Fear of speaking in public is a phobia. Reasons for fear of public speaking

A person’s life in society, one way or another, involves interaction with other people. Often this interaction is the need to speak in public. And it doesn't matter if you are politician, a theater artist and a 5th grade student who has to read a poem at a matinee - you may be overcome by fear, which will make your performance a failure.

There are several types of phobias associated with public speaking.

1. Logophobia (from the ancient Greek λόγος - word and φόβος - fear) is an obsessive fear of speech. Often this fear is inherent in people suffering from logoneurosis, that is, stuttering.
2. Peiraphobia (from the Greek peira - test) - irrational fear public speaking.
3. Glossophobia (from the ancient Greek γλῶσσα - language) - fear of the stage, of a large audience. According to experts, such fear is inherent in the vast majority of people.
4. Verbophobia is the fear of speaking specific words that cause stuttering. If a person has speech impediments, words with unpronounceable letters can cause panic.
5. Lalophobia is the fear of stuttering while speaking.

All these terms in some cases can be synonymous, however, there are still some differences. Fear of the public may be an appropriate reaction, because it is normal to feel nervous about a situation on which your reputation depends to some extent. If anxiety gains momentum and turns into a phobia, it’s worth thinking about.

The consequences of pathological fear, which causes a refusal to communicate with a small audience, can be sad. Avoidance of public places, refusal of good work (if it requires speaking with the public), as a result, a drop in living standards and self-esteem. And then – a narrowing of the comfort zone to the closest people, the risk of addictions and mental problems.

All these consequences, of course, relate to anxiety-phobic disorder, and not ordinary stage fright.

I would like to note that most famous, professional and very experienced artists admit that they are afraid of going out to their audience. This is natural and is even considered an indicator that the artist continues to create art, and has not become a craftsman calmly carrying out his duties.

Reasons

The fear of public speaking is genetic and socially determined. Anxiety can be inherited from anxious parents. The character and temperament of a child are also formed as a result of genetic preconditions, thus, similar accentuations of a child and an adult provoke similar fears.

The social factor implies our acute fear of being rejected by society. This is laid down on an intuitive level. To ancient man It was impossible to survive alone, so being rejected by society was considered tantamount to death. It is these “instincts” that wake up at the wrong moment.

A person may be aware that nothing serious in his life depends on the delivery of any particular speech, his reputation will not be trampled, however, an uncontrollable irrational fear grips him, squeezing his throat.

Low self-esteem is often among the causes of stage fright. It can be formed as a result of improper parental upbringing: excessive severity, criticism of the child, suppression of his personality.

Among other things, stage phobia occurs due to pathological perfectionism. The pursuit of perfection can play a cruel joke even with experienced speakers.

The desire to look perfect causes a person to be distracted by thoughts about HOW he speaks and gestures, instead of being focused on WHAT he says.

Unnecessary thoughts confuse, provoke “mecking” and the use of unnecessary verbal clutter. Such cases add excitement to the upcoming next public appearance.

Symptoms and signs

Our body perceives the moment of going on stage as danger. The hypothalamic-pituitary system is triggered, the adrenal glands are stimulated and adrenaline is released into the blood. As a result, a person feels stiffness in the muscles of the neck and back, and you automatically slouch your shoulders. Otherwise, if you use muscle effort to correct your posture and keep your head straight, your limbs will begin to tremble and get cold.

The pupils dilate, making it difficult to see up close. At the same time, you cannot see the text on the piece of paper, but you can clearly see the faces of the audience. The stomach cramps, there may be nausea or a feeling of “butterflies” in the stomach, and the mouth becomes dry. Children experience involuntary urination. Blood pressure may rise, pulsation in the temples, redness of the face, and tachycardia may occur.

A reverse reaction is also possible - low blood pressure, pallor, and in extreme cases, loss of consciousness. Legs may give way and active sweating may occur.

And the most important thing, characteristic specifically for glossophobia, is the inability to control the voice. The ligaments are compressed, and the person cannot squeeze out a word.

How to overcome the fear of speaking in public

Much attention is now being paid to studying the problem of schoolchildren’s fear of public speaking. This tactic is very reasonable, because most problems in adult life begin in childhood.

It is schoolchildren who can cruelly ridicule an already insecure classmate, giving rise to new complexes and feeding old ones. Therefore, by explaining many points from childhood, helping the child overcome his internal pressures, you can save him from serious problems in later life.

