WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: Can the Fear of Public Speaking Be Conquered?

0:00:01.840 --> 0:00:07.640
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuf, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff,

0:00:07.680 --> 0:00:10.639
<v Speaker 1>Lauren vogel Bomb here with another classic episode for you.

0:00:11.480 --> 0:00:14.920
<v Speaker 1>Today's has to do with anxiety and public speaking and

0:00:15.200 --> 0:00:18.440
<v Speaker 1>why the two so often go hand in hand. It's

0:00:18.480 --> 0:00:20.639
<v Speaker 1>a thing I deal with and this is my day job.

0:00:21.280 --> 0:00:23.560
<v Speaker 1>But there are things that you can do about it.

0:00:25.600 --> 0:00:28.680
<v Speaker 1>Hey brain stuff, Lauren voel Bomb. Here, You're minutes away

0:00:28.680 --> 0:00:32.280
<v Speaker 1>from presenting a speech. Your heart quickens, your hands turned clammy,

0:00:32.320 --> 0:00:35.640
<v Speaker 1>and your brain dissolves into oatmeal. Those killer opening lines

0:00:35.640 --> 0:00:38.000
<v Speaker 1>that you had planned, they've all but vanished, with no

0:00:38.080 --> 0:00:40.519
<v Speaker 1>evidence that they ever existed, just like your all day

0:00:40.520 --> 0:00:42.760
<v Speaker 1>deodorant and any sense of cool that you might have

0:00:42.800 --> 0:00:46.199
<v Speaker 1>temporarily summoned. And all those people around the table in

0:00:46.240 --> 0:00:49.320
<v Speaker 1>the conference room or classroom or auditorium are doing the

0:00:49.400 --> 0:00:52.360
<v Speaker 1>absolute worst thing that they could do right now. They're

0:00:52.400 --> 0:00:59.200
<v Speaker 1>staring and waiting and waiting and waiting for you. I

0:00:59.440 --> 0:01:01.600
<v Speaker 1>just want to run in Hi. Do you say to yourself,

0:01:01.600 --> 0:01:06.560
<v Speaker 1>this is not going well. I'm going to bomb, According

0:01:06.560 --> 0:01:09.959
<v Speaker 1>to both my own personal experience and one Scott Compton,

0:01:10.040 --> 0:01:13.520
<v Speaker 1>a professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Duke University,

0:01:13.520 --> 0:01:16.760
<v Speaker 1>School of Medicine. That's exactly what those with a fear

0:01:16.760 --> 0:01:20.279
<v Speaker 1>of public speaking are thinking, and that anxiety, of course,

0:01:20.600 --> 0:01:24.600
<v Speaker 1>is exactly the problem. The fear of public speaking is

0:01:24.720 --> 0:01:28.320
<v Speaker 1>seriously real. It's a type of social anxiety disorder, which

0:01:28.360 --> 0:01:30.520
<v Speaker 1>is a term first coined in nineteen eighty in the

0:01:30.600 --> 0:01:35.160
<v Speaker 1>Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders the DSM from

0:01:35.200 --> 0:01:38.320
<v Speaker 1>the National Institute of Mental Health quote, people with social

0:01:38.360 --> 0:01:42.160
<v Speaker 1>anxiety disorder have a general, intense fear of or anxiety

0:01:42.200 --> 0:01:46.399
<v Speaker 1>toward social or performance situations. They worry that actions or

0:01:46.400 --> 0:01:50.400
<v Speaker 1>behaviors associated with their anxiety will be negatively evaluated by others,

0:01:50.680 --> 0:01:54.120
<v Speaker 1>leading them to feel embarrassed. This worry often causes people

0:01:54.120 --> 0:01:59.040
<v Speaker 1>with social anxiety to avoid social situations. Social anxiety disorder

0:01:59.080 --> 0:02:03.120
<v Speaker 1>affects a whopping fifteen million American adults. Among the many

0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:06.320
<v Speaker 1>subsets of the disorder, the fear of public speaking, sometimes

0:02:06.360 --> 0:02:09.640
<v Speaker 1>called glossophobia, is king. As many as seven out of

0:02:09.639 --> 0:02:13.560
<v Speaker 1>ten Americans may grapple with some degree of glossophobia. But

0:02:13.680 --> 0:02:17.080
<v Speaker 1>Jerry Seinfeld once quipped, according to most studies, people's number

0:02:17.080 --> 0:02:20.880
<v Speaker 1>one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. This means,

0:02:20.919 --> 0:02:23.079
<v Speaker 1>to the average person, if you go to a funeral,

0:02:23.200 --> 0:02:25.560
<v Speaker 1>You're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.

