Glossophobia or speech anxiety is the fear of public speaking or of speaking in general. The word glossophobia comes from the Greek glossa, meaning tongue, and phobos, fear or dread. Many people only have this fear, while others may also have social phobia or social anxiety disorder.

1. Glossophobia

2. Prepared By
TM Manu Melwin Joy
Kerala Toastmasters
Area – G3,Division G
District 92, India.
Phone – 9744551114
Mail – manu_melwinjoy@yahoo.com
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3. Contents
• What is Glossophobia?
• Facts about Glossophobia.
• Symptoms of Glossophobia.
• Glossophobia : Greatest fear.
• Reasons for Glossophobia.
• Great people who had Glossophobia.
• Overcoming Glossophobia.

4. What is Glossophobia?

10. Facts about Glossophobia

11. Facts about Glossophobia
• Fact 1 : Fear of public speaking
has negative effects on careers
and influences success in life
negatively when you do
nothing about it.
• Fact 2 :Three out of every four
individuals suffer from speech
anxiety: that’s 75 percent.
• Fact 3 : Up to 5 percent of the
world population, yes,
hundreds of millions aged
between 18 and 54,
experience this kind of social
phobia in any given year.

12. Facts about Glossophobia
• Fact 4 : Women and men are equally
affected. Although there are fear of
public speaking statistics that present
figures in which more women suffer
from speech anxiety related problems.
• Fact 5 : More men than women seek
treatment to cure fear of public
speaking. Some public speakers have
turned to beta-blockers or hypnosis
therapy to find relief.
• Fact 6 : Social phobias often start with
shyness in childhood or early
adolescence, and progresses during
adolescence, according to scientific
studies of fear of public speaking
statistics.

13. Symptoms of Glossophobia

19. Glossophobia : Greatest fear

28. Reasons for Glossophobia

30. Why do people fear public speaking?
• Saying or doing something to embarrass
themselves.
• Saying or doing something that will damage their
career or reputation.
• Fear of forgetting what are going to say.
• Fear of others will see them as lacking.
• Fear of rejection.
• Fear that no one will respond.
• Fear that someone will question them and they
wont be able to answer.

42. Great people who had Glossophobia

43. Abraham Lincoln
• Unpublished 1860 letter by
Abraham Lincoln Shows
‘Nervous’ Side.” Lincoln reveals
in the letter that public speaking
is the cause of his nervousness.
• Lincoln wrote the letter on
March 6, 1860, after he had
delivered a high-profile speech
at Cooper Union, the science
and art college in New York City.
His speech, on the need to
control the spread of slavery to
the territories, had
an “electrifying” effect on his
audience.

44. Winston Churchill
• Winston Churchill had a
tremendous fear of public
speaking. Early in his political
career he would spend hours
preparing for each speech.
With time, he improved.
• At the peak of his career,
Churchill could give eloquent
impromptu speeches —
several of which are credited
with changing the course of
history.

45. Mahatma Gandhi
• Gandhi was afraid of public
speaking. He was very shy.
He gave up a case because
he did not have the courage
to speak.
• Because of his shyness it was
becoming hard for him to
continue his practice as a
barrister. Later on, in South
Africa Mahatma Gandhi was
able to overcome his
shyness.

46. Overcoming Glossophobia

49. Practice
• British Prime minister Winston
Churchill was one of the top-rated
public speakers and regarded as the
most powerful orator of the
twentieth century. His style is not
my favorite, but one of his secrets to
being a great speaker was in his
relentless preparation.
• Churchill devoted one hour of
research and rehearsal for every one
minute he would speak in public. So
for a 20 minute speech he would
prepare 20 hours.