Public speaking often causes stress, anxiety, or fear. Audience tends to think that only people who are timid and shy are afraid of speaking in public. However, even many experienced public speakers get nervous when they go out to speak on a new topic or in front of an unfamiliar audience. Many contemporary public figures, including TED speakers, provide advice on how to deal with public speaking anxiety. For each person, fear has individual causes, but there are some general approaches to dealing with it.
Mikael Cho’s video focuses more on the physical causes of stress and how the body of a person who experiences stage fright functions. Cho (2013) gives practical exercises to deal with anxiety. Similarly, Deborah Frances-White (2015) offers physical solutions such as shifting weight onto the front foot to combat the physiological causes of anxiety. In contrast, Frances-White (2015) offers psychological alternatives as well. Depending on the importance of the event, on the audience in front of which to speak, the excitement can manifest itself in varying degrees. As stated in Frances-White’s (2015) presentation, a lot depends on the reaction of the audience, since it creates the speaker’s confidence in his or her interestingness. At the same time, the role of the speaker himself or herself is to create interest from the audience. To do this, Deborah Frances-White offers charismatic performances as a way to capture the attention of listeners.
In conclusion, public speaking is an important part of the lives of many people in various occupations. At the same time, stress before performances is a common factor, and it is important to have certain approaches to deal with it. Personally, Deborah Frances-White’s speech resonates with me as she gives examples of personal application of approaches and many options that can be practically used.
References
Cho, M. (2013). The science of stage fright (and how to overcome it) [Video]. TED. Web.
Frances-White, D. (2015). Charisma versus stage fright [Video]. TED. Web.