Phobias and Public Speaking

Death is final, ultimate and inescapable, and because of nthis, understandably, most people fear it. Yet, although to a lesser and greater degree there is na fear of death instilled in all of us, in some people this fear nis surpassed by other things. For some it may be a phobia of Elvis impersonators or a phobia of peanut butter sticking to nthe roof of your mouth, but in most it is something far more ncommon : speaking to an audience. The findings of an American study revealed that most npeople fear public speaking more than death, In addition, public speaking was found to be the nthird most common phobia. However, unlike death or other phobias, such a fear is nunfounded and rather ironic, considering that public nspeaking, in a similar way to death, is something that will nfall on all of us at some stage or another and need not nbe the substance of nightmares. Everyday we are involved in a constant ninteraction with other people where we nhave to present and sell ourselves. This can be anything from ntalking to colleagues about a movie we have njust watched or trying to convince a board of ndirectors to go with a new proposal. In either setting, being able to communi-ncate effectively is not just an advantage it nis a key to success. Oral presentations will nalways be the most effective means to npersuade audiences. This is important when reflecting on how a fear of public nspeaking can hamper this process. From nan early age we are taught to fear making nspeeches or making oral presentations and this is largely nwhat makes most people ineffective speakers. However, I do nbelieve that this phobia can be unlea ed and with the right ntraining, anyone can become a good speaker. I base such claims on my experience as na coordinator of communication workshops aimed at nenhancing presentation skills. Lots of the people I have trained have come in with little confidence. It is not uncommon for such people, based on their fear of speaking, to be reluctant to come. They may even cancel their appointments with me a few times before finally plucking up the courage to come, but once they have done the workshop nthe change is apparent. It really is a transformation. In this regard, becoming an effective speaker may very nwell be as much a process of learning new techniques, as it nis unlea ing old habits and conditioning. In school we are taught to speak with our hands at our sides. To stand still. To look over our audience. However, these rules don't apply to adults. In school we are told these things because we are children and children can be overly active and have trouble keeping still or suppressing the giggles. Obviously adults have no such problems, yet we still carry the same ideas nabout how to present ourselves. Against the backdrop of a society and culture that is become nincreasing characterised by a lowering concentration span, nthis holds a problem for anyone wanting to make a public npresentation. The truth is that speaking styles are changing. We are finding that to maintain an audience's attention, nspeakers are having to become more animated and maintain nmore eye contact than, for example, in the 1970s. Having said nthat, there is just no way that anyone can make an effective oral presentation using the methods we are taught in school. Of course, making a presentation effective is where the nkey lies. In this regard, in her workshops Thompson tries to nestablish how important one's communication skills weigh nin on the entire presentation. Regardless of the setting, if nsomeone does not communicate with their audience properly, nregardless of how good their message is, it will be lost. This is because only roughly 7% of what we say is through actual words. The rest is through body language and tone of voice.You can take a brilliant doctor or auditor who has written a brilliant presentation, but stumbles through its delivery speaking too softly, too monotonously and too nervously and compare it to someone who has written a poor presentation but delivers it charismatically and confidently and you may find that the second person actually accomplishes more. Acknowledging this, it becomes possible for someone nwho is knowledgeable in their field, but also a brilliant npublic speaker, to have a huge advantage in the business nenvironment. In many functions and corporate events a nnumber of speakers will appear on one night and sometimes nmost of them will be ineffective speakers. They will read ntheir entire presentations or rely on an extensive number nof PowerPoint slides, all of which kill their ability to convey ntheir message. In such settings, a good speaker can really nstand out. Since the gap between his or her presentation and nthe other presentations is so large, the nspeaker's speaking ability can essentially nput him/her in a different league. One can gain such an advantage nthrough two ways. On the one hand, one ncan learn to be a great speaker by trial nand error over a long period of time, with nmany opportunities lost along the way, or one can go the nmuch easier route. Seek professional help.