A little dose of Stage Fright is somewhat normal as long as it is making you more focused in the process. However, a little stage fright is not what we are talking about here. The fear of Public Speaking is something entirely different, it is the kind of fear that is paralyzing. What's even worse is that it seems you can't do much about it.
Why are you experiencing the fear of public speaking?
You are feeling a growing anxiety in your body. You start to shiver and sweat and, as a result, you forget everything you wanted to say. Does this sound familiar?
That's why you need to know that the single most important reason why this happens is your lack of focus. But how can you even be focused when your mind is obsessed with negative thoughts and when you are visualizing failure every time you go up on the stage? Luckily, there are a couple of things you can do about all of this.
Let go of the thought that you must impress your audience
The one thing you need to remember is that your fear often derives from your constant need to impress the people you are talking to, especially authorities. So if you have this particular belief, changing it must be the first thing on your mind if you are bound to fight your fear of public speaking. You must change this belief because otherwise, it is only going to hold you back and you will have no progress whatsoever.
Expect too much from yourself and you will spend the rest of your days being terrified of the future. So all you need to do is to let go of the thought that you must make an excellent impression and you will make the first step in overcoming the fear of public speaking.
Ask yourself what's the worst thing that could happen
Maybe you'll start to stutter, maybe your presentation won't be as interesting as you've hoped.
So what? You'll still be safe and sound, nobody is going to judge you. On the other hand, it is important not to quit. Keep practicing and eventually, you will be able to deliver the perfect speech that has been floating around in your head.
Focus on your presentation
Here's the most interesting part. Once you start focusing on what you are saying, you won't have enough capacity to deal with your feelings, body sensations and negative predictions.
Your working memory works at limited capacity and that's why you can't think about the task and your fears at the same time. This choice will allow you to just think about your next step without going too much into the future in your head.
