Liar?

Whether you're a liar or not, this text is about how you can learn to tolerate sweaty armpits, a trembling voice, or shaky knees when you step onto the stage.

49% of students are afraid

To give oral presentations or speak in academic contexts. (SHoT survey 2018). There is no simple explanation for why some people develop strong anxiety about public speaking. It could be due to negative past experiences, thoughts that others will judge you if they see signs of nervousness, or judging yourself for being nervous; you shouldn't be so nervous. Nevertheless, as the SHoT results state, you are not alone, it just feels that way.

Your fear response is amazing

When it comes to situations where it is needed. It is an enormous mobilization of energy that helps you escape or fight to survive. When a threat is detected, adrenaline is automatically released, causing your heart to pound, your breathing to increase, and your blood to focus on the major muscles involved in fight or flight.

The increased muscle tension makes you tense, and you feel nervous. This also explains why your legs and arms tremble and why your body temperature fluctuates, with sweating one second and shivering the next. While you accept experiencing a racing heart, rapid breathing, and sweating while running, you perceive these physiological reactions as threatening when you have to stand still and, for example, speak in front of an audience.

Master of avoidance

That's why you, who are terrified of giving presentations, have most likely developed a fabulous ability to avoid. Avoidance is fear's trump card, the ace of spades in the deck, the one that stops you from leaning too far out, jumping from too high up, or diving too deep. But for someone with speech anxiety, it's the joker. The one that prevents you from correcting old experiences, acquiring new skills, and most importantly, the one that turns this into an indisputable truth: you can't do it.

Find out what you're afraid of

Avoidance doesn't make you a better speaker; it makes you more afraid. But what are you actually afraid of? By trying to answer this question, you can gain valuable information to help yourself. What most people are afraid of is being negatively judged by others. Maybe it's the same for you, that you think others will interpret your nervousness as a lack of competence, weakness, or character flaw?

Make a list of absolutely everything you're afraid of when it comes to speaking in front of audiences. Don't try to judge it, but rather wonder about your own frightening imagination. Some of this you may see as unlikely to happen, while many things on the list may be realistic. If you're afraid of trembling hands, blushing, or losing concentration; yep, very likely. Once you have a list of specific phenomena you fear, the work begins to create strategies to confront them.

What is your strategy?

When your parents teach you to ride a bike, they give you instructions or strategies. Hold onto the handlebars, pedal with your feet, look in the direction you're going, and so on. It's poor bike training to say, "Don't fall off, or you'll hurt yourself badly, and everyone will laugh at you." This is the most common instruction people with speech anxiety give themselves: "Don't get nervous." The focus is on what shouldn't happen or the worst that can happen, and there are no instructions on what you should do.

Find out how you wish to present yourself

What does a good speaker look like to you? Get inspired by others, watch speakers on YouTube or in the classroom. What is it about their presentation that you like? Just like in the previous exercise, be detailed here as well. For example, if you want to appear competent and confident, it's wise to reflect on what that looks like.

Competence

What makes a presentation competent? The content. In other words, the script. This is where all your knowledge comes forward, what you want to convey. You should know that what you have planned to say is correct and relevant for this task. A good script increases the chance of appearing competent.

The Mental Block

Many hesitate to write a script, possibly because they believe it obstructs a confident and natural style. But the script has little to do with your style. A well-prepared academic presentation is a well-thought-out script. In addition, the script is a strategy to overcome mental blocks. If you have a script to follow, it takes you less than ten seconds to find your way back. And the best part is that the likelihood of experiencing a mental block significantly decreases when you know you have a strategy to deal with it.

Confidence

What do you look like when you're confident? Where is your gaze, what are your hands doing? How do you breathe? By being aware of your own body language and practicing it, you can replicate that body language even when nerves are raging inside. The script is also helpful here. You can write down reminders in the margins: remember to look up, take a pause. You won't feel confident, but others will perceive a steady gaze, a pleasant smile, and precise gestures.

Blushing and Trembling

Some of the physiological reactions in fear cannot be eliminated, such as blushing or trembling. But you can practice what to do when they occur. Keep trembling hands behind your back or in the position you usually have when you're calm. Avoid holding loose sheets of paper. Trembling knees or legs can be hidden behind a lectern, but the most effective approach is to move around to increase blood circulation.

Practice moving while speaking aloud to yourself at home if this is a recurring issue for you. Blushing is difficult to stop, so you need a diversionary tactic. A nice smile to the back row? A brief pause to refer to the script or the board behind you? Blushing subsides much faster if you have a plan for what to do when it happens.

Quavering Voice

It often results from shallow breathing. Planning good breathing pauses in your presentation can help. Warm-up exercises beforehand are also a good strategy. And rest assured that you are the one who hears the trembling voice the most.

Patient Practice

The interaction between body parts, instructions, and surroundings takes time to master. Most of us fell off the bicycle when we learned to ride. We got band-aids on our knees and encouragement to try again. I hope you give yourself support and encouragement in your training and wish you patience and a good mood throughout the process.

Do you need further advice or someone to talk to about speech anxiety? SiO Counseling offers courses and individual sessions and would be happy to speak with you.