Fear of Public Speaking is according to the Book of Lists, the number ONE fear. It ranks higher than death, flying or spiders etc. Mainly because we are all told that it’s an extremely stressful situation to be put in. But it isn’t inherently stressful. Many people who are afraid of speaking in public are under the assumption that you have to be brilliant at it to be a success.

The truth is, you don’t have to be a born entertainer, a polished wit or a charismatic raconteur to speak in public. Understanding and appreciating that you have something to offer your audience and believing that you do not have to be a Hollywood actor to accomplish can be enough to get you through the speech.

We fear the following:

• We may dry up
• Someone in the audience knows more than we do
• Being unable to answer questions
• Making mistakes in front of our peers
• Getting tongue tied and looking nervous

The truth is most of these fears are irrational and by talking through our fears and realizing that actually ‘dying’ on stage is not going to happen and we can actually manage the speech or presentation we need to make. Once we appreciate these factors and begin to believe and be confident and human in our approach, we can begin to resolve and ease the associated tension down to manageable levels.