Fear of Public Speaking and Its Common Negative Behaviours
Fear of public speaking is said to affect 75% of people. This fear often prevents people from progressing at work; however, in extreme cases, it's debilitating, with some people avoiding any situations where they may need to speak. In this article, I share my experience working with children and adults who fear public speaking. We look at fear as an emotion and how it manifests in negative body language that affects presentation delivery and audience perceptions. We then look at simple strategies to control fear and its related behaviour.
Fear of Public Speaking
Most adults who attend my public speaking and presentation skills workshops come to overcome their fear of public speaking. Their fear holds them back in many ways, including speaking in a meeting or life event, delivering a presentation, promotion and performing well in interviews.
The emotion of fear typically manifests a host of negative behaviours, impacting how information is communicated and received. It can create all kinds of weird behaviours that the speaker doesn't realise they are displaying because the emotion consumes brain capacity, reducing self-awareness. Negative behaviours affect the audience's perception of the individual and their message, hindering influence.
Speech anxiety, also known as Glossophobia, is said to affect 75% of the population. I can't find a statistical source, but I agree it's a reasonable estimation of a general fear of public speaking. I rarely encounter people who are significantly affected, enough to call it a phobia–sufficient for it to be debilitating–where people live their lives avoiding and evading situations where they may need to speak.
I'm not minimising a general fear of public speaking because even slight fear can significantly affect behaviour and influence perceptions, but I have only encountered one or two individuals (out of hundreds) who experience extreme fear. I have changed my strategy in these rare cases, knowing that the usual route won't work. These people are at a completely different level from most people who fear public speaking.
I have personally experienced this severe fear of speaking as a child and young adult, so I know how awful it feels. By my thirties, I was, or so I thought, largely over this crippling fear and okay with speaking to groups in teaching and training roles. I'd transitioned from working with groups of young children in my twenties to working with adults–much easier than going straight into training adults. Somehow, I ended up in a role where I had to train hundreds of people from a stage–a total nightmare at the time. During my first five-minute stint on stage, where all I had to do was demonstrate simple instructions, I quickly realised I lost the ability to read notes due to the consuming emotion of fear diminishing my cognition. Somehow, I got through, possibly assisted by a borrowed valium that seemed to have no calming effect. I continued to borrow a close friend's valium as I learned mental and behavioural strategies to get me through the next series of events–a covert, self-mustered, on-the-job crash course in survival! As for the valium, not once did I feel any calming effect; perhaps the fear was still too great, or maybe the tiny dose was far too small. I ditched it and felt no difference.
These days, I enjoy public speaking. Moreso, I enjoy helping people to be able to do it. I believe that experiencing a crippling fear of speaking in my younger years is fundamental to succeeding in enabling people who experience severe fear to speak in public. And that fumbling my way through public speaking in my thirties helped me formulate strategies that work. If I can do it (public speaking), anyone can. Since then, I've delved into the science of behaviour, communication and confidence and have much more to give.
I should add that I don't remove people's fear. Instead, I get them to a place where the fear is manageable, and they know they can do it. Their confidence starts here and continues to grow when nurtured. From there, practise and experience will take them further, allowing desensitisation and more experience in managing their fear.
Fear of Public Speaking can be Positive
Fear is a justified emotion to experience during public speaking, especially before and at the start of a talk. It shouldn't always be considered negative; when you can control fear, it can help you perform better. Fear shows that you care and that you want to do it well. I would be more concerned if it were absent. So, the next time you experience fear before a talk, remember it's a sign that you're invested in what you're about to say and how you say it.
Fear often subsides (somewhat) during the talk and, at that point, can turn to joy, where even people who were very scared suddenly start to enjoy speaking. Although this doesn't mean their fear is gone forever, it will likely still be present the next time they deliver a talk. Typically, I see a visual change marking the point where stress behaviours subside and calm and happiness emerge. It's not uncommon for these people to begin to enjoy public speaking because of that feeling, followed by elation at the end and shortly after the event. I have experienced this too. With more practise and experience, the joy and elation (that you can do this) subsides, switching to a joy and passion of sharing your message. Presenters begin to inadvertently express their passion at this stage, becoming more engaging. The audience feels the passion and is likelier to listen, enjoy and remember the message.
