How to Survive in Front of a Group
You’ve seen the data. Survey after survey, going back decades, suggests that public speaking is people’s greatest fear. Called “glossophobia”, it consistently beats spiders, snakes, flying, and even death in the lexicon of least favorite things. (e.g., “Kill me, just don’t make me stand up and say anything…”).
As a train-the-trainer seminar leader, I have spent almost 25 years helping subject matter experts, managers, and other aspiring speakers overcome this fear, and I’ve witnessed every imaginable manifestation of it. Prior to giving a presentation, I’ve seen people break into hives, lose their voices, become faint, claim to be having a heart attack, and have had two pregnant attendees go into early labor.
How to overcome this fear? The literature on this subject typically promotes some very familiar solutions: deep breathing, practice in a mirror, meditation, positive visualization, imagine your audience naked, (not recommended if you work with engineers) and others.
Not to discount the above, but in my experience, there are two solutions that work consistently with even the most terrified presenters:
1) Get into the room early and chat with audience members. Wander over to wherever the coffee is, and discuss traffic, weather, sports, or whatever topics naturally arise. By the time you stand up to formally begin, you will have neutralized (at least in your own mind) your relationship with the audience and created a sense of community.
2) Once you do begin, ask the audience a question very quickly. Specifically, a question which calls for a verbal response (e.g., “Who can define…?” or “What would be your reaction to…?” or similar.). Once someone else in the room begins to speak, your brain thinks that you are having a conversation rather than giving a speech, which is a very familiar mode for all of us. I have seen presenters who were literally paralyzed with fright, visibly relax at the sound of another voice in the room. It also creates an interactive atmosphere and sets the stage for further audience engagement.
Bottom line: A little work before and at the beginning of a presentation will go a long way towards freeing you from (or at least reducing) the burden of speaking anxiety.