So, you can overcome the fear of public speaking in several ways, depending on the severity of this fear. At very high level fears, that is, definitely phobias - the best solution will see a psychotherapist. If your fear borders on obsessive-compulsive disorder, then a visit to a specialist is definitely necessary.

It happens like this: long before the upcoming performance, scenarios of your failure are scrolling through your head, you cannot be distracted and think about it again and again. This is pathological. In other cases, most common fears can be overcome on your own.

Radislav Gandapas, a public speaking specialist, shares his methods of overcoming the fear of public speaking. He emphasizes that speaking in front of an audience is a natural overcoming for any person. But a well-prepared speaker, confident in himself and his report, who knows how to behave in public, enjoys overcoming himself. Conversely, poor preparation, lack of rehearsals and lack of self-confidence will cause discomfort instead of pleasure from the performance and can provoke psychological trauma.

Conclusions

According to statistics, 95% of people have a fear of speaking in public. This is genetic: standing in front of a crowd is scary - you are alone, but there are many of them. But there are ways to overcome this feeling. You need to be psychologically prepared for your debut. It is very important not to devalue yourself and not to overestimate the importance of others. In addition, it is worth preparing thoroughly for going on stage. It is advisable to rehearse all your movements and know the material very well.

Each of us at least once in our lives has encountered a situation where we need to speak in front of an audience: someone has gone through this school years in literature classes, and some still regularly have to prepare reports at meetings. How to overcome your fears and cope with the task “excellently” - further in our article.

Where do legs come from?

One of the strongest and most common social fears is glossophobia. Pathological fear of speaking in front of an audience is present to one degree or another in almost every person, periodically poisoning his life. Some experience symptoms of stage fright in anticipation of defending their thesis or speaking at a scientific council, while others even experience panic attacks if they need to ask directions from strangers on the street. Why is this happening?

According to experts, evolution is to blame for everything: the fear of speaking in public “migrated” to us from our primitive ancestors. In those days, surviving alone was something out of fantasy - the primitive world was particularly cruel to defenseless people. In order to survive and somehow feed themselves and their families, people needed the support of their fellow tribesmen. It is for this reason that today, on a subconscious level, we try to do everything possible to be “accepted into the pack” - we really need the approval of others and it is really important to us what others think of us.

But there is another culprit of our fears, which lives in our heads. from early childhood. The saddest thing is that glossophobia is instilled in us by those closest to us - our parents. And this happens at the very moment when a mother, for example, scolds her son for making noise when surrounded by strangers. After all, according to her, such behavior is extremely indecent - good boys must behave calmly and please adults only when they are not seen or heard. Therefore, it is not surprising that, having matured, we experience great fear when we are faced with the task of showing our true “I” in front of an unfamiliar crowd.

How does the speaker's body react to the speech?

When presented in front of an unfamiliar public, a person experiences fear, which immediately affects the work of almost everyone critical systems body.

First of all, the heart comes under attack: the pulse rises and reaches 130 beats per minute. Pressure surges also appear - it rises to 150/95 mm Hg. Art. Circulatory system loses approximately 20% of oxygen, and a change in tone occurs in the intestines - there is a high chance of encountering bear disease. In addition, a person instantly becomes wet: sweat begins to be released 2 times more intensely.

How to overcome glossophobia?

Sometimes this problem sits in our brain so deeply that awareness of the causes of our own fears practically does not help in the fight against self-doubt. And here more radical measures should be taken.

1. Get rid of anxiety in every possible way. Self-hypnosis is often underestimated: the more often you tell yourself that you will do a task perfectly, the more your brain will believe in victory.

2. Don't forget about rehearsals. The better you memorize the speech you will need to give in front of an audience, the fewer unpleasant surprises will happen to you during your speech.

3. Work on your gestures. When a speaker does not use body language at all, the audience becomes bored.

4. Approach your fears with humor. Imagine a picture as if your boss starts whistling and actively throwing rotten tomatoes at you. The main thing is that the picture in your head should look really funny to you: humor is an excellent cure for nervousness.

5. Remember that the people who came to listen to you are your friends. They don’t wish you anything bad and they certainly don’t expect your fiasco. Everyone present came here to listen to you speak, which means that they are really interested in your speech.

