We often talk about the fear of public speaking but do we stop to think about what we are really afraid of? I would suggest that for most people it is not the act of speaking that is the problem – after all, most of us don’t have a problem speaking. Whether it is talking with one other person or in a group of friends, being afraid is not a common problem – in fact most of us need to stop speaking and listen more..

Here’s the trick though – the sub-conscious is not a very good judge of costs and benefits. After all, how do you measure the cost of being publicly humiliated? Some people would rank this as being worse than death while others would just laugh it off and move on. Neither is correct in their evaluation because there is not a right answer – it’s all about how you interpret it.