Fear of Public Speaking? You Are Not Alone…
I was perusing the latest edition of Men’s Journal when I came across an interview with Anderson Cooper. I enjoy Anderson’s speaking style – he appears confident, is conversational and has great control and is masterful in his use of paralanguage while reporting.
Imagine my surprise to read that Anderson Cooper, who presents in front of millions and millions of people (indirectly) everyday, prime-time, has struggled with…. a fear of public speaking? The same anxiety-inducing phobia that millions of people (including me) have had to, or currently, deal with every day?
MJ: Have you tried conquering other fears that way?
I give Anderson tremendous credit for a) admitting a phobia publicly and b) for finishing his answer with the truth – and it was fine. With practice and preparation, it usually is.
The reality is that 99.9% of the time, all of the nightmare scenarios you envision the night before your presentation will not come true (with practice and preparation). Additionally, when you present, you almost always feel much more nervous than he or she appears. You really don’t appear to your audience to be as nervous as you feel inside.
Stay tuned, next post will be a summary of what to do when the fear starts creeping in….
Matt, at Porte Brown LLC, CPAs, we have multiple staff members present at our monthly staff meeting of 70 people starting early in their career.
We also have them pursue opportunities to present in front of chambers, bankers, attorneys, etc. Over time, many of the presenters become quite good and develop strong relationships and bring on clients because they get recognized for their area of expertise.
Most of us are nervous, but things usually turn out pretty well.
Interesting article i totally agree with the comments above. Keep writing