New research suggests a way to reduce fear of public speaking

Earlier this morning Martin Shovel tweeted about new research hailed as a breakthrough by the Guardian News. It occurred to me that it might have some application to reducing the fear of public speaking. Then tonight the research was again reported in excited tones by BPS Research Digest and they actually used reducing the fear of public speaking as an example of the practical application of the research.

The research

In the research, people received an electric shock every time a blue square appeared on a computer screen. Unsurprisingly, they became concerned (skin sensors measured their sweatiness) every time the blue square appeared. In psychological terms they had a learnt fear.

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Make a fool of yourself to reduce stage fright and be a more engaging speaker

At the New Media Atlanta conference this year, Chris Brogan was the last keynote of the day. He’d watched all day as the backchannel drowned in snark:

After watching speaker after speaker get slammed via the Backnoise application, I was terrified, because I’d be the last speaker on the stage. They’d said nearly nothing nice about anyone, and I read almost every word with that “don’t look away and things are going to go bad” feeling in my belly.

He could have chosen to play safe. Instead he started his keynote presentation with a rap song: [Read more]

The truth about visualization for public speaking success

Many people think that this type of visualization can help you not only speak better but also help reduce your fear of public speaking.

It may make you feel good at the time, but the scientific evidence doesn’t support the belief that it will help you achieve your best performance or reduce your fear of public speaking.

[Read more]

The three causes of public speaking fear (and what you can do about them)

Fear of public speaking often feels like it hits you out of nowhere. But I’m going to suggest that there are three distinct causes of speech anxiety.

These three different causes of speaking anxiety relate to three different areas of the brain – the Old Brain (it’s called this in neuro’pop’ books but is more correctly called the Hindbrain), Midbrain and the New Brain (again more correctly called the Forebrain). [Note: I have edited this paragraph to make it more scientifically accurate - thank you to Zen Faulkes who commented on my previous description].

My descriptions are a simplification of the science – in particular, the parts of the brain all interact with each other, so it’s not strictly correct to say that just one part of the brain causes nervousness. But I think it’s a useful model which may help you understand your fear of public speaking and work out the best way to reduce it.

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How to survive watching yourself on video

Do you hate the idea of watching yourself on video? Most people do. But on our courses it’s one of our most powerful tools for helping people to reduce their fear of public speaking. Watching yourself give a presentation can give you a tremendous confidence boost.

That’s because the way that you come across is often better than the way you imagine you come across. That’s because you can feel your nervousness, but the audience can only see it or hear it. Mike Bogle from the TechTicker blog writes:

In listening to the recording I was actually amazed how relaxed I sounded relative to the whirlwind of anxiety that was actually going on inside my head.

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How to use your fear of public speaking to be a better speaker

It’s normal to get nervous about public speaking.

When you stand up in front of people and open your mouth, you’re making yourself vulnerable. Public speaking involves risk. So aiming for zero fear is unrealistic.

I still get nervous when I have to present in unfamiliar situations. I’m very used to presenting to small groups of people on a course. That’s my comfort zone. But take me outside of that familiar situation, and I’ll get nervous.

If I were to get upset about being nervous, I would make it worse. I don’t fight my nerves, I use them.

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Why do you have a fear of public speaking?

From my own personal experience, from working with thousands of people face to face, and from asking my blog readers what they find hardest about presenting, I know that the fear of public speaking is a biggie.

And not everyone who suffers from the fear of public speaking has suffered a humiliating public speaking experience.

So why do do many people have a fear of public speaking? [Read more]

3 Reasons not to use NLP to overcome fear of public speaking

Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) is a controversial topic.

I started my research for this post with a relatively open mind.

I say relatively, because I do have some biases against NLP. Many NLP-trained people spout the nonsense about only 7% of your communication being based on the words you say. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you’ll know that I like to have scientific research to back up what I say – my experience was that NLP doesn’t always meet this standard.

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Review of top 10 methods to overcome fear of public speaking #2

This is Part 2 of a review of the top 10 methods for reducing the fear of public speaking. In Part 1 I reviewed affirmations and visualization. In this post I explore the use of hypnosis and relaxation training.

3. Hypnosis

I have no personal experience of hypnosis, and as I began my research for this review I was reasonably sceptical. But I have now been enlightened. It’s clear that hypnotherapy is an effective treatment for many issues, including anxiety. The British Psychological Society published an authoritative report in 2001 entitled “The nature of hypnosis”. In relation to its use in therapy they concluded: [Read more]

Review of the top 10 methods to overcome fear of public speaking #1

There’s a ton of internet advice on how to overcome the fear of public speaking. Much of the advice is of the “what worked for me” kind. Or the advice is the first stage of trying to sell you a a hypnosis CD. So how do you decide what advice to follow? In this post series, I’ll be reviewing the 10 most recommended methods. Here’s the list (not in any particular order):

1. Affirmations
2. Visualization
3. Hypnosis
4. Relaxation techniques
5. Neuro-Linguistic Programming
6. The Lefkoe method
7. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
8. Medication
9. Just do it
10. Toastmasters

If you think there are others that I should be looking at, let me know. My aim is to look for evidence of effectiveness on a more than anecdotal basis. In this post, I’ll start with affirmations and visualization. [Read more]

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