It might surprise you to know that leaders suffer from public speaking anxiety too!
The higher up you climb in your career the more challenging public speaking and speech writing becomes.
I
came across a survey conducted in Australia that reported that younger
managers were less concerned about public speaking than older managers.
At first glance I thought that maybe our younger generation of leaders
are imbibed with new levels of confidence thanks to their education,
social media and general outlook on life. But is it merely down to when
you were born that will influence whether you have public speaking
anxiety?
Then it struck me that older managers are more senior
leaders. They are Directors, CEO's, MD's and business owners. When they
speak they are playing at "the high rollers table" not the penny slot
machines. Of course you will approach a speech with a bit more
trepidation if the future of your company depended upon it.
There is something different here to the traditional fear of public speaking.
Why do leaders suffer from public speaking anxiety?
Firstly,leaders
havea public speaking anxiety because there is normally a lot more
resting upon the results of your speech than there are for the average
graduate or junior manager in your organisation.
You may be
pitching for a major contract, representing your business at a
conference, speaking on behalf of your industry at a major gathering
(for instance appearing in front of a Parliamentary committee or a trade
organisation conference) or you might be trying to motivate your work
force. Whichever of these you might be speaking at, these events have
the potential to impact upon your organisation big time. The worry for
many senior executives is whether their speech or presentation will have
a positive or negative impact.
The other reason that leaders have
a public speaking anxiety is that they are on show. I do not mean that
they are worried about what clothes they are wearing. They do, however,
have a concern that they are going to get found out.
There is a
scientific term called the Imposter Syndrome which is where successful
people have a gnawing belief that they are only successful due to some
element of luck. Everyone else thinks that they can walk on water but
they know otherwise. When they are up there are the front making a
presentation they might sound boring, they might look uncomfortable,
they might feel stupid, and they know they are not engaging with their
audience. And suddenly, just like the story of "The Emperor's New
Clothes" someone is going to shout out "He's naked".
Now that is a
concern. Yes we can talk about positive mental attitude but sometimes
when we are in that position, leaders need some practical help.
How to deal with public speaking anxiety as a leader.
Public
speaking or presentation skills training courses are all well and good,
but they often involve a time commitment (including travel &
overnight stay) and you could be in there with a whole lot of junior
managers or people who really haven't got the same concerns that you
have.
A different approach is to work with a public speaking coach
and / or a speech writer who can help you craft presentations that
really work and help you practise your delivery skills in a one-on-one
environment.
Better still you can use these coaches exactly when
you need them (right before a specific speech) rather than going on a
course months before hand.
Public Speaking anxiety is not nice. It
lowers your self esteem & makes you feel crap. Working with a coach
might be a little more expensive than a general course (private coaches
in all walks of life are) but they get results; and, anyway, how much
is getting that speech "bang on" worth to you personally and
financially?
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