Is it possible that your stage fright is telling you to shut up?

Take a second with me to revisit one of Norman Rockwell’s great Four Freedom paintings, in which a guy in a leather bomber jacket stands up from the crowd to share his point of view, to exercise his freedom of choice. expression.

I just write about it, it gives me the creeps.

I have taught public speaking at the university level. I am a professional speaker. I have a popular audio program on crystal clear communication.

But I’m also here to say two things: (1) Everyone’s right to freedom of expression must be preserved, and (2) There are some people who would be better off using a different medium of expression.

It is not that they have nothing to contribute; they might as well have.

Sitting still might be better for them due to the fact that they are so plagued by stage fright that the prospect of having to address a group is more terrifying than the fear of death.

Perhaps speaking is a kind of death: death of anonymity, death of self-image and death of inner peace.

I am developing a contrary view after following an online forum on “conquering stage fright”. There are some helpful tips that can help a person experiencing mild nervousness.

But those same tips – using systematic desensitization when speaking frequently and using positive imagery to hope for a positive experience – just don’t work as well or as thoroughly with the absolutely petrified.

For these victims, the best advice may be to flee the platform, quit smoking, turn your back on public speaking, if that causes them so much pain.

There is good research from Stanford that says that 80% of us are shy in situations. This means it can be a shy kitten on the platform, but a tiger on the phone or in person, one on one.

Choose your media wisely.

Peter F. Drucker, a wise man in management and my MBA professor, said we spend too much time trying to fix our weaknesses instead of running to our strengths.

Drucker asked this question: Would we want a modern Mozart to divert his attention from a world-class strength to the elimination of a weakness?

Given the nervous energy wasted in terrifying anticipation of a speech, you could be writing something, relatively easily and much more pleasantly.

To be sure, outlets for self-expression and career development are proliferating, so why punish yourself by focusing on platform expression?

I believe in self-improvement and overcoming obstacles as long as the end result is meritorious enough, and there is no better way to overcome them, pass them under, go around them or go through them.

For those who think that I am justifying surrender, promoting cowardice, I recommend this quote from martial arts:

“The best way to win a fight is to avoid it altogether.”

Let me add to this that the worst of all possible wars is the one we enter that violates the voice within us that warns, “This is not for you.”

Simply put, your aversion to public speaking may be justified. It could indicate the fact that you do not belong to the platform.

Happily, there are some very viable alternatives in our technological age.