6. Find support in the audience. Choose an attentive listener from the crowd and speak as if you were addressing him personally. This way you will have every chance to turn an exciting speech in front of an audience into a calm conversation with an interested person.

Relaxing your body before performing

Psychological methods for getting rid of glossophobia will work many times more effectively if you combine them with physical ones.

1. High-quality morning exercises. After getting a good night's sleep before the upcoming event (this is also very important!), do proper exercises. Exercise “conscientiously”: the stronger the physical fatigue, the more happiness hormone your body will produce, protecting you from nervousness.

2. Correct breathing. Before going on stage, be sure to do a few breathing exercises. Don’t neglect them: this practice is successfully used by many world-famous stars. Inhale slowly while counting to ten. Hold your breath for a few seconds and exhale smoothly.

3. Smile. Firstly, a sincerely smiling person always attracts others. Even if the growing tension does not allow you to tune in to a positive mood, force yourself to smile: scientists have long proven that the facial muscles have feedback with the brain, and therefore an artificial smile very quickly develops into a real one, charging the person and the people around him with positive energy.

And most importantly, try to treat all your fears as simply as possible. This is life: we learn from own mistakes and improve even when we fail. Our every victory or failure is an experience, and as we know, it is priceless.

What is meant by glossophobia?

Glossophobia or stage fright is the name given to the panic fear experienced by a person before public speaking.

Despite the fact that most people never experience glossophobia during their lives, it is believed that 96% of the world’s inhabitants have a moderate and severe form of this phobia. It’s just that most of them have never had to perform in front of large crowds.

It is also noted that the size of the audience itself does not matter. What is more important is how well a person is familiar with it. Thus, the average glossophobe is capable of experiencing fear in front of an unfamiliar audience, while an audience of the same size, consisting of his classmates or colleagues, does not cause fear in him.

In addition, it is believed that although the fear of public speaking is indeed characteristic of most of us, anxiety can be considered a phobia if the symptoms described above occur before a speech or during a speech in front of well-known people, or in front of very small (from 4 to 10 people) groups of listeners . It is quite possible to get rid of such stage-induced fears.

People for whom public speaking is a habitual phenomenon also face this fear, although less often than others. Constant performances are what helps them overcome stage fright at the beginning of their careers.

Manifestations of glossophobia

The fear of public speaking is probably familiar to everyone. Passing an interview, presenting a report at a conference, taking an exam in public - all this can cause an attack of glossophobia.

The attack is accompanied by dry mouth, a feeling of panic, trembling of the voice, complete loss of the ability to speak, the legs become as if they were made of cotton and tremble. In extremely rare cases, such stage fright causes loss of consciousness (fainting of different durations), severe dizziness with loss of orientation, involuntary urination and disruptions in the digestive system.

Often the fear of performing, fear of the stage and the audience manifests itself periodically, and not constantly. This can happen when you need to speak in front of strangers, due to poor preparation or when the performance is particularly important.

Psychologists note that the fear of speaking also has positive aspects. By experiencing it in moderate quantities, a person seems to be charged with energy, becomes more focused and active, as a result of which his performances become more successful. It has been proven that the degree of nervousness before public speaking directly affects its quality. Public speaking for someone who doesn't feel nervous at all often turns out not to be very successful. The more nervous you are, the better the performance results will be, but this is only true up to a certain limit, after which nervousness only interferes with your performance.

Reasons that contribute to the development of glossophobia

To overcome glossophobia, you first need to determine what contributed to its development. According to psychologists, all the reasons that influence the development of fear of speaking are the result of a combination of social and genetic factors. Genetic is a type of temperament and an innate tendency to experience certain types of fear, the fear that other people will not accept them. However, social factors play a key role in the development of fear of speaking in front of an audience, because with equal innate preconditions, some develop it, while others do not.

For example, a child may develop stage fright after his parents or teachers scolded him for not being able to cope with a performance at a party, or after a teacher at school scolded him for a bad answer at the blackboard. Embarrassment to speak in public can also be a consequence of diction defects, so you need to get rid of them first.

Very often, the fear of performing manifests itself in perfectionists - those people who always strive for perfection in everything. The main reason for this is their inherent habit of valuing other people’s opinions. People with low self-esteem, prone to stress and becoming depressed literally at the slightest provocation are often afraid to speak in public.

