Extreme fear of public speaking is very common. I don’t know the specific figures, but conventional wisdom states that it’s most people’s Number One Fear.
I’m reading a book called, “The Brain That Changes Itself” by Norman Doidge, M.D. His chapter on using brain plasticity to successfully treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) makes me wonder if a similar approach could lessen fear of public speaking. The brain is an extremely complex organ. A short article like this can provide only a broad general idea, but it may be useful to summarize some of Doidge’s points.
Neuroscientists have shown that the brain adapts, evolves and literally re-wires itself in response to the conditions it faces. This plasticity of the brain exists not just in youth, but throughout an animals’ life. Doidge expresses the two key laws that govern brain plasticity as these: 1) Neurons that fire together wire together, and 2) Neurons that fire apart wire apart.
When two ideas become associated in our brain (such as public speaking and fear) the neurons that carry those ideas “fire” at the same time. The amygdala is the area in the brain that, among other things, is the centre of fear. If the thought of public speaking becomes associated with fear, neurons in the amygdala are firing at the same time as neurons carrying the idea of public speaking. The more those ideas are rehearsed as one, the more firmly their associated neurons bond, literally locking together. Neurons that fire together wire together. This wiring together of neurons explains why it is pointless to try not to feel fear of public speaking. The more you try not to think about the thing you don’t want to think about, the more you think about it. You’re simply reinforcing the bond between public speaking and fear.
The fear is real. Your amygdala is definitely sending you messages of fear. But just because you feel that way doesn’t mean it’s a fact. Looked at rationally, you know you are not in a life-threatening situation, even though your hyperactive amygdala may be telling you it feels that way. As a therapist, Doidge encourages his OCD patients to gain some distance from their problem by observing it and relabeling it: “Yes, I do have a real problem right now. But it is not germs, it is my OCD.” In the case of fear of public speaking, we could say, “But it is not the speaking event, it is my hyperactive amygdala. The problem is in the wiring of neurons in my own brain.”
After Doidge’s patients have acknowledged that the fear is a symptom of what’s going on in their brain, he encourages them to refocus on a positive, wholesome, ideally pleasure-giving activity the moment they become aware they are having an OCD attack. In the case of our fearful speaker, this refocusing should happen the moment he or she becomes aware of the block of ice in their stomach and their sweaty palms.
Doidge says, “The activity could be gardening, helping someone, working on a hobby, playing a musical instrument, listening to music, working out, or shooting baskets. An activity that involves another person helps keep the patient focused. If OCD (read: public speaking fear) strikes while the patient is driving a car, he should be ready with an activity like a book on tape or a CD. It is essential to do something.” This doing something pleasurable shifts the mental gears. If you are not in a situation that allows you to change activities, I would suggest reaching for any thought that gives you pleasure, anything at all that feels better than the one that gives you fear. Shifting mental gears can be difficult and requires intentional effort, but our ability to focus our thoughts empowers us to consciously rewire the connections in our brain.
By refocusing on something pleasurable, the speaker’s neurons begin to bond away from the fearful circuit, forming a new neural circuit that is gradually reinforced. Here’s where the second law comes into play, “Neurons that fire apart wire apart.” By not dwelling on your fear, you weaken its link with public speaking.
In my own past experience, fear of criticism from the audience immediately caused my performance and fear neurons to fire together. By mentally insisting on my own value and focusing on giving that to my listeners, I began to see them as friends instead of as adversaries. Doidge’s explanation of brain plasticity explains why this refocusing was so effective for me. I was forging new neural circuits that served me, and weakening old ones that didn’t.
Doidge says, “As patients apply themselves, the ‘manual gear shift’ gets more and more automatic. The episodes become shorter and less frequent, and though patients can relapse during stressful times, they can quickly regain control using their newfound technique.”
Leading edge neuroscience shows how we can consciously use the brain’s ability to rewire itself, even relieving something as severe as obsessive-compulsive disorder. Surely this gives hope and encouragement to those who fear public speaking. Nothing and no one is hopeless.
Hi Heather,
I liked it a lot. I think this will help people look at it all differently and separate their own difficulties from simply being a failure to there being a credible reason. I do believe that simply thinking of something positive or doing something else is extremely helpful. Unfortunately it doesn’t always solve the problem. We often have to find some way to connect the times when the fear got entrenched and that is usually by consciously remembering those times, what was happening, what the feelings were so that we can identify that this fear is similiar and now we have a different control over it i.e. the circumstances are very different.
You talked about flight and fight as responses to the fear. You may also want to include freeze which is the third response. People often freeze and cannot find the words as part of their terror at speaking.
I think this is great, Sandra
Thanks for your thoughtful comment, Sandra. I certainly agree that fear can be so deeply entrenched one needs assistance to break free from it. Depending on the severity of the fear, I’ve seen some participants in my workshops open like flowers, and others who simply could not bring themselves to speak in front of the group. My own trauma was severe enough that I benefitted greatly from therapy. There’s no rule that says we have to do everything by ourselves.
You’re right, “freeze” is the third result of an overabundance of adrenaline.
A wonderful mentor that helped me in the early stages of my speaking career told me something that has helped for each of my speaking engagements: The audience wants to like you, they want to enjoy your presentation. Focusing on that knowledge keeps me excited about every speaking event.
I certainly agree, Jane! It’s important to keep that thought in mind because it helps to turn the audience from adversary to friend. After all, they will have a better experience if the speaker does well, so of course, they WANT him/her to do well! So often we have counter-productive ideas smouldering away in our unconscious, and we don’t even realize it. A good, clear, rational look helps to bring those ideas to consciousness where we can deal with them. Thanks for commenting.
Really interesting stuff Heather. I was having a conversation along similar lines with a client yesterday, whilst discussing his fear of heights before we went climbing. The difference between fear being real and fear being fact is critical – I too am scared of heights, and yet, because I spend quite a lot of time dangling from ropes, I know rationally that I’m perfectly safe. The link between fear and climbing is not a fact, but each individual element is. The key, as you say, is to break the automatic nature of the linkage.
Good stuff. Cheers, Simon.
Hi Simon! Yes, I find it fascinating to learn how our brain actually operates, so I can work WITH it. I relate to your experience of being scared of heights, but you climb anyway. Personally, I’m quite shy, but I refuse to let my feelings of shyness (which I now know are about brain wiring, not about danger of meeting people) stop me from making warm, genuine connections with others — something I love. So, when I feel reluctance at, say, a networking event, I can soothe my own mind and just get on with it. And then it becomes fun!
Isn’t it wonderful to be constantly growing and expanding?