Speaking up

Fear of public speaking is known, with good reason, as the phobia that stalls careers. It’s possible to avoid it for a while, but the higher we go up the promotional ladder, the more likely it is that we will be called upon to perform this most hated of professional disciplines.

We’ve probably all seen a few “naturals” who seem to take centre stage without breaking into a sweat. They are personable, relaxed, audible and amusing. They make public speaking look easy.

For most of us, it’s a nightmare. We shake, we sweat, go red and feel our heart thumping. We feel nauseous, our voice becomes weak and may even dry up. We freeze.

Why on earth would we put ourselves through something that brings on such anxiety? The answer is simple: avoiding making presentations, addressing board meetings, running training sessions for colleagues and other forms of public speaking imposes limits on how much we can influence and motivate others. If we want to continue expanding our careers, we will have to grapple with the demon that’s holding us back.

At least we’re in good company. This is a fear thought to strike three out of four of us. And yet, a lack of confidence when faced with giving a presentation is understandable; indeed, it’s completely natural.

The most primitive part of our brain – the fight or flight system – is designed to look out for situations we find threatening, and then push us to react accordingly. When we feel that familiar burst of adrenaline, blood rushes to our limbs, preparing us to flee a perceived threat. We begin to shallow breathe to oxygenate the blood in our arms and legs – helping us to run like hell or fight like crazy. On top of that, our neocortex – the thinking part of the brain – goes into shutdown mode to stop rational thought because we want our protective instincts to take over.

So why do some of us react as if facing an audience was the same as confronting a herd of marauding elephants, while others happily take charge of the room? Well, all of us are individuals and will inevitably react differently.

But our ancient fight-or-flight defence also helped us to live as part of a social group where our strength lies in collaboration. When we face an audience, we’re on our own, risking failure, or ostracism – fears that take us far beyond being embarrassed or judged. Anything that threatens our status in the group feels like a great risk because we feel less able to protect ourselves when we’re outside our social group.

The good news is that you can take control of these fears and learn how to put yourself in a state of mind where you feel able to communicate with focus and confidence. A great deal of what I teach as part of combatting public speaking anxiety has little or nothing to do with the “speaking” part of public speaking at all. And most of the benefits come into play before you utter a word.

While there are many tactics for building your public speaking expertise (see 'How to tackle your talk', below) one simple exercise works on many levels. It will calm and energise you, and help you think clearly before you get up to speak – forgetting what we are supposed to be saying invariably comes up as part of our public speaking anxieties.

Remember the shallow breathing that happens in moments of stress? It dries your mouth, stops clear thought and may even make you light-headed. Well, this breathing exercise is a way to bring the amount of oxygen in your blood stream back to normal, and replace that light-headed nervousness with an almost instant sense of “can-do” tranquillity.

It banishes our butterflies and helps keep our minds focused. And the good news is that it’s easy. Just follow these instructions.

• Stand up.
• Exhale, as you prepare for your next breath.
• Inhale deeply to a count of seven, raising your arms up so that your hands are above your head by the time you reach seven.
• Exhale to a count of eleven, using the whole count to slowly empty your lungs while lowering your arms down to your sides.

Repeat this two or three times and you will notice that a sense of calm has come over you. Your butterflies will have gone and your fuzzy mind will be replaced by a secure sense of consciousness.

You may feel a sense of bliss and then, due to the deep breaths of air that you have slowly brought into your system, you will feel energised and at ease. This deep breathing approach is a great way to banish any sense of rising dread before you go into your presentation, board meeting or training session. For me, this is helpful before I have to stand and give my 60-second pitch. When you try this for the first time, remember these tips.

• Breathe in and out from your mouth with your lips pursed as though you are blowing/sucking through a straw. This will help you make the exhalation and inhalation last for the full counts of seven and eleven.
• For the first few times you use this technique, please do raise your arms. This makes sure that you take long, deep breaths that reach right down to the bottom of your lungs to calm and nourish you. With practice, you will be able to do this without the arm movements. Ultimately, you will learn how to do this kind of deep breathing in a room full of people without anyone knowing.

When we breathe deeply and efficiently, we calm our emotions, focus our minds and this enables us to speak with greater confidence.

Move beyond the career-stalling paralysis that public speaking can induce and you can become one of the few able to take charge of any room, leading discussion and sharing what you know.

The need to excel at public speaking in business is no new concept – Ralph C Smedley, director of education for the YMCA in the US, spotted this gap in the market in 1905. To help men plan and deliver effective meetings, Smedley organised a speaking skills group that he named the Toastmasters Club, after the person who traditionally officiated at banquets. That first toastmasters’ gathering, held in Bloomington, Illinois, blossomed into Toastmasters International in 1924 – and steadily grew into an organisation with 313,000 members attending 14,650 clubs in 126 countries. The organisation now helps men and women develop as leaders through a tailored curriculum based on the same guiding principles it had 90 years ago.

Once you’ve managed to do away with the sweaty palms of public speaking fear, you might begin to enjoy it. You may even relish the idea of an additional career as a traditional toastmaster. The Guild of International Professional Toastmasters is one of several UK organisations that offers a training programme to give speakers the confidence to act at high-profile formal events, such as civic receptions and even royal occasions.

Toastmasters are expected to excel in customer service, have great organisational ability, employ tact and diplomacy and present themselves impeccably. Many people who make a second career of being a toastmaster move across from the police, armed forces or industry.

TED is a great place to look for a flavour and mix of public speaking approaches across a range of fascinating topics. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and is the name for a group of global conferences run by the Sapling Foundation based in Vancouver, Canada and New York City.

While the organisation’s origins date back to 1984, its “ideas worth spreading” philosophy has grown to include the highly-popular TED Talks. Almost 2,000 talks are free to view online – and they’ve been watched more than a billion times. Podcasts can be downloaded too.

Speakers across business, the arts, science and technology offer inspiration, insight, humour and enthusiasm. Speakers have included Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and former US president Bill Clinton.

Many people and organisations run their own channel on YouTube; it’s packed with how-to guides on almost any topic – including public speaking.

Plough through more than four million instructional videos and tutorials to find the gems, including clips from the World Championship of Public Speaking organised by Toastmasters International.

Download PDF version:

• Finance & Management magazine, Issue 234, July/August 2015 (pp.14-17)

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Further reading on public speaking is available through the resources below.