Is it possible to treat glossophobia on your own?

How to overcome stage fright? Psychologists believe that professional treatment to help get rid of glossophobia is required only for those whose work involves direct speaking in front of people. For everyone else who does not give lectures or hold crowded meetings, it is not advisable to treat even the most severe fear of the public. Although it is possible to overcome it.

There are many ways to deal with these types of stage fears on your own. Most of them are based on the assertion that fear can be overcome as soon as the person experiencing it presents his listeners in a funny, non-frightening light: in clown outfits, naked, in the form of pets. But still it should be said that the best way Various sedatives can be used to overcome fear of public speaking.

But if you want to overcome your problems by taking even those over-the-counter ones, you should be extremely careful. The problem is that excessive doses of tranquilizers or drugs that reduce activity nervous system, can not only help overcome fear, but also lead to drowsiness and apathy, which will make your performance sluggish and uninteresting.

If stage fright is due to fear of failure, then the best remedy getting rid of it will require careful preparation. You can plan your speech and write it full text. Then carefully rehearse first in front of a mirror, and then in front of one of your relatives or friends. You can also overcome the problems that arise if you record your words on a tape recorder and listen to what happens.

Related materials:

There are no similar materials...

Fear of public speaking is one of the most common manifestations of social phobia, which the vast majority of people face at some point in their lives. Most often, speaking in public causes fear in adolescence, but for adults it can also become a serious problem. In this article we will dwell in detail on the main reasons for this phenomenon, and also give recommendations that will help overcome the fear of public speaking.

How does fear of performing manifest itself?

Let's start with the simplest and most obvious - the symptoms that appear during performances. In fact, there are quite a lot of them. Some people experience increased sweating, while others begin to shake like a leaf. In this article we will list the most common of them:

• Rapid heartbeat;
• High blood pressure;
• Hyperhidrosis (increased sweating);
• Blushing syndrome (redness of the face);
• Hand tremors, stoop;
• Change in voice, dry mouth;
• Bear disease.

As you can see, these are not the most pleasant symptoms that can seriously affect your life. Those for whom public speaking is part of their job (teachers, journalists, lawyers, etc.) suffer especially. In this case, your life can turn into daily torture. Moreover, in the background constant anxiety psychosomatic diseases may develop (nonspecific ulcerative colitis, bronchial asthma, allergic skin diseases, etc.)

Psychosomatic diseases are painful conditions where mental and physiological factors are intertwined. Those. when mental disorders can manifest themselves at the physiological level and vice versa.

Therefore, it is worth taking this problem very seriously. Now let's look at the reasons for the fear of public speaking.

Reasons

Again, there are many reasons and they are diverse in their origin. If you experience fear of public speaking, then you should carefully listen to your feelings during it and try to understand what thoughts make you nervous. You need to get everything out irrational thoughts and replace them with more rational ones.

Irrational thoughts are a misinterpretation real events. For example, “everyone noticed how I blushed,” but in reality this is not at all true.

This is the basis of cognitive behavioral therapy, which underlies the treatment of social phobia. Only by understanding the reasons for our fear can we begin effective fight with him.

1) Negative memories from childhood.

One of the reasons for fear of public speaking may be negative memories from childhood. For example, a child, answering near the blackboard, could do something ridiculous, which caused laughter from his classmates. The child will remember this moment in the future, he will become afraid or avoid such situations.

2) Incorrect upbringing.

Another common reason is improper upbringing. I think everyone knows how little children love to scream public places(for example on a bus). How do parents react to this? Most often they try in every possible way to calm them down, and some even beat or otherwise punish their offspring. Naturally, after this, the child may become more withdrawn, social skills will not develop, which will lead to problems in communication and, in particular, to a fear of public speaking.

3) High demands on oneself and dependence on other people’s opinions.

We all love ourselves to some extent. Very often, social phobes set high demands on themselves, and in all their endeavors there are notes of unhealthy perfectionism, but due to their weak social skills they are often disappointed. Therefore, if you approach the podium with the thought “everything must go perfectly,” then you will only intensify your worries if something goes wrong.

4) Complexes associated with appearance.

