It is not a myth that speaking in a group is one of the greatest human fears. Talk to any group and a significant number will have suffered from Glossophobia, as psychologists call it. Even those who have spoken confidently in groups in the past may find that with a different group they will suffer from dry mouth, shortness of breath, flushing, sweating, a blank mind, or a myriad of other debilitating symptoms. While preparation certainly helps, even the best-prepared speakers can sometimes be affected. So what can you do?

Experience has shown that much of this anxiety is based on false beliefs, myths that have sprung up around public speaking, and busting these myths can be the key to success.

Myth One: If I leave something out, I have failed.

There is a mistaken belief that the audience cares about what you left out. They will be confused if you have missed a key step or an important point; but that the presentation is delivered exactly as prepared is only important to you.

The main danger is that your desire to get it right could nullify your ability to engage your audience. It is a waste of time to ‘get it right’ if you are not listening. Stop worrying about leaving something out.

Myth Two: If I’m good, they’ll listen to me from start to finish.

We all expect complete care, and we write our presentations based on this hope. The reality is that very few will listen to everything you say. They are effectively ‘flipping the channels’ between what you are saying and their own attitude or experience. This internalization is essential for engagement, but it compromises attention and retention. You need to offset this with strong recurring themes and repetitions to make sure they can stick around when they ‘come back on’.

Myth Three: More things make me more interesting

We load our presentations with cool stuff that turns them from a speech into a data dump. Most presentations can be improved by removing non-essential information. Identify key information and bring it to life with examples, illustrations, drawings, and stories.

Myth four: I must not lose my way or leave my mind blank

Momentary lapses in memory are common when speaking, even for full-time professionals. Put your key points into a train of thought that you can refer to if you get lost. Put names or important phrases in your notes and highlight them so you can find them at any time. Most of the time, the audience won’t even realize you’ve reviewed their notes; and if they do it doesn’t matter. This is not a memory test: your ability to remember your presentation has nothing to do with its credibility in front of the audience.

Myth Five: I’m not good enough to talk about this

It’s called ‘Impostor Syndrome’ and every speaker suffers from it at some point. You think you have to be an expert on a topic to have the right to talk about it. If there’s someone else in the room who might know more about this, then you should speak up. Sure, you should be familiar with your topic and/or have some experience in an area that allows you to share, but forget about the ‘expert’ tag. Even if everyone in the room knows your topic, you come away with a unique perspective and a different approach that makes it worth your while.

Myth 6: Some topics are just plain boring.

There is no such thing as a boring topic, only boring presentations. Find examples, case studies, and stories that make your content relevant to your audience.

Follow these tips and prevent the fear of speaking from stopping you.