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Public speaking is something that many people fear.  According to the Psychology Today website, public speaking often places above even death on lists of fears. Different methods can be used to overcome this fear.

Public speaking involves delivering a speech to a live audience, whether large or small. This process brings up feelings of fear and anxiety for many people. This is not a baseless fear.

Ben Harrison, Rock Hill resident, brought up a strong point.

“People have been killed because of their public speaking on their beliefs,” Harrison said. “People like Martin Luther King Jr., they were killed because they chose to speak about what they believed in.”

Even if people are not placed in danger because of their speaking, just the size of the audience can also be intimidating. The San Diego Convention Center, for example, is a popular place for holding events and meetings. When looking at pictures inside and outside of the center and getting an idea of its scope and size, it is easy to understand why people would feel intimidated why addressing an audience, especially in a large area such as this.

Since 2004, the top three countries searching for this term were the Philippines, the United States, and Australia. There are a number of facilities and programs based in the Philippines to help those who wish to become better public speakers or to help people overcome public speaking anxiety.

There are different reasons why people might fear public speaking. Professor Carie R. Ivanovski, professor of theater, dance, and public speaking at Winthrop University, has an idea of why this may be.

“I think people fear it because it makes them feel vulnerable,” Ivanovski said. “It’s something very personal, you’re letting the audience see you with no guard.”

Joey Castellanos, Rock Hill resident, also had some insight.

“People have always feared judgement,” Castellanos said. “They are always afraid of what people will have to say after they’ve finished speaking.”

It is possible for people with these anxieties to overcome them.

One article from 2018 called “Putting a Speech Training Program Into Practice: Its Implementation and Effects on Elementary School Children’s Public Speaking Skills and Levels of Speech Anxiety” suggested that using training programs could even be used to help children who had anxiety.

Sterling Steel, Rock Hill resident, believed that some anxiety could be overcome simply by remembering to listen.

“I think it’s important to listen to what everyone has to say,” said Steele. “The more you learn about what others think or say, the more you learn about yourself, too. It’ll help make everyone more comfortable with speaking up.”

Ivanovski had advice for those trying to overcome these issues as well.

“Practicing is my biggest piece of advice,” Ivanovski said. “Don’t be afraid to find your own way. Be yourself and find your own voice.”

For this story, I used a number of different Google Tools for finding results. A Google Search helped to find the Psychology Today report used.

Google Maps was used to view the inside of the San Diego Convention Center.