I overcame my fear of public speaking…you can too

For many people and particularly senior leaders, public speaking is an important part of the job. The ability to engage and influence on a large scale is highly prized by employers.

Public speaking anxiety can therefore really put a spanner in the works. For some, presenting can be a source of fear even weeks before the event. The apprehension and negative thoughts can cloud perceptions and judgement, transforming what should be a relatively short task into what can sometimes be viewed as a longer- term ordeal.

To get a sense of what it might feel like, imagine a rollercoaster ride. The long journey up to the crest is a time of building anxiety, overthinking and fear of what is ahead. At the peak of the hill there is almost blind panic looking down into the abyss. As the car drops down adrenaline surges, stomachs flip and some might close their eyes to shut out the sensory overload. Once the ride is over, there may be feelings of joy, elation or just utter relief that it is done.

Having some fear of public speaking is normal, in fact some experts estimate that up to 77% of people react with anxiety. However, this isn’t helpful data for those who are completely hijacked by an acute stress response.

It’s important to understand what causes the anxiety in the first place. It originates with our bodies evolutionary way of dealing with danger. With any perceived threat, we’re programmed to react with the fight/flight/freeze response; triggered by the release of the hormones adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones are like jump leads for our bodies, increasing heart rate to push more blood around so that oxygen levels and physical sharpness increase. Thousands of years ago this reaction could have made the difference between our ancestors being lunch for a predator or living another day. But in today’s boardrooms and online events, it can backfire. A red face, sweating, brain freeze and stammering aren’t conducive to engaging and influencing others.

So, what can we do about it?

My experience is that public speaking is a skill that needs to be learned rather than being an innate ability. With the mastery of this skill comes confidence, and that is your best defence against your fears. Unfortunately, this also means you will need to be prepared to stick it out and endure your nerves multiple times before you start to feel relief. This is something I did when my nerves were at their worst; not really through choice but because at that point in my career I was regularly expected to be on my feet presenting to large groups of people. The only way out was to ask someone else to step in and I wasn’t prepared to do that.

To improve your skills, you need to know what you’re aiming for. If you examine what makes a skilful presentation, you’ll start to come up with a list of things you can hear and observe. Think back to when you last saw a really good presentation whether that was a TED talk, a webinar or someone on their feet in a meeting. Replay it if you can. Most people will agree that body language, tone and strength of voice, pace, use of humour, energy and content are the key ingredients. That’s quite a lot to think about so, if at all possible, enlist the help of a friend or mentor to work with you and give you feedback as you practise developing your style. I was lucky enough to be able to work alongside some great trainers within my workplace when I was starting out. Sometimes it was the positive feedback I received from them that helped me most because it built my confidence in my own abilities.

Coaching can help you explore your emotional triggers, including any past experiences that may have shaped your perceptions and could be limiting your confidence. This process can also help you access the thoughts that are triggering your body into a stress reaction. Often, people place such huge importance on presenting in a polished, engaging way that the result is self-defeating, with any slip or fumble driving self-doubt and intensifying the stress. Reframing the expectations of others and the reality of what is ‘good enough’ can really help. For me, I learned to accept that a lot of the time I was going to make slip ups – the perfect standards I had set myself were totally unachievable. I also learned that sometimes the slip ups I made were a chance to laugh at myself and when others joined in that would help everyone relax and enjoy the presentation more.

In his book, ‘The Inner Game of Stress’, Tim Gallwey talks about overcoming our ‘inner obstacles’ such as fear, self-doubt frustration, pain and distractions. He tells how he overheard Tiger Woods’ father coaching him about how to deal with stress when playing golf. He told Tiger it was OK to feel any emotion on the golf course as long as he didn’t hang on to it for more than ten steps. Gallwey tells how Tiger would stroll across the fairway, seemingly unaware of the crowd, completely settled and comfortable. This ‘coping mechanism’ is just one example of how people can use mind over matter to control their fears. I’d highly recommend Tim Gallwey’s book if you’d like to understand more about controlling your inner voice.

If you want to take control of your public speaking fears my advice would be to firstly recognise it will take time and practise. Consider how you can improve your style. Enlist a friend or mentor to support you and give you feedback. Make sure your inner critic is under control by giving coaching a try; there are lots of excellent private coaches available and you may even have some in your organisation. Finally, don’t forget that whilst fear can be managed it will never completely disappear. But an element of adrenaline can work in your favour and give your performance a boost.

Let me know how you get on!