Public speaking anxiety may also be referred to as public speaking fear, public speaking phobia, performance nerves, performance anxiety or stage fright. The fear of public speaking is one of the most common fears.
If you get nervous whilst performing or public speaking then you are feeling the effects of the fight or flight response. This is a natural response to a perceived threat. Its purpose is to ensure that we are prepared physically to deal with whatever that threat might be. The usual result is that we either run away and avoid the threat or physically fight it. The perceived threat itself may be physical or psychological in nature. (e.g. potential physical harm, looking foolish, making a scene, not being accepted or liked, appearing weak, etc.) When it is activated, hormones such as adrenaline are released into the bloodstream to prepare your body for action. The fight or flight response actually functions extremely well, however problems arise when it is triggered in situations which we simply can’t avoid or fight our way out of. Such as meetings, interviews, speeches, performances or presentations.
When the fight or flight response is triggered, hormones such as adrenaline are released into your body to prepare you for fighting or escaping. You will increase your oxygen levels by breathing more rapidly. There will be an increase in your heart rate to pump blood faster to the lungs, muscles and brain. Your muscles tense ready for action and your awareness is heightened.
When people experience a fear of public speaking they commonly experience some of the following symptoms: excessive sweating, breathing difficulties, rapid heart rate, tingling, tightening of the throat, frequent need to urinate, light-headedness, ‘going-blank’, trembling, stammering, digestive problems, sense of inadequacy or inferiority.
It is important to realise that all anxiety including the fear of the public speaking, starts with our thoughts, and it is our brain that then stimulates the release of the various stress hormones. It is the negative interpretations we make about what is happening in the world around us, or about our own bodily sensations, or even about our own thoughts that can activate the fight or flight response within our body. These thoughts are often just outside our conscious awareness.
The part of your mind that deals with anxiety doesn’t really tell the difference between reality and imagination. So thinking about a future situation in a negative way, by worrying or ‘what-if’-ing will actually activate the fight or flight system, in much the same way as if you were there in reality.
Anxiety functions in such a way that makes it almost impossible to fight head on. Most people desperately fight it by trying in vain to control and manage the symptoms. In fact the more you try to control the anxiety symptoms, the worse they often get! The Chinese proverb “The tree that does not bend with the wind will be broken by the wind”, quite neatly illustrates the problem with this approach. One obvious solution is not to rigidly control the symptoms, but to focus on flowing with them and change what’s actually causing them.
As anxiety starts with your negative thoughts about a situation, the most logical place to start making changes is with those problematic thoughts. Change those thoughts so that you stop perceiving the situation as a threat and the anxiety goes away. This is actually a much easier and quicker process that you might think, and any experienced psychotherapist should be able to help.
Common situations which often provoke public speaking and performance anxiety can include: Wedding Speeches, Presentations, Meetings, Interviews, Exams, Acting Auditions and Performances, Musical Performances, Speaking on the telephone (particularly when in front of others), Being put on the spot, Being centre of attention.
Nigel Magowan is a hypnotherapist who works with fear of public speaking, generalised anxiety, IBS and phobias. Treatment for Anxiety in London, Harley Street Anxiety treatment in Manchester