Fear of public speaking is “normal”

A huge range of successful people like Helen Hayes, Johnny Carson, Carol Burnett, Joan Rivers, Lisa Minnelli and Sydney Poitier are known to have suffered from nerves.

The published survey that identified public speaking as Americans’ number one fear also shows that you are not in a minority, you are not a freak or a failure, but part of a huge group.

Seinfeld quipped that if people fear public speaking more than death, then they would rather be in the coffin
than making the eulogy. It is so common that Seinfeld jokes about it! It is a natural, normal response – the
body’s way of coping with a challenge.

It may be that you have reasons in your past or your family that build the fear, and your body has gone into the
fight/flight response. It may be that, like me, you need to run adrenalin to stay alert and focused. It may be that you are not confident socially and need to build confidence to speak.

Whatever the reason, it is a normal response to that reason and accepting that this is just a normal response,
and not your own personal, horrible secret, means that you can acknowledge it, and start to treat it, overcome
it.