It is necessary to clearly understand what society expects from your speech, and what kind of response you expect to receive. Your awareness will negate the factor of uncertainty and it will become predictable to obtain a certain result.

Stage 2. Taming the “monster”

Your nervousness is heightened by the public's endowment negative traits and fixation on the “minuses”, such as: a skeptical grin, gestures of disapproval, critical whispers, etc. that allegedly take place in the audience. You can change your perception of the public by creating thoughts of approval. Endow objects positive features, pay mental attention to the pleasant little things coming from the audience: approving gestures, jubilant voices, interested glances. Great way overcome stage fright - visualization, when you imagine the outstanding result of your work in perspective.

Stage 3. Don’t allow the performance to fail

If stage fright causes fear of failure and failure, the best remedy there will be careful preparation. When a person is confident in his knowledge and sufficient elaboration of the topic, he will worry much less.

For example, you have a report coming up. The algorithm of your actions is as follows:

search, analysis and study of source data from several sources,
creating unique text,
taking notes on the main points,
drawing up a speech plan,
selection of compelling arguments,
memorization or close retelling of a compiled text,
studying possible questions and preparing answers to them.

Practice your report in front of a mirror or speak in front of your loved ones. Listening to text dictated in your own voice will have a good effect. Please pay attention special attention non-verbal part: your gestures, facial expressions and appearance. This preliminary presentation will help identify and correct possible mistakes and will give you confidence in your speaking abilities.

Stage 4. Recognize the possibility of error

It is necessary to reduce the often exaggerated importance of other people, logically evaluate criticism, recognize the presence of shortcomings in each individual, including: sarcasm, cynicism, skepticism, ill will and other disadvantages. Knowing that everyone can make mistakes, and that criticism is not always fair from well-wishers, will give you greater confidence.

It is necessary to regularly practice techniques aimed at developing objective self-esteem and increasing self-esteem. Affirmations on the topic of feeling your own worth and accepting yourself as a unique person give excellent results.

Stage 5. Fix on the positive

It is advisable to focus on the process itself rather than the expected outcome. It will be more productive to fixate on the course of action in the present, and not on the currently illusory future result. Imagine all the pleasant aspects of being in public, your success and recognition. The existing negative experience must be transformed into a positive one.

Besides, good methods to overcome stage fright are:

physical exercises for different muscle groups,
correct breathing,
activation of the left hemisphere, for example: mathematical calculations,
singing mentally or out loud a pleasant melody,
changing body position to a more open posture,
regular meditations,
use of self-hypnosis techniques.

A smile has fantastic power. Sincere smile will reduce mental stress and discomfort, deceive the subconscious (after all, it is not possible to be afraid and experience joy at the same time). Smile at the audience and when you receive a smile in return, you will feel your fears leaving you. Don’t avoid performing and interacting with the public, confidence will come with experience!

More resources on stage fright

Audio lecture on techniques for dealing with fear of public speaking.

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Why is stage fright dangerous?

Every person goes on stage is a little nervous. This is a natural state that is inherent in everyone. It has some positive effects because it helps you gather and concentrate during a performance. However, this natural anxiety has nothing to do with glossophobia.

Glossophobia is a pathological fear of public speaking that cannot be overcome. At first glance, it may seem that this phobia is harmless and incapable of causing serious harm to a person. Actually this is not true.

A person suffering from peiraphobia experiences constant stress when he has to speak in front of an audience. If a person works in a field where there is no need to contact the audience, then he can calmly live with his fear. But if his profession involves frequent public speaking, then it will be difficult for him. Constant stress can undermine physical and mental health.

A person loses self-confidence, his self-esteem drops, complexes develop, and he withdraws into himself. Fear forces him to quit his profession related to public speaking, even if he really likes it.

Often, glossophobes try to drown out their fear with alcohol, drugs or strong sedatives. Abuse of such substances can lead to the development of alcoholism or drug addiction. Therefore, all public people suffering from peiraphobia must definitely fight their illness.

Symptoms of glossophobia

Fear is expressed by a set of typical symptoms characteristic of all types of phobias:

a person’s voice begins to tremble, its timbre changes;
muscle tension occurs;
the heartbeat quickens, the person feels a feeling of constriction in the chest, he lacks air;
there is increased sweating, tremors of the limbs, arms and legs become cold and weak;
possible dizziness or headache, nausea;
the person feels dry mouth and finds it difficult to speak.

The listed symptoms in different people appear with different intensities. Particularly impressionable people may even faint. Children may experience involuntary urination. In rare cases, this phenomenon is observed in adults. Of course, in such a state it is not possible to speak in front of people.

If logophobia is not too severe, a person can gather his courage and still carry out a speech, suppressing his fear. With a strong phobia, this cannot be done, and the speaker either loses consciousness or runs away from the stage.

Causes of glossophobia

Psychologists identify two reasons why a person develops stage fright:

Genetic factors;
Social factors.

