How to Speak to Large Crowds Intro

I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news.

The good news is it’s actually pretty easy to speak in front of large crowds a thousand five thousand one hundred thousand.

All you have to do is the same thing you do when you’re talking to one friend or colleague and you’re relaxed and animated interesting and being conversational and telling stories and examples.

That’s the good news The bad news is me simply telling you that doesn’t make it any easier because we as human beings are hardwired to be nervous about speaking in front of large crowds.

What happens is we tense up.

Our heart starts racing.

We get scared.

Our brain stops working our memory stops working and our body is telling us run our hands get sweaty.

Well why is that.

It is important before we really go deep into this and get great at it.

To understand a little bit of the background evolutionary biologists believe we as human beings are hardwired to fear public speaking because public speaking is essentially being separated from the crowd separated from the herd and prehistoric times if we are in the jungle and we’re a part of the herd THERE’S SAFETY IN NUMBERS IF THERE’S TWO THOUSAND OTHER water buffalo with us or any sort of animal and a lion or a tiger bear cubs our odds are pretty good one will get it of the herd but the other one thousand nine hundred and ten we’ll be safe.

So there’s safety in numbers.

The old cliche is true.

If we’re completely separated from the herd if we’re just all alone in the open field and animals and other other predators of ours can see us from every direction we’re vulnerable we could be eaten attacked.

That’s not good.

So that’s why many scientists believe that we as human beings are so nervous about speaking especially in front of large crowds.

That’s why our bodies react differently.

That’s why our hands get wet.

Moisture is coming out moisture is coming out of our feet too because our bodies telling us don’t think right now.

You may have noticed if you ever tried to turn the page of a book.

If you go like that there’s more friction it’s easier to turn that page the same way.

If you all of a sudden after a run through a jungle for your life having moisture coming out of your hands or the palm of your feet gives you more traction you can grab vines swing away and it’s better for protection your body’s telling you run.

You’ve got that adrenaline rush more energy but that’s also when your body isn’t working well from the neck up.

You don’t have the ability to think clearly necessarily or to recall information because your body’s telling you it’s been all of your energy running and it makes perfect sense if you’re in the jungle about to be attacked.

Unfortunately if you’re about to give a speech in front of a major trade show conference of two thousand people.

That particular response isn’t very helpful.

All it does is get in your way.