What Causes Glossophobia?

If you can identify the CAUSE of the fear, it is much easier to overcome the fear.

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VIDEO NOTES
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One of the first things that our presentation instructors do when we consult with a client or start a presentation class is try to get the client or student to identify the cause of the fear. Most often, the cause is just lack of experience. (For instance, if you only drive your car once every two years, you will likely be nervous every time you drive.) However, the following are things that we have heard that are more likely to cause a phobia versus a normal fear.Public speaking is a harder skill to learn because it is completely different
A Bad Prior Experience Speaking in Front of a Group: The most common situation that causes presentation fear is a bad past experience. Many of these situations occur when the person is asked to speak on a topic without any preparation. Others occur where a person speaks successfully for years, and then, out of the blue, something negative happens that destroys the person's confidence. For a few, the bad experience happened at a very early age, and the person has been avoiding presentations his or her entire life.

Low Self-Confidence/Self-Esteem: Although most of us who experience this find it difficult to admit, this one is actually really common. Well meaning parents, coworkers, or managers try to help the person by offering criticism. No matter how well the person performs, there is always room for improvement, and these holier-than-though critics will tell us. This actually happened to me in college. I took a presentation class where the instructor critiqued every presentation. I got a 94% on my first presentation. I got an 84% on my second. And after eight weeks of critical analysis of my first speeches, I got a 74% on my third and final speech. I made a "B" in the class, but my confidence as a speaker dropped exponentially after the experience.

An Unresolved Trauma: When a traumatic event occurs (especially at an early age,) the person experiencing the trauma can develop an unreasonable fear of the experience. I once had a woman in my class who told me that she had avoided speaking in front of groups for over 40 years. She said that, when she was five years old, she was in a singing recital. Right in the middle of the song, her voice cracked, and all the kids in the audience laughed at her. She ran off the stage humiliated. That single traumatic experience haunted her for decades. She knew that her fear was unreasonable, but she couldn't stop it. (Incidentally, she has spoken to audiences of thousands since she took my class over a decade ago!)

An Extreme Fear of Loss: This fear occurs when we feel like we have a chance of losing something if we fail in the presentation. Perhaps the person is a manager and fear the loss of his/her job if he/she can't command the audience. I've seen this fear occur, quite often, when a big contract is on the line and a presentation must be delivered to the buyer to solidify the huge deal. In many cases, though, the speaker fears losing the respect of his/her colleagues. For example, if a speaker has to deliver a presentation to a highly educated audience and has a fear of seeming "less educated" to them, the person may try to avoid the speech.

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