In the case of genetic reasons phobia develops under the influence of increased emotionality, high level anxiety, individual characteristics character and temperament.

An emotionally unstable individual is afraid of being rejected, afraid of condemnation and rejection. These fears gradually grow into a real phobia. Heredity also plays a significant role in the development of pathological stage fright. If either parent suffered from a similar disorder, the child could inherit it. Psychologists have noticed that parents and children very often have the same fears and their identical manifestation.

In the case of social reasons Peiraphobia is provoked by upbringing. Most often, stage fright occurs in children raised by strict and oppressive parents. If a child is scolded for talking loudly on the street, forced to behave quietly and inconspicuously in society, he may begin to be afraid of public attention.

Excessive prohibitions, intimidation, suppression, psychological and physical violence form numerous fears and self-doubt in a child. Growing up, such a person strives to be inconspicuous, modest, tries not to attract attention to his person, and is afraid of public condemnation.

Perfectionist parents who demand that their child be the first in everything also run the risk of raising a glossophobe. From childhood, a person is taught that he must always be the best, and he makes every effort to achieve admiration and recognition from others. But it is impossible to be perfect always and in everything, so sooner or later such an individual faces failure. This failure can undermine his self-confidence and cause him to fear rejection.

Often the cause of the development of glossophobia is the experience of unsuccessful public speaking. For example, a schoolboy or student performed in front of the audience, and he was ridiculed and humiliated. The situation is aggravated if the humiliation came not only from peers, but also from adults. Such an incident can leave a deep mark on the soul of an insecure, shy person, influencing his further development.

People with speech impediments are also often afraid of speaking in public. This condition is called logoneurosis. Such people feel quite comfortable among close friends, but the need to speak in front of an audience unsettles them. They are afraid that other people will make fun of their shortcomings. Most often, such fears are well founded, because in any society there are individuals who are intolerant of other people’s defects.

How to overcome stage fright?

Many celebrities have suffered from stage fright, but they have overcome their fears and achieved success in their profession. This suggests that peiraphobia can and should be fought. If you are afraid of speaking in front of an audience and want to get rid of stage fright, the advice of psychologists will help you.

Prepare your speech carefully

In order not to embarrass yourself in front of your audience, prepare well for your presentation. For example, you need to make a report. Collect all necessary information, take notes on the material and memorize it well. Compose short plan, in which indicate the main points of your speech.

Think about what questions your audience might ask and prepare answers to them in advance. Rehearse your speech in front of a mirror, or even better, record it on a voice recorder to listen to how it sounds from the outside. Identify errors, stutters and get rid of them. Read your report to your loved ones, let them evaluate it and tell you what needs to be corrected. Such preparation will definitely prevent you from failing at your performance.

Get rid of the unknown

An unfamiliar audience is always intimidating because you don't know what reaction you can expect from them. Before the speech, analyze the audience - the number of people, their age, gender, social status, interests. Think about what these people expect from you, what will be interesting to them. Perhaps you should choose a humorous approach or, conversely, make the speech as interesting as possible. Work through these nuances, and your confidence on stage will significantly increase, because you will know in advance who you will be interacting with.

Don't take the audience as a harsh critic

Logophobes are very afraid of criticism from the audience. They pay attention to every laugh or disapproving glance and this makes them increasingly lose confidence in their behavior. own strength. To avoid this, you don't need to focus on a negative attitude. Remember: the audience's opinion is never clear-cut. There will always be critics and grateful listeners in the hall. Focus your attention on the latter. Catch every nod of approval, every smile or enthusiastic exclamation. Don't try to please everyone, work for those viewers who show you their affection.

Allow yourself to be imperfect

Give yourself room to make mistakes. Even professionals make mistakes high class, so don't worry about it. Don't take criticism to heart. It is not always objective. The viewer may simply have Bad mood or he doesn’t understand the topic of your speech at all. Learn techniques that increase self-esteem and apply them.

Be positive

When going on stage, put yourself in a positive mood. Don't think about the outcome of your speech, but focus on the current moment. Consider every word, every gesture. Feel like a person doing something important. Feel how nice it is to be the center of attention of many people.

To overcome strong excitement Before a performance and not feel awkward on stage, learn to relax. Learn breathing techniques and special relaxation exercises. Do not take constrained, closed postures. Another important point- smile. Be sure to smile at the audience and you will receive smiles in return.

What to do if nothing helps?

If you have tried all the methods to help overcome your fear of speaking, but have not achieved a positive result, seek help from a specialist. Perhaps your phobia has reached a stage where you cannot do without the help of a psychologist or psychotherapist.

Don't be shy about asking for help, there's no shame in it. Many public people work with psychologists to help them overcome stage fright. The specialist will select effective psychotherapeutic techniques and prescribe sedatives to reduce anxiety.

Anyone can get rid of logophobia. If your career and professional activity depends on your ability to speak in public, make every effort to overcome your fears and gain self-confidence. Believe me, the result is worth it!