The fear of public speaking is a very common phobia and can affect a large proportion of people. It’s known as Glossophobia. So now you have a name for your problem!
The anticipation of speaking in public is daunting for the vast majority of people, around 75%, so if you are suffering from this, remember that you are not alone!
The symptoms of glossophobia are very similar to the affects of a panic attack: sweating profusely, the feeling of a racing, pounding heart that seems as if the heart is about to explode out of the chest, blushing, feeling of just about to be sick, churning stomach, a dry mouth, shaking involuntarily and brain freeze. Also the impulse is to flee as fast as possible from the situation!
What happens is that our body attempts to help us escape from the threat we’re facing, which in this instant is the dread of speaking in public. Our stress response is triggered by our nervous system and stress hormones, adrenaline, secreted in our bloodstream.
When we first try to speak in public we fear failing and embarrassing ourselves in front of an audience. Perhaps people will mock us if we falter or stammer or if we feel that we are being judged or criticised.
Ask yourself this…
Who are they to feel this way towards you? If you feel this… Could they do any better?
So what exactly causes glossophobia? Why do we become nervous before speaking in public in the first place? Why is it that we feel threatened?
There are many reasons people develop a fear of public speaking. Sometimes we may have had a painful experience when speaking in public.
I helped a lady overcome her problem years ago which stemmed from being mocked because she spoke with a foreign accent. People can be cruel.
Feeling self conscious when placed in the spotlight, a client i assisted a few months ago recalled a moment from childhood when a teacher made him stand up in class to recite from a book he had a stammer and the teacher harangued him so badly that he urinated in front of the whole class. That situation was a trigger in adult life when speaking in public.
Being a perfectionist and feeling scared of making a mistake.
A fear of not being good enough to speak due to negative conditioning in the past perhaps even suffering imposter syndrome because we think we are not experts on our subject.
A fear of not being able to answer the audience’s questions at the end of the talk.
Hypnotherapy can help identify the cause of the fear, which is often due to an unfortunate past experience. It helps the subconscious let go of this trigger or minimise its effect, i.e., seeing it for what it was in the past and not now.
Hypnotherapy can boost your confidence, help you overcome the symptoms of the fear, and be calm above all! It will help you to focus on the topic of your speech and not make you so aware of your audience.