Some people are fixated on some flaw in their appearance. Moreover, they are so fixated that it begins to seem to them that others are also constantly paying attention to him, although in fact this is not the case. Moreover, others may find him attractive. For the sake of fairness, it is worth noting that there really are people with obvious defects in appearance, but there are few of them, most often your problem is far-fetched. People around you tend to pay attention to your imaginary or real shortcoming, not because it is so obvious, but because you yourself focus on it. Understanding this is one of the most important steps to help you feel less nervous when speaking in public.

5) Problems with pronunciation.

Some people don't have the most better diction and this causes them to panic. But here everything is not so bad. Firstly, speech can be trained, and secondly, most people will not be too critical of this shortcoming. Many will simply not care. Again, if you serious problems with speech, then in this case it is reasonable to think about changing activities or somehow modifying them in order to reduce public speaking to a minimum.

6) Reasons at the physical level.

There is no reliable confirmation of the facts listed below, but it is worth familiarizing yourself with them. First, scientists are working with genes responsible for fear. It is possible that increased anxiety may be inherited from your parents. In addition, there is a part of the brain responsible for fear, which is called the amygdala. Some scientists suggest that increased activity in the amygdala may lead to excessive anxiety.

How to overcome the fear of public speaking?

Many people view fear of public speaking as a separate problem. To make it more clear, I will give an example. Let's say you have a runny nose. What do most people do in this case? They buy drops or a spray and after some time the runny nose goes away. The same thing happens with fear of public speaking. Most people think that having completed some simple recommendations the fear will go away. But in reality, more often than not, the problem is much deeper. As a rule, such people have distorted thinking, which is reflected not only in public speaking, but also in other social contacts, as well as throughout life in general. This topic is huge and it is not possible to describe it within the framework of this article, so we will have to limit ourselves general recommendations, which will nevertheless be useful in some cases.

1) Getting rid of irrational thoughts.

I believe that this is one of the main points that should help overcome the fear of speaking in public. Examples of some irrational thoughts during a speech were given above, I’ll add a little to this list:

a) Everyone will look at me . In fact, this is not always the case. Do you remember yourself as a spectator at any performances? Do you always pay close attention to the speaker? Surely people will often be distracted, and some will not even care what you are talking about.

b) Everyone sees my big nose/red cheeks/shaky hands, etc. We are convinced that not everyone will stare at you. Now let's imagine this situation. You are worried and very red, what will happen in this case? As mentioned above, some people simply will not notice this. The other part will notice, but will not react negatively to it. And only a small part of the audience will notice and be critical of this. Everything is not as scary as it seemed before. In addition, this does not mean at all that people who were critical of what happened will change their opinion of you based on this situation. How you yourself react to what happened plays a big role. Don't frantically try to hide your shaking hands or cover up your red face. This behavior will only make the situation worse. Try to joke about this topic, which, in turn, will help defuse the situation and not worry about speaking in public.

c) Everything must go perfectly. Another wrong belief. Under no circumstances should you set yourself up this way before a performance, otherwise any mistake will cripple you even more. It is worth remembering that even professionals can make mistakes. You shouldn’t reproach yourself for mistakes, because... this is absolutely normal. It sounds corny, but it's true.

2) Careful preparation for the performance.

What do I mean by thorough preparation? Firstly, a clear knowledge of the topic of the speech. If you are fluent in the material, then it will be difficult for the audience to put you in an uncomfortable position with some sudden question. Secondly, you must look good. Being well-groomed and wearing the right clothes will give you confidence, and this is not empty words. Of course, you need to get a good night's sleep to stay alert and focused throughout the performance.

He did it - so can you

3) Muscle relaxation.

The condition of your body is directly related to your psychological state, so before performing you need to relax your muscles and get rid of tension. How to do this? For example, you can resort to the services of a massage therapist. An easier option is running or exercising gym. A short jog before speaking in public will help you relax and feel more relaxed.

4) Correct breathing.

Don't forget about this component. successful performance. If you're feeling too anxious, try this exercise: square breathing" This is one of the NLP technician which helps to calm down stressful situations. Therefore, as soon as you feel that your heartbeat and breathing have increased, use this technique to return to a calm state.

5) Focusing on positive viewers.

Quite a simple and logical technique. Why look at skeptical people when you can focus on friendly or neutral audiences? If you are embarrassed by the very fact that someone is looking at you, then you can not pay attention to the audience at all, but choose some inanimate object as the object of your attention.

6) Friendliness and openness to the audience.