0:02:27.520 --> 0:02:30.240
<v Speaker 1>And this fear is way more serious than sweaty palms

0:02:30.240 --> 0:02:34.080
<v Speaker 1>in a tied tongue. Those with severe glossophobia worry so

0:02:34.240 --> 0:02:36.320
<v Speaker 1>much about how they act or appear in public that

0:02:36.360 --> 0:02:39.080
<v Speaker 1>they often avoid public settings altogether, and that can be

0:02:39.120 --> 0:02:42.840
<v Speaker 1>harmful to their personal and professional well being. And the

0:02:42.880 --> 0:02:46.240
<v Speaker 1>Anxiety and Depression Association of America warns that things can

0:02:46.240 --> 0:02:48.440
<v Speaker 1>get even more serious. Quote.

0:02:48.680 --> 0:02:51.560
<v Speaker 2>People with social anxiety disorder are also at an increased

0:02:51.639 --> 0:02:55.240
<v Speaker 2>risk for developing major depressive disorder and alcohol use disorders.

0:02:56.200 --> 0:02:59.000
<v Speaker 2>The Andrew Kuges Foundation for Social Anxiety lays it out

0:02:59.040 --> 0:03:01.760
<v Speaker 2>in stark terms. The name may sound harmless, but the

0:03:01.760 --> 0:03:05.560
<v Speaker 2>disorder is complex, cruel, and anything but simple. Social anxiety

0:03:05.600 --> 0:03:07.840
<v Speaker 2>is far more than shyness in a fear of public speaking.

0:03:08.200 --> 0:03:11.079
<v Speaker 2>It's an addiction to avoidance and a disease of resistance.

0:03:12.280 --> 0:03:16.639
<v Speaker 2>So what's happening here? A Social anxiety disorders, including glossophobia,

0:03:16.760 --> 0:03:19.480
<v Speaker 2>are defined by extreme fear and worry. They are the

0:03:19.520 --> 0:03:23.000
<v Speaker 2>most common mental disorders in the US. The signs that

0:03:23.040 --> 0:03:27.600
<v Speaker 2>someone may be experiencing an anxiety disorder may include feeling nervous, irritable,

0:03:27.720 --> 0:03:30.480
<v Speaker 2>or on edge, having a sense of impending danger, panic

0:03:30.520 --> 0:03:34.520
<v Speaker 2>or doom, having an increased heart rate, breathing rapidly, sweating

0:03:34.560 --> 0:03:39.120
<v Speaker 2>and or trembling, feeling weak or tired, difficulty concentrating, having

0:03:39.120 --> 0:03:44.000
<v Speaker 2>trouble sleeping, and or experiencing guest or intestinal problems. The

0:03:44.160 --> 0:03:46.920
<v Speaker 2>anxiety is thought to be centered in the amygdala, a

0:03:46.920 --> 0:03:49.840
<v Speaker 2>part of the brain associated with emotions. The idea is

0:03:49.840 --> 0:03:53.000
<v Speaker 2>that the amygdala, acting on bad memories or false ideas

0:03:53.040 --> 0:03:56.160
<v Speaker 2>of what could happen, releases fight or flight hormones that

0:03:56.280 --> 0:03:59.640
<v Speaker 2>put the body in a stressed state. Thus, the sweaty palms,

0:03:59.720 --> 0:04:03.760
<v Speaker 2>raise the heart and the desire to get away. The

0:04:03.800 --> 0:04:07.440
<v Speaker 2>disorders often start in young people. Psychiatry professor Compton says

0:04:07.680 --> 0:04:10.360
<v Speaker 2>a shy child who won't participate in class even though

0:04:10.360 --> 0:04:12.920
<v Speaker 2>he or she knows the answers, or who's afraid on

0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:15.320
<v Speaker 2>play dates, or who won't join a sports team for

0:04:15.360 --> 0:04:18.279
<v Speaker 2>fear of messing up, and grow as the child becomes

0:04:18.279 --> 0:04:22.440
<v Speaker 2>an adult. Compton said most of the anxiety disorders start

0:04:22.440 --> 0:04:26.120
<v Speaker 2>in early childhood and go untreated and unrecognized. People end

0:04:26.160 --> 0:04:30.359
<v Speaker 2>up developing some pretty maladaptive sort of coping strategies. The

0:04:30.440 --> 0:04:33.760
<v Speaker 2>go to strategy seems to be avoidance. Those who have

0:04:33.839 --> 0:04:36.320
<v Speaker 2>been dealing with social anxiety for years, including the fear

0:04:36.320 --> 0:04:39.839
<v Speaker 2>of public speaking, simply avoid stressful situations whenever they can,

0:04:40.440 --> 0:04:42.320
<v Speaker 2>and that's about the worst thing they can do when

0:04:42.360 --> 0:04:45.680
<v Speaker 2>it comes to conquering their fears. A Compton said, the

0:04:45.680 --> 0:04:48.440
<v Speaker 2>more you avoid, the worse. It becomes. My motto and

0:04:48.520 --> 0:04:51.680
<v Speaker 2>therapy is you need to avoid avoidance. It's almost like,

0:04:51.839 --> 0:04:54.160
<v Speaker 2>if something causes you anxiety, you need to do the

0:04:54.200 --> 0:04:56.680
<v Speaker 2>exact opposite of what your history is telling you to do.

