What’s the most common fear for humans?
It’s speaking. According to Forbes, “The fear of public speaking is the most common fear and prevents many people from achieving their potential.”
A shocking 74 percent of Americans have fears and anxiety toward public speaking.
Our number two fear—dying.
Does this make any sense?
In the brilliant words of comedian Jerry Seinfeld, “For the average person, if you have to be at a funeral, you would rather be in the casket than doing the eulogy.”
The fear of speaking is called glossophobia.
Some may feel a slight nervousness at the thought of public speaking, while others experience full-on panic and fear. Why?
Because our brain has a hard time distinguishing between actual risk (loss of life) and perceived risk (threat to our identity).
Our brains are wired to respond to threat in a particular way—regardless of the actual threat.
To my knowledge, no one has literally died giving a presentation.
But to be candid, even for an experienced presenter, these feelings of nervousness and excitement never completely go away.
You can’t unwire or unlearn biology.
Mark Twain made light of this when he said, “There are only two types of speakers in this world…. The nervous . . . and the liars.”
Overcoming these feelings and becoming great at presenting is the focus of Silver Goldfish.
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Stan Phelps walks the walk. He stands out in the sea of sameness by modeling his own Differentiated Experience (DX) message: Differentiation isn’t just about what you say, it’s about what you do and, more importantly, how and why you do it. Stan leverages his unique collection of 5,000+ case studies on customer, employee, and brand experience to engage audiences with informative learning-based experiences. He believes purposeful DX wins the hearts of employees and customers, and differentiation ultimately boosts loyalty, retention, referrals, and results.
Find Stan’s in-person and virtual keynotes, workshops, and Goldfish tank programs at StanPhelps.com.