Fear of Public Speaking

By Chonnipa Dantrakul

The average person ranks the fear of public speaking higher than the fear of death*.

I had a bit of a fear of public speaking at one point, and then I realized how detrimental it is. Every time I had to stand up in front of class, I always had the same problem and I always felt jittery and nervous. I decided to talk to my teacher about this problem. She understood my problem and told me the best way to avoid the fear is to practice your speech in front of a mirror. Pretended public is just a statue. A statue that cannot answer or help us. According to my teacher - if you use this tactic - “you can deliver the speech in front of millions of people”.

After that, When I get nervous in front of a crowd, however small or large, I always remind myself "NEVER BE TOO OBVIOUS”. Even though my knees may shake, my hands may go sweaty, I know I cannot let my voice shake as much as my knees and that I have to pretend I am very confident and profressional.

The important lesson I learned about this situation is that the only way you can remove your fear is by facing it. You will never get over your fear by avoiding it.

*Quote from: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/phobias/expert-answers/fear-of-public-speaking/faq-20058416

#anxiety #fear #publicspeaking