0:04:58.320 --> 0:05:00.920
<v Speaker 2>Therapy can help a fear, public speed, and many other

0:05:01.040 --> 0:05:04.880
<v Speaker 2>social anxiety disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a type of

0:05:04.880 --> 0:05:08.239
<v Speaker 2>psychotherapy talking things through that is widely used to treat

0:05:08.279 --> 0:05:12.960
<v Speaker 2>social anxiety by many mental health professionals. Compton said, in therapy,

0:05:13.080 --> 0:05:15.880
<v Speaker 2>you start with kind of small things. I know you

0:05:15.920 --> 0:05:17.560
<v Speaker 2>don't want to go to a conference and be a

0:05:17.640 --> 0:05:19.839
<v Speaker 2>keynote speaker, but would you be willing to give a

0:05:19.880 --> 0:05:22.920
<v Speaker 2>talk in front of one other person? Start small, build

0:05:23.000 --> 0:05:25.719
<v Speaker 2>up some confidence and success, and then turn the heat

0:05:25.800 --> 0:05:28.880
<v Speaker 2>up in terms of making the situation gradually more anxiety

0:05:28.880 --> 0:05:33.800
<v Speaker 2>provoking anxiety listening, medication is a possibility too, But the

0:05:33.800 --> 0:05:36.400
<v Speaker 2>first step may simply be practicing a speech in front

0:05:36.400 --> 0:05:38.760
<v Speaker 2>of a mirror or with a friend or solo in

0:05:38.800 --> 0:05:42.520
<v Speaker 2>an empty room. Also, learn to slow down and breathe,

0:05:42.920 --> 0:05:45.119
<v Speaker 2>and try to buy into the idea that your life

0:05:45.160 --> 0:05:49.080
<v Speaker 2>will be better if you overcome your fear. Compton said,

0:05:49.400 --> 0:05:51.520
<v Speaker 2>when they can make the step of being willing to

0:05:51.600 --> 0:05:54.320
<v Speaker 2>do that thing, even though their history is sort of saying,

0:05:54.520 --> 0:05:56.880
<v Speaker 2>oh my gosh, this is going to be awful, those

0:05:56.920 --> 0:05:59.000
<v Speaker 2>are the ones that kind of get over their fear

0:05:59.000 --> 0:06:02.560
<v Speaker 2>of public speaking. For those facing the scary prospect of

0:06:02.560 --> 0:06:05.000
<v Speaker 2>making a public speech or being in any public setting

0:06:05.000 --> 0:06:07.720
<v Speaker 2>where you may have to talk, the National Social Anxiety

0:06:07.760 --> 0:06:11.120
<v Speaker 2>Center has loads of tips. One is to decatastrophize the

0:06:11.120 --> 0:06:14.440
<v Speaker 2>brain freeze that public speaking blackout that often happens with

0:06:14.480 --> 0:06:19.200
<v Speaker 2>glassophobia from personal experience. Again, the audience wants you to

0:06:19.240 --> 0:06:21.960
<v Speaker 2>do well, and we'll forget about any mistakes you make quickly,

0:06:22.480 --> 0:06:25.560
<v Speaker 2>and even if you completely bomb. One of the best

0:06:25.600 --> 0:06:28.000
<v Speaker 2>lessons about performing that I ever got was from one

0:06:28.200 --> 0:06:31.240
<v Speaker 2>Chuck Bryant. As he was getting off stage after coping

0:06:31.240 --> 0:06:34.200
<v Speaker 2>with a particularly tough crowd of middle schoolers. He shrugged

0:06:34.240 --> 0:06:36.000
<v Speaker 2>and said there's always next time.

0:06:41.480 --> 0:06:44.080
<v Speaker 1>Today's episode is based on the article Conquering the Fear

0:06:44.080 --> 0:06:46.560
<v Speaker 1>of Public Speaking on how stuffwork dot Com, written by

0:06:46.600 --> 0:06:49.440
<v Speaker 1>John Donovan. Brain Stuff is production by Heart Radio in

0:06:49.440 --> 0:06:52.400
<v Speaker 1>partnership with hostuffworks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klag.

0:06:52.920 --> 0:06:55.960
<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app,

0:06:56.040 --> 0:07:08.400
<v Speaker 1>Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.