Successful Leaders' Stage Fright and Overcoming It
Why it happens, does personality play a role and how long of a process is it to work through to develop skills, strengths and be confident
The stress or worse, high anxiety over being the focal point of crowds and speaking to them, is well known. What isn't common knowledge is that some high-profile leaders who are regularly in front of people also struggle with their emotions and psychology.
SpaceX and Tesla front man Elon Musk painfully confessed his public speaking inadequacies in 2019.
“I’m such a bad public speaker!” he said. “Damn.”
For a man who is not admirably known for self awareness, that moment of introspective clarity revealed an impressive, honest, humble, momentary show of it.
Not too surprising, he’s not alone in his difficulty to get comfortable.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Business Insider’s Jordan Hart reported, told “60 Minutes” that he felt anxious walking out towards a large crowd at the 2023 GTC AI Conference.
"I'm an engineer, not a performer,” Huang said. “When I walked out there, and all of the people going crazy, it took the breath out of me. I'm still scared."
It’s not everyday you hear a successful person of his magnitude say, especially publicly, that they’re “scared.”
Being in front of a big number of people, having so many eyeballs on you and then speaking to them can be an emotional, psychological, biological rollercoaster even for the most accomplished and admired in their respective fields.
Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor and Berkshire Hathaway CEO, said that his fear and ignorance of what it took to be a good communicator could have derailed his goals and career.
"I had been terrified of public speaking. I couldn't do it," he honestly recalled in the 2017 documentary Becoming Warren Buffett,” Hart reported.
For someone who comes off self assured, it’s attention getting that Buffett used the word “terrified” and also said that he “couldn’t do it.”
Buffett knew that he had to do something to build skills and improve to be competent and to his credit, he did. He enrolled in a public speaking course and says that course provided him the tools, ability and confidence to maximize what he does and succeed as an comfortable, effective communicator.
The fears are real and afflict most people. It can be confusing for most as to why this can be so debilitating or emotionally and psychologically overwhelming.
“Stage fright is a product of social anxiety, fear of judgment and physiological responses, such as adrenaline rushes that activate the fight or flight response,” says Michelle Dees, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist at Luxury Psychiatry Clinic.
“Sometimes, this fear is amplified by unfavorable past experiences, lack of preparation or the tendency to be a perfectionist.”
The brain and nervous system is reacting — or overreacting — to what we have convinced it — the gross uncertainty or danger.
“From a biochemical perspective, when we stand in front of an audience, our body perceives the situation as high-stakes, triggering an adrenaline rush,” says Beth Hood — a leadership consultant from expertise gained in UK government in the field of security and intelligence — and the CEO and founder at Verosa Leadership.
“This can make us feel both excited and anxious at the same time. Our heart rate increases, our hands may sweat and our mouths go dry as the body prioritizes ‘survival.’”
Our psychology and body are intensely operating.
“The ego plays a significant role,” Hood says of anxiety. “When we’re presenting, we can feel judged and the presence of a large audience amplifies this. It’s almost an existential threat to the ego, something I call a psychological lynching.
“Under this pressure, the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for higher-order thinking, can shut down, leaving us focused on basic survival.”
That’s why it’s vitally important to learn what is transpiring in us leading up to and participating in those life moments that matter to us professionally.
“Understanding what’s happening in our bodies and minds is the first step to overcoming this,” Hood says. “Simple techniques like focused breathing or visualizing the audience as supportive and enthusiastic can make all the difference, allowing us to channel that adrenaline into a more positive, controlled performance.”
A person’s brains may even go farther in the absurdity of its instinctual perceptions and the distorted conclusions it settles on as factual.
“Stage fright is not deadly but for some reason, our mind tells us otherwise,” asserts Max Doshay, PsyD, a licensed clinical psychologist and CEO and co-founder at Monima Wellness.
It adds we don’t have to continue to react this way.
“It's only a matter of practice and mental strength-building to overcome this fear,” Doshay says as research and encouragement.
There are people who think and communicate that how they are naturally wired is not conducive to being a skilled speaker or liking doing it.
“Personality type does play a role but it’s not the whole story,” Hood says. “Nearly everyone feels some level of nerves before stepping on stage. It’s universal.”
