You Are Normal to Fear Communicating In Some Circumstances

If you ever get nervous if you are fearful of some communication situations it just means your normal.

After all the polls do show that people say public speaking is their number one fear.

I don’t really believe that.

I think if someone said I’m going to push you out of the airplane or give a quick toast to everyone you would give a little mini toast speech.

But still it is something that creates anxiety in people it creates fear.

Evolutionary biologists believe that we are programmed this way as a defense mechanism because thousands of years ago if you’re out in the plains and you’re completely exposed.

Lions tigers bears other creatures can come see you exposed and attack you and eat you.

Whereas if you’re part of a herd you’re one of a thousand.

Your odds are good of not being eaten.

So when you stand up to speak give a presentation you’re feeling this I’m exposed.

These people could come grab me eat me kill me.

That’s why your hands are perspiring.

Your body could be perspiring because you’re your body’s trying to protect you.

Adrenaline is pulsating telling you to run.

Get out of here.

Unfortunately if you’re nervous or uncomfortable about sitting down with your boss to ask for a raise or sitting down with your largest investor to ask for another ten million dollar round of investment sweating and having the adrenaline to run quickly isn’t going to help you at all.

It’s actually the opposite it’s going to make you look bad and be unproductive.

So we’ve got to figure out a way of dealing with this fear and getting over it but I do want you to realize it’s completely normal to have some fear some anxiety.

So I mentioned to you in the previous section number one way to get over it is to practice till you like what you see.

Now I have a pretty comfortable speaker I enjoy speaking a head actually seek out every kind of opportunity for giving speeches presentations trainings I do more than 100 trainings a year live in-person with people so I like to think of myself as a pretty comfortable speaker but still I’m a human being too.

And with most people if you take them out of their comfort zone they can get uncomfortable.

I remember about a decade ago I was a judge on a reality TV show in Eastern Europe.

I was called out on stage was asked to announce one of the winners Our first runner up but everything was in a foreign language and the name was written in a foreign language that I couldn’t read.

And at that moment I was nervous.

I was uncomfortable and it was not my finest performance ever.

But you know what I get through it.

No one really noticed I smiled.

I handed it back to the emcee and he read it out loud and no one else really remembered.

So my point is no one’s a superhuman.

I’m not a superhuman.

Everyone is nervous.

If you take them out of their comfort zone the key is figuring out how to make yourself comfortable by doing all the various steps.

I’ve talked about so far of this course with more steps to continue.

So relax if you feel uncomfortable nervous or even fearful of speaking situations it just means your normal.