Finally, the most obvious advice. Remain friendly and open to the audience. Nobody likes people who are grumbling and angry at the whole world.

In conclusion, I would like to say that following all the advice given above, you are unlikely to immediately overcome your fear of public speaking. This is completely normal. Practice, eradicate irrational thoughts and sooner or later you will be able to speak in front of any audience with unshakable confidence. At the end, we recommend watching a useful video on how to overcome the fear of public speaking and stop being afraid to communicate with people in general:

• Calm down
• Find support

Representatives of many professions often have to speak publicly as part of their job. This mainly applies to artists, top managers, lawyers and other specialists whose activities involve continuous contact with the audience. However, almost every person in life has situations when there is a need to speak publicly. This is why being able to overcome the fear of speaking in front of an audience is important for almost any person.

Reasons for fear of public speaking

Why list possible reasons fear of public speaking, if we can jump straight to tips on how to overcome the fear of speaking in public? Understanding and being aware of these reasons is the first step to combating this phobia!

Education in most cases is the basis of why a person is afraid to speak in front of other people. Parents often prohibit their children from talking loudly or shouting in public places. Moms and dads shut their children's mouths, arguing that everyone is looking at the child and that it is ugly. As a result, when a growing or already matured person has to speak in public, the voice disappears somewhere, everything inside shrinks, and streams of sweat pour from the forehead. Very often, negative childhood experiences are reinforced at school or college, when a person is criticized by teachers or other students.

Many psychologists associate fear of public speaking with the orders that existed in the primitive community, when a person was an integral part of the tribe (exile was tantamount to death) and all his actions passed through the filter of social encouragement. Very often, the fear of failure or hearing negative feedback about one’s actions not only makes a person give up an idea, but also causes a fear of speaking in front of an audience.

For some, public speaking may be a bit of a challenge due to lack of experience. Someone may have had less than stellar exposure to large audiences in the past. Some people have deliberately avoided public speaking, which makes it difficult for them to make it a part of their daily lives.

First of all, a person needs to understand that he is not at all alone in his phobia. According to statistics, 9 out of 10 speakers experience so-called stage fright. At the same time, almost everyone is nervous before performances. Those who are terrified of saying anything in public are called glossophobes in psychology.

Scientists have confirmed that large number people in the process of public speaking release an amount of adrenaline comparable to that released during a parachute jump. Surprisingly, fear of public speaking ranks second in the classification of phobias after fear of death. It is amazing that for some individuals, fear of the audience comes to the fore.

How to overcome fear of speaking

Prepare and rehearse

First of all, you need to carefully analyze your listeners. Fear of performing is often a tandem of several phobias. Has a lot on a person negative impact fear of the unknown. To get rid of it, you should find out in advance where and in front of which audience you will demonstrate your oratory . Analyze, as much as possible, how many people will listen to you, what interests and life positions they have, what they expect from the speaker, and what kind of reaction you want to get from them. It must be remembered that overcoming the fear of public speaking is inextricably linked with your awareness. Understanding who will listen to you will negate the unknown factor.

Once you know who your audience will be, you should start thorough preparation to the performance. You should construct your speech based on average intelligence indicators. There is no point in forming complex logical chains, using professional jargon and complex terms. You should choose such a speech only if you have to speak in front of professionals. In addition, you should avoid using words whose meaning you do not fully understand.

Even if you have a short speech to give, you should not ignore the need for at least the slightest preparation. Study as thoroughly as possible the topic you plan to talk about. The main principle to keep in mind is that the more afraid you are to perform, the better you should prepare.

After writing the text of the speech and preparing other additional materials Think about what questions your listeners might ask you. If you plan to present data in the form of graphs and charts, it makes sense to check the relevance and correctness of each figure. Think about having a strong argument to match any of your thesis.

Be sure to practice at home, imagining a state in which you feel most comfortable. If there have been cases in your life when you verbally managed to solve some difficult question or get out of a difficult situation, use that state to boost your confidence. Don’t forget to also model this state in your head before the performance itself.

It will not be superfluous to speak in front of one listener. This should be a friend of yours who is well versed in this particular topic. It is this kind of listener who will be able to identify shortcomings in your speech and also ask questions. If you answer them poorly, it’s worth taking a deeper look at the material. Otherwise, you can be sure that the introduction will go as well as possible.

