According to the Book of Lists (Wallenchinsky, Wallace & Wallace, 1977), the number #1 fear of all fears is public speaking, and the 7th fear of all is dying! How could it possibly be that a person would rather die than give a speech or presentation?
Approximately 4 out of 10 people have some fear or anxiety dealing with speaking in front of groups and people who have this fear can experience all kinds of symptoms, including sweaty palms, accelerated heart rate, memory loss, and even difficulty in breathing.
Even a seasoned facilitator, coach, and speaker like me will have some anxiety when speaking in front of a group of people. This is perfectly normal and the best way to deal with this anxiety is to first acknowledge that such a fear is perfectly normal and you are not alone.
Recent findings in the field of neuroscience, where tremendous progress has been made researching how the brain detects and responds to threats, tells us that the fear you feel when you’re about to present, occurs as a result of the arousal of your body’s autonomic nervous system, triggering a fight-flight-or-freeze reaction.
The moment you stand to deliver a presentation, your body is automatically placed, ‘on-guard’, ready to respond to any potential threat to your life, pumping out a raft of hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, to name just two! Quite simply, an audience seated before you is detected by your brain as a potential threat, just as it would have detected the Sabre-tooth Tiger as a threat to you life, as Primitive Man.
Your brain’s incredible inbuilt survival mechanism automatically generates negative thoughts about you, your situation and those people ‘out there’, without you even being aware of it, leading to a loss of confidence and ultimately an uncomfortable and poor presentation, or speech.
The good news is … there are many techniques, approaches, and strategies a speaker can use to manage their performance anxiety, many of which I cover in my workshops: Speaking and Presenting, Presenting Virtually, and Speaking off the Cuff.
Of all the tips I share in my workshops, one of the simplest and hottest tips I give to my participants is to simply LOVE YOUR AUDIENCE … and remember … THEY WANT YOU TO SUCCEED!
How could it be that simple, I hear you ask?
When I say, LOVE YOUR AUDIENCE, I am recommending the following actions:
ALWAYS research your audience and find out as much as you can about them, prior to your presentation.
Explore the audience demographic, asking: Who are these people? What are their reasons for being there? what challenges are they are hoping to overcome by hearing your speech or presentation? what are their motivations, their needs, and interests in relation to your topic, etc?
As people are arriving at your speaking venue, GREET THEM warmly, and USE THEIR NAME, at least once. Introduce yourself as the speaker and enjoy some small talk to ‘breaking the ice’, so to speak.
This basic, polite, and socially expected social interaction will trigger off a wonderful ‘reward’ response in your amazing brain, releasing a raft of ‘feel- good’ hormones like oxytocin, rather than the more challenging and less useful hormones and neuropeptides, triggered by your brain’s automated threat response, such as norepinephrine, adrenaline, and cortisol (the ‘stress’ hormone!).
Interestingly, the simple act of using someone’s name will begin to comfort your brain, as well as theirs, into feeling a sense that you are both ‘friends, not foe (enemies)’ - this is once again your beautiful brain just doing its job, trying to protect you from potential threats. Help your brain to recognise your ‘friends’ in the audience.
Before you start: Make EYE CONTACT with a few people, deliver a GENUINE SMILE, and CONVERT ANY NEGATIVE ‘SELF-TALK’ to more positive, helpful thoughts.
A few moments before you open your mouth to begin your speech, or presentation, look out to a few individuals in your audience, one person at a time, and simply make eye contact with them (especially if you remember meeting them at the door). Give those few familiar faces your most sincerest, warmest, and genuine smile and they will most likely smile back.
Set your focus on sending out positive energy to your audience, thinking about them as the most wonderful, intelligent, interested-looking crowd of people; rather than the alternative thinking of, ‘Oh no … look at how many people are out there. They look scarey. I’m scared. I feel nervous, etc.’
You’ll be amazed at how this simple approach of sharing a genuine smile with individuals and working on your own ‘self-talk’ will help you to de-escalate the possible rising anxious feeling that your brain’s automated response triggers so instinctively well, at the worst time possible!
So the next time you feel that anxious rising performance anxiety, try my 3 tips and share with me some of your best tips for managing the number #1 fear of all fears. I’d love to know what already works for you.
R:-)