It's practise and experience that get you to this stage. Until then, you can fake it by controlling and concealing stress behaviours and displaying positive behaviours–this is what I teach people to do.
Typically, in a class of around 15 participants, I've found that around three to four students will consciously observe the point of relaxation and change in behaviour when a nervous peer delivers their talk. When we discuss it, more students start to notice. Improved observation skills can help you be aware of and control your behaviour.
Fear-Related Behaviours That Are Common During Public Speaking
Where Do Fear related behaviours stem from
When you experience fear, changes occur within your body to prepare you to deal with the situation. A threat (real or perceived) is the universal trigger of fear. What the threat is will differ between people; for example, threats relating to public speaking could include:
Fearing people’s perceptions of you.
Making a mistake.
Forgetting your words.
Being in the spotlight.
Emotion-related bodily changes are normal and usually occur to aid survival in life/death situations. The fear of failing to present well is not a life-threatening risk, but the body still acts in the same way, sometimes to the extreme.
During the emotion of fear, the body prepares to deal with the threat with increased focus and muscles that are ready to run or fight. In some cases, especially during extreme fear or when running from the threat is not an option, movement reduces, and the individual can appear paralysed. These bodily changes result in common fear-related behaviours. Sometimes, peculiar behaviours that are specific to an individual emerge.
Fear related behaviours
Fear-related behaviours can be voluntary or involuntary. During behaviour analysis, I look for signs of both, but when I help people with their presenting, I focus on voluntary behaviours as these can be controlled and modified. Involuntary fear-related behaviours include sweating, shaking and a high blink rate.
The most common fear-related voluntary behaviours that present during public speaking are:
Pacifying, self-soothing behaviours
Blocking behaviours
Movement-related behaviours
Fast movements and speech
Freeze response
Occasionally, peculiar behaviours emerge. These quirks are common to the individual, and they aren’t usually aware they are doing them. I’ve observed only a handful of people displaying peculiar behaviours, all centred on either the mouth or legs. During public speaking, the strange behaviours I’ve observed are leg movements, the most extreme coming from a TEDx speaker. In this case, the foot pointed, the leg slowly twisted with a knee bend, and the foot ended up by the speaker’s rear end! The speaker repeated the behaviour many times. I should add this wasn’t one of my clients. I have seen similar, less extreme leg movements in some children practising delivery. Such strange behaviours are uncommon, so don’t worry too much about whether you may be displaying them–you probably aren’t. Just in case, see the awareness section later in the article.
Let’s look at the fear-related behaviours that commonly occur during public speaking.
Pacifying, self-soothing behaviours
These behaviours help to soothe or distract from the discomfort of the situation. One part of the body (usually the hands) manipulates another part of the body or an object. For example, the hands fiddle with a pen or the teeth bite the lips. While these behaviours can occur anywhere on the body, during public speaking, the most common self-soothing behaviours I observe surround the hands, with fiddling fingers, rubbing fingers and thumbs together, fingers gripping and squeezing clothing, or hands soothing each other.
Blocking behaviours
These behaviours, a natural protection mechanism, are typically focused around the torso. One part of the body (often the arms) covers another, such as crossing the arms over the chest or gripping something (such as a handbag or folder) in front of the body. A physical barrier across the body can be comforting during a situation's discomfort, equating to a psychological barrier.
During public speaking, the most common blocking behaviour I observe is the hands touching in front of the body, often accompanied by the hands or fingers rubbing together. Another typical example is when a speaker takes comfort in hiding behind a podium. Sometimes, there's an expectation of a speaker speaking behind a podium; however, if it isn't an absolute must, and you want to connect to your audience and facilitate positive feelings, I suggest you refrain from using a podium.
