FEAR OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

How to overcome the fear of public speaking

Plenty of people get nervous before they speak. It turns into a problem when the fear makes the call: you skip the presentation, or you stay quiet while someone else makes your point.

You can speak well while you're nervous. Practice in small steps makes it easier. Say the talk out loud alone, then to a slightly bigger audience each time, until standing up in front of people feels familiar. Each step below has a drill you do out loud, and most take a few minutes.

Seven steps, smallest first

1. Say it out loud, alone

A run-through in your head leaves out your voice, and your voice is what the room will hear. Start where nobody is listening: a closed door and your notes.

Drill: say the first minute of your talk out loud three times. Sit for the first two and stand up for the third.

2. Record it and listen once

Hearing a recording of your own voice can feel strange at first. Get that over with now, while nothing is at stake.

Drill: record your opening on your phone and play it back once, all the way through. Write down one thing to change and record it again. How to record yourself practicing a speech covers the setup.

3. Know your first 30 seconds word for word

If the start is the hardest part for you, learn your opening cold. You can get it out while your heart is still pounding, and by the end of it you're already talking. For the rest of the talk, one line of notes per point is enough.

Drill: write down your first three sentences. Say them five times without looking, then once more an hour later. How to memorize a speech has the method.

4. Make the audience a little bigger each time

Once it's easy alone, add people one step at a time. Try a video call with your camera on, then one friend in the room, then two or three people, then the real thing. Move up a step when the one you're on starts to feel routine.

Drill: write your own ladder of four or five steps, smallest first. Do the first one this week. For a group to practice with, see Toastmasters alternatives.

5. Practice losing your place

If what scares you is freezing up, practice it. When you blank, stop and look at your notes, then go on from your next point. You can carry on without explaining the line you missed.

Drill: in your next run, stop mid-sentence on purpose. Count to three, look at your notes and carry on as if you'd planned the pause.

6. Slow down on purpose

Nerves can speed you up without your noticing. Finish each sentence and take a breath before you start the next one.

Drill: read a paragraph aloud and take one full breath at every period. Then read it again and keep the same gaps. See how to talk slower, even when you're nervous.

7. Your nerves may show less than you think

In a 2003 study, the psychologists Kenneth Savitsky and Thomas Gilovich asked people to give short speeches and then rate how nervous they had looked. The speakers thought their nerves showed more than the people watching did. Speakers who were told about this gap before they started rated their own speeches higher, and observers saw them as more composed.

Drill: ask a friend to watch your opening and rate how nervous you looked, from 1 to 10. Give your own rating first, then compare. If your voice shakes, see how to stop your voice from shaking when you present.

On the day of the presentation

You'll probably still feel nervous, and that's fine. Use the hour before to get your voice and your opening ready.

• Warm up your voice somewhere private. Hum, or do lip trills (a "brrr" through loose lips) for a minute. Then your opening line won't be the first thing you've said all day.
• Say your first three sentences out loud once, in a hallway if you have to.
• Get there early and talk with one or two people before you start. Then you have friendly faces to look at when you begin.
• Breathe out slowly before your first word. Then start a little slower than feels natural.

Help for your situation

• A presentation at school or work: the best app to practice a presentation
• A job interview: how to practice for an interview by yourself
• A wedding toast: how to practice your wedding speech out loud
• Any talk: 12 public speaking tips you can practice out loud

When to get more help

If fear of speaking keeps you from classes or jobs you want, or it comes with panic attacks, talk to a doctor or a licensed therapist.

FAQ

What is the fear of public speaking called?

Glossophobia, from the Greek words for tongue and fear. It's also called speech anxiety.

Is public speaking really people's number one fear?

In two surveys it was the fear people checked most often, but when students ranked their fears, death came first. The claim that people fear public speaking more than death goes back to a 1973 survey. People checked the fears that applied to them on a list of 14, and speaking before a group came up most often. In a 2012 study, researchers at the University of Nebraska Omaha gave a list of 14 fears to 815 students in the first week of a college speaking course. About 60% checked public speaking, again the most of any fear. When the students ranked their fears, death came first.

Can you get over the fear of public speaking?

You may always feel some nerves, and you can learn to speak well with them. Take it one step at a time. The steps above start where nobody is watching and add people as each step starts to feel routine.

How do I stop being nervous before a presentation?

Expect some nerves and plan for them. Warm up your voice, say your opening out loud once and get there early enough to talk to someone before you start.

More practice guides

• How to sound confident when you speak
• How to stop rambling when you're nervous
• The best public speaking apps

Updated November 1, 2026.