Conquering Public Speaking Fear: Butterflies in Formation

Famous Faces and the Fear of Public Speaking

Mark Twain did it. So did John F. Kennedy, Winston Churchill, and Elvis Presley. Bono claims he has done it regularly for years. Thomas Jefferson was rather famous for it, and even George Washington, the father of our country, was known to do it too. It is not just the purview of men. Notable women such as Margaret Thatcher, Barbra Streisand, and Barbara Walters admit they are in the same league. What do all these people have in common? They have not been afraid to admit it: they all reported nervousness at the prospect of speaking in public. Add Johnny Carson, Aristotle, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, John Updike, Jack Welch, and James Earl Jones to the list. I can add myself, too. I have a serious attack of butterflies even thinking about speaking before a group. Yet here I am today — not entirely by choice, but after the research I have done, I know I will get through it. Everyone does.

Well, there is one well-known exception. President William Henry Harrison apparently had no fear of public speaking. He gave the longest inaugural address in U.S. history. By all accounts, he spoke confidently and with conviction. Unfortunately, Washington D.C. can be quite chilly in January, and the new president exchanged all his hot air for the frigid outdoor air. He developed pneumonia and died after spending just a few short months in office. So technically, one could say that public speaking killed him — but it did not, really. It was the pneumonia. People who are nervous about speaking in public like to invoke President Harrison, hoping it will get them off the hook.

In his 1977 book The Book of Lists, David Wallechinsky et al. conducted surveys and reported "speaking before a group" as the worst of all human fears — ranking ahead of heights (number two), deep water (number five), death (number seven), and escalators (number fourteen). As Scott Burkun points out in his book on public speaking, The Attack of the Butterflies, facts about public speaking fear are often misleading, since they frequently come from people selling services — such as books — that benefit from making public speaking seem as scary as possible. If the authors of those books can "cure" one's fear, then the price paid for the book seems well worth it.

The Science of Stage Fright

Burkun operates on a different premise: that public speaking really is not anything to be afraid of at all. He uses logic to explain that our brains are sometimes not very logical. As he points out, the real danger is in the crowds. Fans at rock concerts and soccer matches know that crowds can be dangerous — and even deadly — places to be. If one is on stage, one actually has much easier access to the fire exits. Moreover, fall, faint, or have a heart attack, and everyone will know immediately and help can be summoned. Being in front of everyone is being in the safest place in the room.

And yet our primal instincts kick in. Our brains tell us that we are in a very bad position for survival. We are standing alone, in open territory, with nowhere to hide. All these creatures are staring at us. We have no weapon. In the long history of living things, these were the signs of danger. Our ancestors — at least the ones who survived — developed a healthy sense of fear and the fight-or-flight response. We are biologically programmed to be fearful in front of a crowd. Even those who appear calm experience heart palpitations and shortness of breath. It can be very brief, yet that sensation of fear is very real.

As Burkun explains, it is a response that developed from a real need for self-protection. We do not consciously decide to increase our heart rate to jumpstart the muscles we need for flight — our bodies do it automatically. Only now, in modern times, the flight response is mostly unnecessary. The stress responses that once enabled us to protect ourselves physically are now channeled into non-survival situations. Today's dangers are different. Instead of being chased by wild animals, as our ancient ancestors had to fear, we worry that our computers will crash or stress out in heavy traffic. The result is ulcers, high blood pressure, headaches, and other ailments. Giving a speech would not feel nearly as scary if one had been chased by tigers on the way there. As Burkun tells us, our perspective on what is worth fearing is freshly calibrated.

Fear, Failure, and the Biology of Excitement

Fear focuses our attention. Asking someone for a date, going after a great job, writing a novel — these prospects are interesting, exciting, and a little scary. Failure is always a possibility, and we fear rejection, disappointment, or embarrassment. But that same fear of failure is also what motivates us to do what it takes to be successful. The way the brain is wired, there is actually very little biological difference between the fear of failure and the anticipation of success. Fear, it turns out, can be a good thing.

Comedian and motivational speaker Ian Tyson puts it this way: "The body's reaction to fear and excitement is the same — so it becomes a mental decision. Am I afraid or am I excited?" Since our bodies cannot tell the difference, it is up to our brains to decide whether we will use our instincts to help rather than hurt ourselves. To be successful, we have to choose excitement and not let fear pull us toward paralysis. Understanding the psychology of anxiety helps clarify why this choice is both possible and powerful.

Conclusion: Training Your Butterflies

Television newsman Edward R. Murrow once said, "The best speakers know enough to be scared…the only difference between the pros and the novices is that the pros have trained the butterflies to fly in formation."