Why You Fear Public Speaking

For over 30 years we have worked with clients who have a fear of public speaking. In our experience, eliminating the fear is not possible. And, believe it or not, it isn't even desirable. What we give our clients is a way to change the way they think about, and therefore the way they react to fear. We help eliminate the voice in their head that says they can't do it, by coaching them to identify and develop the skills they already have to become master communicators. Our clients learn not to let fear control them, but rather how to control the fear. The process transforms people, their careers and their sense of self.

Along the way, the coaches at Ty Boyd Executive Communications & Coaching have become experts in identifying what it is that contributes to the anxiety associated with public speaking. Here is our list:

• The need to be perfect: If your benchmark is to be perfect, you'll probably fail every time. Doing your best is an attainable goal, being perfect is not. The goal of your presentation should be to connect with your audience, not the perfection of your speech. Being perfect is the number one contributor to emotionally crippling fear.

• Forgetting your speech: Your goal is to remember the key points of your presentation, not to memorize it word for word. You are the only one who knows what you are going to say and chances are the audience will not notice if you forget something. Practice. Practice in front of a mirror, practice in front of a friend, practice until you are confident that you know your material and then stop worrying about forgetting something.
• The need to be the smartest person in the room : Your goal as the presenter is to create a powerful presentation that captivates, connects and creates action with your audience. There may be people in the audience that may be more knowledgeable about the topic, but they will not have your perspective.
• Appearing nervous: You may feel your heart beating out of your chest, but if you don't tell your audience, they can't see it. Our perceptions about ourselves are not always accurate. We feel nervous, so we think we look it, but the truth is, most of us don't show our nerves. And confidence and nervousness are not mutually exclusive: you can feel nervous on the inside but still have confidence.
• Not knowing the answer to a question:You are not expected to know every answer to every question. Admitting that you don't know an answer is not a sign of failure. Practice by thinking of all the questions that you might be asked, but during your rehearsals also practice saying, "I don't know, but I will research the question and get back to you."

If you want to be the most effective communicator that you can be, you need to put your fear to work for you. A lot of energy is generated from fear and fear can actually become your ally. At Ty Boyd, we help you manage fear and turn it into your most powerful speaking tool.