Does the very thought of going up on a stage and speaking in front of a crowd terrifies you? Does it make you go completely numb? To be honest, every one of us has been there at some point, specifically when we were at school.

Fear of public speaking is more rampant than fear of dying. That’s surprising, right? In a recent survey, almost 80% of people admitted being afraid of giving a speech or doing a presentation in public, and out of that 80%, 55% were students.To know more, please go through the rest of the discussion.

Why Students Have Fear of Public Speaking?

Public speaking anxiety is not limited to any age but the age group that it tends to affect the most is of the students. Students are afraid of public speaking not only due to lack of exposure but also due to the fear of humiliation they think they will meet if they have a slip-up. They do not want to be a ‘laughing stock’.

The size of audience also plays a critical role as many individuals feel fine talking to a small group but when the size of the group increases, their anxiety also increases.  Large audience is believed to be more intimidating.

How Fear of Public Speaking Affect the Students?

• No Self-Confidence

The students do not have substantial experience in public speaking, and this leads to nervousness as well as thoughts of committing a blunder. What if they stammer on the stage or forget what they are meant to say - this compels the students to lose confidence in themselves. Comparison among the peers can have a destructive impact on the students since they feel they are not good enough.

The fact that even people who can easily initiate a conversation in daily life finds it challenging to give a speech in front of a crowd indicates the lack of confidence they face.

• Performance Anxiety

Performance anxiety could be defined as the fear of considering one’s capacity to perform a specific task. Due to zero confidence, the students may feel they cannot perform well before they even start performing. Negative feelings of rejection and failure start to creep in. Performance anxiety is extremely common among the students suffering from stage frights.

• Poor Career

Fear of public speaking takes a heavy toll on a student’s career since public speaking is essential in all the aspects of life. In case of students, the anxiety can compel them to pass on excellent job placements or a stellar opportunity to display their skills. A renowned columnist stated that fear of public speaking limits one’s career to the greatest extent.

Even though therapy can help with public speaking anxiety, students can opt for a few alternative methods. They can take five deep breaths as that calms the mind to a great extent. Acceptance is also considered a powerful motivator. Anxiousness and exhilaration usually have similar experiences, the difference lies in interpretation.

Being a little nervous before a presentation or speech is fine as moderate amounts of stress can improve the performance. But make sure to not reach the level of anxiety because that is responsible for all the mistakes.