It has been said that the fear of speaking in public is rated at #2 in human fears after #1, snakes, and before #3, the fear of dying. So it is a major obstacle for most people; I would say it affects the majority of people, male and female, all races, nationalities or other “elasticities”.

Effects of fear

What happens to many people is that–even before they start speaking–their heart starts racing, their mouth gets dry, maybe even the knees and legs shake. Some may even get nauseous or feel faint.

Then once they start speaking, the heart rate increases and beats rapidly. The person may hear his heart beat and/or her voice break and tremble. The legs or even the whole body may almost uncontrollable shake. The person may also stutter or start speaking rapidly. We all know people have a tendency to speak too fast when presenting in public.

Although some people calm down, once they get going, others may ramble through the material incoherently.

Do you wonder why many people don’t want to go through that ordeal again?

The reason most people get anxious when required to speak to a group is that they are afraid of looking foolish or stupid in front of many of their peers and important people. They are afraid that their mind will go blank or that their lack of speaking skills will lower the opinion others have of them.

Being humiliated can destroy a person’s ego and confidence. In fact, it can really ruin your day.

It has ruined one day in my life. I will never forget it. I will include this story in my next post.

/Terry