What Is Glossophobia? – How To Overcome?

What is Glossophobia? It is a very common phobia, it is a fear of speaking in front of the public. According to researches almost 75% population is facing this social anxiety disorder. It is not a dangerous or fatal disorder. Glossophobic people just feel uncomfortable or anxious in addressing other public.

Symptoms

The common symptoms of fear of public speaking are as follows;

• If you feel discomfort in facing the audience then you are glossophobic.
• Failure to act normally in front of the public.
• There is a rapid increase in the rate of heartbeat.
• People try to get away from the situation so badly.
• They face dizziness.
• Sweating is one of the common symptoms of this social anxiety.

Causes

The causes of glossophobia could be a genuine fear of being humiliated or rejected by people who fear public speaking. There might be biological, physiological, genetic or other environmental factors that result in causing fear of public speaking.

How To Overcome Glossophobia

There are some techniques and tricks to overcome the fear of speaking in front of other people.

1. Have A Laughing Crowd

Opening with a joke in the right direction often starts a speech off. It lightens the mood in the room instantly and makes you relax. It is extremely self-deprecating to laugh at yourself, and if you get someone to join you in that humor, then that generates a degree of confidence because there is something in seeing happy faces that helps build a bond.

2. Make Use Of Visual Aid

Public speakers also use visual aids in more formal speaking circumstances to help offer a more powerful presentation. For instance, in a slideshow, highlighting your key points is a great way to help your audience remember those points. In your voice, visual aids such as maps, graphs, images, and videos are also great ways to add extra meaning to details. This could help in giving confidence and you can speak and communicate with the public effectively without any hesitation.

3. Confess Your Nervousness

To overcome the fear the best thing you could do is to confess that you are talking to your audience a little nervously. When you do this, if the nervousness comes up later, the crowd will be more forgiving. More importantly, now that they are not expecting a world-class show, you can feel more comfortable. Imagine their surprise when, through your nervousness, you gave them the best ever presentation.

4. Talk One Person At A Time

The audience is one of the most frightening aspects about public speaking. Just by looking at the crowd, all in silence just to hear you talk, your spine would shiver. You only need to talk to one person at a time to resolve this.

5. In The Mirror, Watch Yourself

As if you were speaking directly to others, practice your voice in front of the mirror. If you just want to learn how public speaking skills can be enhanced, then make sure to pay attention to facial gestures of yours, and movement of your body. It could help you to be more accommodating to your audience when you have soft eyes and a relaxed attitude when you talk.

Also read this article: How To Overcome Stress And Anxiety