Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking
Below snakes, Americans fear public speaking more than anything else, according to a Gallup
poll. It's a fear that stands out on a list fraught with danger. Snakes and dogs bite, after all, and people fall from heights. But
talking?
I'm lucky -- I actually like public speaking. But 40 percent of respondents ranked public speaking their number one fear, women slightly more (44 percent) than men (37 percent). For some, there is nothing quite so paralyzing as standing before a group of silent, expectant faces.
If you're afraid of public speaking, you may not know why. A phobia -- in this case glossophobia -- is by definition a persistent, irrational fear that compels us to avoid the situation or behavior of which we are afraid. Chances are there isn't any reason that makes sense.
There are ways to manage, if not overcome, irrational fears. I've never heard picturing people in their underwear works -- you might not want to, anyway -- but a "just do it" approach might. The worst that could happen often doesn't.
According to this, the key is to keep your presentation moving. Avoid fiddling with your computer, don't apologize and don't stop. Actor Jeff Daniels' mike died during a live broadcast on Country Music Television in 2005. He kept talking until the connection was repaired. The audience, Daniels said, doesn't really want you to fail.
I've found that once begun, a presentation rolls along on its own momentum, like a ball down a ramp. The audience will often catch the ball if it drops.
As a profession less recognizable than nursing, we need to be seen as more than phlebotomists and button pushers. We need to speak up! Public speaking venues -- board meetings, department head meetings, job fairs, local schools -- are opportunities to sell who we are and what we do. A fear of public speaking shouldn't keep us from speaking up.
If it helps, one in five people are petrified of needles. Go figure.