Be sure to inspect the room where you plan to perform. Think about a place where you will feel comfortable establishing contact with the audience. Assess where the lighting is located, and also check whether it is possible to use a projector. When you master the territory using this method, you make the upcoming performance much easier for yourself.

Calm down

If you have no idea how to overcome fear of public speaking and relax, you can use the following exercises to help relieve tension.

• The meditation technique includes a well-known technique called conscious breathing. The essence of the method is to focus your attention on inhalation and exhalation. In this case, you should breathe deeply, holding your breath for several seconds. As you exhale, you need to count to yourself from 1 to 5. This method helps relieve tension and relax. The exercise should be performed for at least five minutes.
• Tighten every muscle in your body and stay in this state for five seconds. Then relax and repeat this procedure a few more times. If conditions allow, take a walk fast pace indoors or outdoors, squat several times or do push-ups.

It is believed that stimulants or tranquilizers help cope with the fear of performing. In fact, such drugs are absolutely useless, and in some cases they can even ruin your performance, especially if you do not calculate the dose. This can result in inhibition. This is why you should not use such drugs.

Find support

If there are your acquaintances or friends among the listeners, ask them to support you in every possible way. Any tactile contact will benefit you, no matter how surprising it may be. It could be friendly handshake, a pat on the shoulder or even a warm hug.

Before you begin your speech, look for a familiar face among those present. If there are no close people in the ranks of the listeners, find a person with an approving expression on his face. A smile and positivity addressed to you will help you cope with uncertainty.

Think over the non-verbal part of the speech

Don't underestimate the importance of the non-verbal part of your speech. Interestingly, each of us consumes about 60% of information from non-verbal sources. If words can mislead someone, then your gestures on a subconscious level will be read correctly by the audience. The appearance of the speaker, the distance to him, the timbre of the voice, the manner of narration, facial expressions and intonation are non-verbal.

Thinking through your appearance before a speech, it is worth considering that any similarity with the average listener plays into your hands, as it increases your influence on the audience. This applies to clothing, hairstyle, jewelry and manners. If people perceive you as one of their own, then your words will be more valuable. In this case, the articulation and diction of speech should be worked out by you before the speech.

How to overcome fear during public speaking

Even if you are completely calm before the performance, the feeling of fear may return the moment you go on stage. There are several tips to help deal with this problem.

A very popular way to help overcome tension is to say affirmations with an encouraging context. You need to choose positive phrases, such as “I love the audience, and they love me”, “Everyone is waiting for my speech”, “I know how to interest listeners”, etc.

The second way is to accept your fear. Allow yourself the right to worry, because you are human. If you accept this fact, you will immediately feel much easier. However, do not forget to set yourself up to achieve a positive result. There is no need to waste energy replaying your negative experiences in your head.

Experts also advise particularly anxious individuals to publicly admit their fear. Thus, you relieve yourself of some responsibility if you suddenly forget to say something or get confused. However, you should not use this method often, since the next time listeners may react to such a statement without much enthusiasm. You can only be honest during your first speech. Use this method only if other ways to overcome fear have not been effective.

If you are an inexperienced speaker, you should not practice impromptu speaking. Few people have the innate ability to extricate themselves from difficult situations. Therefore, it is better not to get into a difficult situation. If you need to answer questions, then it is better to utter platitudes that are appropriate in this particular situation. Against the general background, this will be unnoticeable, and you will remain a forgettable speaker until the moment you yourself want to attract the attention of others.

There are many tips that answer the question, how to overcome the fear of public speaking. You can imagine that the people in the audience are not businessmen, but fluffy bunnies. It is also very effective to think about something good. However, such advice is given mainly by experienced speakers, which will be effective only for those who do not experience much fear. Those people who are terrified of public speaking can use any of the methods mentioned in this article to cope with stress. If you practice a lot, you will soon notice serious progress.

P.S. Experience is the main key to becoming a good speaker. Start by making toasts in familiar company. After this, practice speaking loudly in public places. This will help you overcome the fear of negative reactions from others. Then you will notice that your tone will become more imposing and patronizing. Once you have gained some confidence, start taking action at work. Try to ask questions to the speakers. This will help you overcome your fear of being the center of attention. As a result, you will develop a craving for independent performances. Having found out everything means of speech expression And getting rid of a phobia, you will undoubtedly become a wonderful speaker.

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.