Since the beginning of our school careers, we’ve all had to make presentations in front of the class. These kinds of public speaking projects were emphasized in the school curriculum, with teachers preaching that we would never get anywhere without public speaking skills.
For some, it came naturally. They presented their information with ease and even cracked a few jokes to the class along the way. For others, however, the experience was anxiety-inducing. Their palms would sweat, their voices would stutter, their hands would shake. Not to mention, they had a higher possibility of receiving a poor grade because of their nervousness.
Not everyone sees presentations as an easy thing to do in class. It could be seen as the most stressful thing they have to face that semester.
People with glossophobia have a fear of public speaking, which is the most commonly reported social fear. Glossophobia and social anxiety go hand-in-hand when it comes to presentations. People with this fear have a more challenging time preparing for a presentation due to the constant worry of eventually standing in front of a class presenting.
People with glossophobia might experience a range of symptoms from shaking, blushing to shortness of breath and dizziness. With these symptoms, it may seem harder to get through the presentation due to the wait.
Waiting is what makes presentations nerve-wracking. It is the dread of presenting in front of a crowd of people that makes people dread doing that. You can have every dramatic scenario in your head about what might happen when you present. It could be highly stressful if not dealt with in a way where you end up in a panic attack.
Sometimes, presenting is not the main issue when it comes to presentation anxiety. Sometimes, it is the fear of being judged when you finally get in front of the class to present. People like this might have been bullied in the past and might still be in the healing process. Sometimes, presenting seems like another reason to be picked on even if they are well past that point in their life.
The fear of judgment could cloud your mind with nothing but negative thoughts about yourself, and it could get in the way of a good presentation. Unlike glossophobia, the fear of judgment is not caused by a simple fear of public speaking. The cause could be from different instances in life, like bullying or abuse from a relationship.
Another reason that could cause presentation anxiety is when a person has social anxiety. People with social anxiety fear interacting with people, and it goes hand-in-hand with the fear of being judged. They just are awkward with social interactions in which they try hard to hide it from their peers.
Social anxiety can play a part in presentation anxiety because a presentation is more significant than just socializing. You are talking in front of an entire class. It would be stressful for them due to the various thoughts when trying to find a way out of this interaction.
Presentation anxiety can happen to even the best of us, and it could be caused by the fear of public speaking, the fear of being judged, or even due to social anxiety. We are all in this together when it comes to presentations. Everyone has their own little circumstance when it comes to our presentations. But in the end, it all comes to a matter we face those fears and adapt as a person.
