Also commonly referred to as public speaking phobia, public speaking fear, public speaking anxiety, presentation anxiety, performance anxiety, performance nerves or stage fright. In many surveys, the fear of public speaking is often ranked as the number one fear. Surprisingly many people will rank the fear of public speaking higher than the fear of death.
If you get nervous whilst performing or public speaking then you are feeling the effects of the fight or flight response. This is a natural response to a perceived threat. Its purpose is to ensure that we are prepared physically to deal with whatever that threat might be. The usual result is that we either run away and avoid the threat or physically fight it. The perceived threat itself may be physical or psychological in nature. (e.g. potential physical harm, looking foolish, making a scene, not being accepted or liked, appearing weak, etc.) When it is activated, hormones such as adrenaline are released into the bloodstream to prepare your body for action. The fight or flight response actually functions extremely well, however problems arise when it is triggered in situations which we simply can’t avoid or fight our way out of. Such as meetings, interviews, speeches, performances or presentations.
The effects of the fight or flight response include an increase in our heart rate to pump blood faster to the lungs, muscles and brain. We breath more rapidly to increase our oxygen levels, our muscles tense ready for action and many functions not necessary for fighting or escaping, such as digestion or reproduction, slow or stop.
When people experience a fear of public speaking they commonly experience some of the following symptoms: excessive sweating, breathing difficulties, rapid heart rate, tingling, tightening of the throat, frequent need to urinate, feeling light-headed, ‘going-blank’, trembling, stammering, digestive problems, sense of inadequacy or inferiority.
The fear of public speaking is an anxiety, and like all anxieties it ultimately begins with your thoughts about the current or possible future situations. You may be aware of these thoughts, but often they are just outside our conscious awareness. If your mind perceives a threat then it triggers the release of the various stress hormones into the body which produces the symptoms you experience.
We react in much the same way, whether we are experiencing a real situation or just thinking about it. Simply thinking negatively about a future situation such as a presentation, performance or event is enough to to trigger the fight or flight response.
Due to the way anxiety functions, it is almost impossible to fight it head on. You’ve probably already tried to control it using will-power alone, and failed miserably. In fact the more you fight and try to control the anxiety, the worse it often gets! An obvious solution is not to fight the symptoms, but to focus on and change what’s actually causing them.
As anxiety starts with your negative thoughts about a situation, the most logical place to start making changes is with those problematic thoughts. Change those thoughts so that you stop perceiving the situation as a threat and the anxiety goes away. This is actually a much easier and quicker process that you might think, and any experienced psychotherapist should be able to help.
Common situations which can trigger fear of public speaking and stage fright can include any situation where you become the centre of attention and feel you are being judged negatively: presentations, acting auditions and performances, musical performances, meetings, interviews, wedding speeches, exams, speaking on the telephone (particularly when in front of others).
About the author: Nigel Magowan is a hypnotherapist who works with fear of public speaking, anxiety disorders, IBS and phobias. Treatment for Interview Anxiety in London, Harley Street Interview Anxiety treatment in Manchester