You control your fear of public speaking by not controlling it. That’s right. Why try controlling it? Guess what? Trying to control it is getting you in trouble in the first place.

First, a couple of public speaking phobia stats:

Three out of every four individuals suffer from speech anxiety.

Women and men are equally affected.

More men than women seek treatment to cure fear of public speaking.

But what you want to know, perhaps desperately, is what do you do about this fear? If fear is fire, acceptance is water. You cannot fight fire with fire. You have to come at it with a different element. The same is true of fear. No matter how much you want to put out your speaking anxiety, it is not terribly rational to do so. Why would you feel perfectly relaxed while speaking in front of hundreds of people? Or in front of five? It’s the resistance that creates the panic.

Your expectations are the key. If you expect that you will feel anxiety, and you give yourself a little mantra when you do, perhaps “it’s perfectly normal for my hands to shake”, or, “it’s natural that my heart is racing”, then you will not be so shocked when these things happen. And they will happen. Because, well…why wouldn’t they?

Not to get too deep about it, but the mind has an endless capacity for self deception. This fact extends to the field of public speaking as well. Keep your expectations in line, and you keep your fear in line.

If you are feeling anxious before your presentations contact me directly to set up a free 20 minute in person consultation. I can put a coaching plan together that will help you manage your anxiety, and add interest to your speeches.