Why are you scared of public speaking?

You’re smart, confident, capable, experienced...

Why does the thought of standing up and talking in front of people seem so horrifying?

Why do you have a physical reaction to speaking in front of an audience when you’re perfectly capable of communicating 1:1 or in a small group?


To understand that instinctual fear of public speaking we have to go waaayyy back through our prehistory.

For the vast majority of our 2 million year evolutionary journey the perception of having eyes watching us was an existential threat. Eyes were predators.

And in response to a predatory attack the amygdala (the part of your brain responsible for processing threatening stimuli) triggers the fight or flight response.

Sadly for our modern brains that physiological response to the fear of being watched is hard-wired into our DNA.

When we step onto the stage we experience all those eyes in the audience as an attack.


The physical response that many people experience when they have to speak in public - shortness of breath, rapid heart rate, red cheeks, shaking- are the same responses we have to physical danger.

Dealing with nerves is about helping overcome your brain’s instinctual response. We have to find ways to calm down our amygdala.

The good news is, there are very few genuinely predatory audiences out there, so we can do this pretty successfully!


It takes time and it takes practice, but the best way to start is to consciously refocus your brain with things which remind you that the audience are friend not foe.

#1 The audience are friendly, thoughtful, interesting fellow humans who want YOU to succeed.

#2 You are here to help them- to guide, inform, teach. You are giving something to the audience, they are not taking anything from you.

#3 Look them back in the eye! Pick a few friendly looking folk and look them in the eye to remind your brain that you’re in control.


You won’t get over your nerves over night, or even ever, but you can learn to manage them.

Knowing why they are there is half the battle.

Other than that, prepare well, practice hard and eat chips while you wait for your turn to talk!

Crunch helps inhibit the production of cortisol (stress hormone) and salt triggers the release of dopamine (feel good hormone).

Hooray chips!