You Want Me To Do What?

If you ask someone about their fears, they might say snakes, alligators, spiders, tigers, lions, death, airplane trips, boating, or roller coasters, to name a few. But you can set these fears all aside if you ask them to give a presentation. You want me to do what? Speaking publicly is one of the greatest fears of many people. Several years ago I was called out of town on business. As I prepared to leave the office, I suddenly remembered I was scheduled to speak to the Business Roundtable in our community the next day. It was too late to cancel. I quickly turned to my assistant, Bill, and told him that he needed to do the presentation for me. I thought he was going to faint. “Are you okay?” I asked. He looked at me like I was the grim reaper. “No,” he said, “I am not okay. I can’t do that.” Being Mr. Positive, I replied, “I know you can do it. I am counting on you.” If looks could kill, I would not be here now. “Can I use your notes?” he asked. I replied, “I do not have any notes. But I know you can handle it.” I turned and left the office with him standing there is a state of high anxiety. Obviously, I was not a good leader. I was my impulsive self. I was throwing a task at Bill as I always did and he always handled it. What I did not know was that he had a fear of public speaking. And I did not know that until he and I had a meeting upon my return. After apologizing to him, we discussed his reaction to my assignment and I quickly learned about his fear. We put together a plan to help him overcome the fear and become an effective speaker. In putting together a plan for Bill, I first worked on getting him to accept this fear and want to overcome it. This means you cannot fight the fear. It is important that you acknowledge your fear and answer the question, why do I fear public speaking? In asking Bill why, he said he did not know since he was always able to avoid giving a presentation so he did not have a negative experience. Probing deeper he then shared he had never had a chance to learn how to give a presentation. How about you?