speaking

1. Glossophobia Reflection
● Concept: Glossophobia
● Reflection:
● Look at this presentation (Courtesy: YouTube)
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0fllNE1pQA
● What do you think the speaker is experiencing?
● What did you observe about the speaker’s behaviour? List a few things that stood
out about his behaviour.

2. What is
Glossophobia?
● Glossophobia is a popular
term used to describe fear of
speaking in front of audiences.
● If you are a Harry Potter fan,
you would recall the state of
Harry when he would see a
“dementor”. The moment the
dementors would come near
Harry, he would freeze and
would not be able to do
anything. Glossophobia is a
similar phenomenon.

3. Panic Monkey
● Imagine our brains with many tiny little
people inside, doing important jobs. For
example, one of them will help us do math,
the other one will help us drive a car,
someone will help us behave appropriately
in front of a social gathering, and someone
will help us swim and so on.
● Hidden somewhere in the folds of our brains
is a tiny little panic monkey as well. This
monkey wakes up only when we are
undergoing a panic attack. And it becomes
huge and attacks everyone else in that brain.
Nobody can do anything and we start feeling
the some of the below mentioned symptoms

4. Physiological
symptoms of
Glossophobia
• Breaking into a sweat – especially on the forehead, upper
lip, armpits, neck and back
• Feeling cold in the lower back spinal area
• Dryness of mouth and licking of lips
• Stammering, stuttering and quivering of voice
• Legs, arms (especially fingers) shaking
• One feels that the body is either not responsive or totally
out of control
• A sinking pit in the stomach like how one feels on a roller-
coaster ride
• Faster heart rate, throbbing of veins in forehead and hands
• Walking around the place like a caged tiger
• Too many unnecessary gestures
• An expression of terror or looking blank

5. Psychological
symptoms of
Glossophobia
• Mind going blank.
• Mumbling or struggling to speak -
Words fail us because a part of the
brain is under a panic attack and has
shut down. We start mumbling
because we are not able to frame
sentences anymore.
• Fainting – Because of the panic, we
might feel dizzy.

6. Overcoming Glossophobia – the 4 step confidence framework
Step 1
The audience perceives
you to be a confident
speaker when you stand
straight, with your body
balanced equally on both
legs, your shoulders
spread outwards and
chest out. Your head and
chin should be up.
Step 2
The audience perceives
you to be a confident
speaker when you make
eye contact with
everyone in the room.
The eye-contact should
appear friendly, warm
and genuine rather than
artificial and mechanical.
Step 3
The audience perceives
you to be a confident
speaker when you smile
at them.
Step 4
Finally, the audience
perceives you to be a
confident speaker when
your voice is loud, clear
and energetic, especially
when you greet them.

7. Overcoming
Glossophobia
● Take a long, slow breath in through your
nose, first filling your lower lungs, then
your upper lungs. Hold your breath to the
count of "three.“ Exhale slowly. Repeat 3
times.
● Try the victory pose.
● Think of happy thoughts.
● Imagine the audience in a funny way, for
e.g. you can imagine the audience as
their baby-selves.
● Finish the speech to the best of your
ability.