“From a biochemical standpoint, we all experience the same adrenaline surge before a big presentation. The difference is in how we interpret and manage it. For some, it’s energizing; for others, it’s paralyzing.”
Who we consider ourselves to be does impact at least a little how we proceed with the invitation to communicate.
“Public speaking fears may increase due to some personal traits like introversion and high neuroticism,” Dees explains. “However, even extroverts can experience stage fright during unknown and stressful situations.”
It’s helpful therefore to focus outside of our self identity.
“In handling anxiety,” Dees adds, “there is more importance in resilience and mindset than personality type alone.”
Buffett talked about what he did to overcome his lack of skills and emotional discomfort and lack of competency. Steve Jobs reportedly extensively practiced at length to the point where he appeared confident and became admired for his on-stage presence and presentation skills.
The length of the process to learn and develop confidence — or become highly confident and impressive on stage — can vary.
“Through interventions such as practice and coaching, leaders can conquer stage fright and build a strong stage presence,” Dees states.
“Some effective strategies include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for reorienting negative thoughts, mindfulness toward improving body language — as well as rehearsed communication techniques. While timelines will differ, it is usual to witness significant improvement within 3-6 months of deliberate exercises with guidance.”
To minimize stress of the time it is requiring, it can be useful to remember an important reality.
“Some of the best public speakers out there still say they feel a little anxious when going into the spotlight,” Doshay says, “so it's a lifelong process even for the most experienced ones.”
Patience, commitment and putting in the work are practices to implement.
“From my perspective, preparation is the cornerstone of confidence,” Hood reasons, adding that, “The more prepared you are, the less likely you are to be overwhelmed by the adrenaline rush.”
It’s a process to become good, better and great. There aren’t shortcuts. Investing your time in the skills, practice — maybe coaching for some — making improvements and managing our bodies can take you past experiencing the thought of public speaking and doing it as one of greater known stressors to a high percentage of professionals.
“Developing communication intelligence and stage presence is a journey,” Hood says as a reminder. “It requires commitment, practice and resilience. But with the right mindset and tools, any leader can grow into a confident and impactful speaker, capable of inspiring and connecting with their audience.”
Sidebar
Joshua Walitt, the principal consultant at Walitt Solutions, a compliance, valuation, education, reviews and investigations firm, talks about how has worked a plan to make his mind work as he wants when in front of a crowd, doing public speaking:
My keys to overcoming any stage fright is to follow a few consistent steps before speaking: know my material, story or whatever it is I'm sharing. This helps me not only in a technical sense of solidly knowing my content but also ‘psychs’ myself into having more confidence because I've shown myself I am ready.
Be comfortable with the environment: Arrive ahead of time and "feel" the space, stand where you're going to stand, view what you're going to view, meet and chat with a few people and become "one" with the environment.
Even arriving early to a Zoom and looking over the names, getting to know faces, making a few chat entries, can make you more comfortable.
My last key for myself is to know what I'm going to see, but view it as an outline, not a scripted narrative. I have long thought of my testimony, presentations, teaching and panel participation as a conversation, even if I'm doing most of the talking and I know how to have a conversation, right?
Important Mental Framing
Treating it as a conversation also makes the message more accessible and the experience more enjoyable to attendees.
Before speaking, I practice consistent slow breathing. As weird as it sounds, many people forget how to breath momentarily. For me, it's tough to breath out for the first few minutes, so I get that out of the way before beginning.
I'm an introvert. Give me a couch and I will gladly stay at home and keep to myself. I'm not a big talker in many social settings but I have to look at business environments and presentations as different, where it is necessary to talk and be more outgoing.
And, really, talking to business colleagues at a conference is very much the same as making a presentation to a large group of people; to me, these are all simply conversations.
“Don't write yourself off simply because you're quiet,” Walitt says.
“You have a story and a message.”
Give Your Mind What it Wants
To increase confidence, focus on knowing the content, not memorizing words, to ensure you sound fluent and natural in speaking. Pick out key points in your talk to emphasize components periodically.
This not only makes it interesting for your listeners but also gives you a roadmap for moving from one emphasis point to another. This forces you to focus on the flow, path and message, rather than the fright.”