Movement-related behaviours
Equally as common as fiddling hands, movement-related behaviours occur during the fear response because of increased adrenaline. As such, parts of the body move, often outside of the speaker's awareness. While this can include the fiddling hands already mentioned, the legs and feet are greatly affected. I commonly see swaying behaviours, where the speaker sways from foot to foot. Sometimes, the feet come off the floor. Rocking behaviours (back and forth) are less common but often observed. Occasionally, the legs jiggle, although this is more common in children than adults.
Pacing behaviours are also included here. It's not good to pace or walk around without reason while delivering a talk. That's why TED speakers have a red-circle carpet to stay within. Some movements can be helpful during a presentation, such as hand gestures and taking some steps when there's a good reason to, for example, when illustrating or emphasising a point.
These behaviours sound extreme, yet are very common. I have observed many people, from children to executives, rocking or swaying without knowing it, so unless you have observed yourself, don't assume you don't display them.
Fast movements and speech
Movements and speech typically speed up during the fear response because the body is physiologically primed to act in response to the threat. Eye, head and limb movements can increase speed, and time perception can change. During high anxiety, faster movements are common; however, during public speaking, it's fast speech that I most commonly observe.
Fast speech often signals that the speaker wants to get through their talk quickly to escape the situation. I usually see this teamed with an unnaturally swift exit from the stage at the end of a talk. Children do this a lot. Adults typically have more awareness of the speed at which they exit the stage, and while they may want to run, they exert control to conceal their feelings.
Freeze response
When animals and humans experience fear yet perceive they are in a situation they can't escape, the freeze response is common, sometimes only momentarily. I see the freeze response fairly commonly during public speaking practise, where a student's limbs appear paralysed, often slightly away from their body, with straightened palms and fingers. This can be long-lasting or ends as the speaker relaxes into their talk. Hand gestures do not occur, and the voice typically sounds less expressive/more monotone.
In this article, when referring to behaviour observations, I mainly refer to those observed during my public speaking workshops and courses, where attendees, many of whom experience fear, have come to learn and practise their skills. They learn to observe the behaviours of their peers and become aware of their own behaviours so they can self-regulate to conceal negative behaviours, present with more credibility and communicate more effectively.
From the perspective of the audience's perceptions, minimising fear and controlling behaviours is beneficial. Stress behaviours can be distracting, allowing you to lose your audience as they focus on your behaviour instead of your message. Stress behaviours can also convey a lack of confidence, minimising your credibility and influence–if you're uncomfortable delivering your message, why should anyone buy into it? Additionally, since emotions can be contagious, displaying stress behaviours can leave individuals in your audience feeling uncomfortable, diminishing their experience during your presentation and increasing the likelihood of negative perceptions.
Controlling fear-related behaviours
The best way to eliminate fear-related behaviours is to tackle the source of the fear response by slow breathing. You can learn more about it in this in this article. If the emotion of fear is reduced, fear-related behaviours, voluntary and involuntary, will be reduced, and more cognitive energy will be available for self-awareness and self-regulation, which is critical to concealing and controlling voluntary behaviours.
Self-Awareness During Public Speaking
Since fear can increase negative behaviours and reduce the ability to think clearly, being aware of what your body and voice are doing while presenting can be difficult. However, increasing self-awareness can start now; you don’t have to leave it until a stressful situation before focusing on what your body is doing. Start by considering what your body is doing right now, how it reflects your current feelings, and what it looks and feels like. You can also improve general awareness of body language by looking at people around you. An improved self and other awareness developed by ongoing deliberate consideration can improve awareness over time, making it easier to be aware of and control behaviour during important events like delivering a presentation or an interview.
One of the best ways to improve your body language awareness during public speaking is to record yourself as you practise or present. If you just recoiled at the thought of recording yourself, you’re not alone; most people do. However, seeing how you perform, especially while under stress, is one of the quickest routes to improvement. When you can see how you behave and what idiosyncratic behaviours you display, you can then begin to control them with conscious awareness as you present in the future. Any fear-based behaviours you identify will not only occur during public speaking; they are likely to show during any stressful situation. The ability to control these behaviours will improve your communication skills and how people perceive you.
