Does public speaking fear interfere with your presentation?
You’re at the front of the room, ready to begin your presentation, and suddenly your brain feels empty and you can’t recollect anything that you prepared beforehand for your presentation. In addition, your mouth goes dry so that you have difficulty swallowing and your voice sounds hoarse. And if that wasn’t enough, your stomach is in knots, your knees start wobbling and your hands shaking, and your heart is hammering a double beat.
Isn’t this exactly the moment when you need to be at your best and make a professional impression? Your objective is that people listen to you, are engaged and remember what your message was. Not great when you’re a nervous wreck, is it?
Your body reacts to public speaking fear with these symptoms that are left-overs from a time when early human beings were still in danger of attack by wild animals. Even now, when you’re physically threatened, your body sends an alarm out that triggers the “fight or flight” chemical in your brain, in order to protect you. This chemical is called adrenalin and is generated in the most primitive part of your brain called amygdala.
When you have trouble with public speaking fear, the amygdala believes you’re in danger and sends out the electro-chemical panic alarm to get your body ready to either flee or attack the “treat”.
As incongruent this response is to the “danger” of public speaking, your body isn’t aware of that. Here are a few methods it has so you can either attack the “danger” or escape:
– The oldest part of your brain, the amygdala, sends a message to your heart to increase the heart rate and to raise the blood pressure in your body in readiness for the assault. The consequence is that, when you’re tense when you stand in front of your audience, your heart begins hammering.
– The blood in your stomach that is used for digestion in normal situations, is taken away because it is needed by the muscles to give them more strenght to either fight or run. This means that you may feel sick in your stomach that comes with your public speaking fear. And if it’s your turn to give a speech after dinner, you may not be very hungry. Not only because the food tastes lousy, but your body wants an empty stomach, in readiness for a fast escape.
– While the blood builds up in the muscles it is also withdrawn from the brain. I would suggest that for the amygdala it’s probably more critical that you act when confronted by danger than to think about it. Thinking is time consuming. So, your mind goes blank and you forget what you wanted to say. Have you ever been in danger and afterwards said that you couldn’t remember what specifically happened?
– When you’re attacked by ferocious animal and you either have to fight it or run away, you have to have sufficient air in your lungs. So, the amygdala sends a signal to the lungs to boost your breathing. Now, as we’re not in real physical danger when giving a presentation or a speech, the increase in inhaled air needs to go somewhere and we breath out too fast. We begin hyperventilating and feeling dizzy. In extreme cases public speaking fear can result in fainting.
– As your breathing is increased to give you enough air to ward off your attacker or run away, you don’t want to be choking on your own saliva. So, your brain stops the production of saliva for this time and your mouth and throat get dry.
– This is one of the reasons your voice gets hoarse. Another reason may well be that your brain wants to make sure that you’re as quiet as possible when wild animals are on the prowl.
These are all reactions to fear that are inborn in us. They are instinctive and come from our ancestors. You don’t need to worry about them.
But it’s possible to do something about them. It’s possible to learn some techniques that will help you conquer your first public speaking fear. Great public speaking courses help you to become calmer and confident so that you can benefit from
the adrenalin that is coursing around your body.
Can you imagine turning your public speaking fear into a speech full of passion that touches and inspires people?
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