Glossophobia: The Fear of Public Speaking

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It’s perfectly normal to get nervous before speaking in public. In fact, most people experience some signs of discomfort and nervousness before embarking on a speech. Think about public speaking and a whole world of worries suddenly pop into your brain, adding to the discomfort. What if the audience is bored, or worse yet, what if they’re critical of your speech? Did you wear the right outfit?…did you remember your slide show?…does the AV company have the adapter for your Mac? Then it’s the OMG, you are up next! 1 minute, Yikes!

Presenters have enough on their mind. The last thing they need to be worrying about is the supporting technology. Hire a reliable and reputable AV company and let the presenter shine by erasing a bunch of their worries.

Reputable AV companies, like Lucas Productions, work with the speakers to ensure they are comfortable with all the presentation tools. They allow the presenters to do a live run through to eliminate any potential “surprises.”  They also employ system redundancy and show presenters what the “backup plan” is.

We’ve got the technical side covered. The speaking part is up to you. Here are a few tips from Health-Benefits-Of.net to help overcome your glossophobia:

  • Practice Regularly. Start by practicing in front of a mirror.
  • Know Your Topic Well. You’ll have less difficulty talking if you are confident about the topic of your speech.
  • Positive Thinking. Think positive thoughts before you begin. Visualize speaking and having the speech go well.
  • Deep Breaths. Deep breaths help calm your body by lowering your blood pressure and heart rate. Take at least three deep breaths to help ease panic attacks, sweating and other symptoms of glossophobia

As a speaker, when you are comfortable, your audience will be too.  Take a look at the infamous video “Michael Bay quits Samsung’s press conference” and notice how you feel about what’s happening.  Don’t let this happen at your next event.  Be sure to work closely with your AV company, anticipate what can go wrong and then have “fixes” in place if they do.