Recently, I was talking with a CEO of a large travel company about helping him develop and deliver a keynote speech at an upcoming conference. He confessed that he hated giving speeches or presentations because the very thought of speaking in front of a group of people made his heartbeat accelerate, his mouth get dry, and his knees buckle. He added, “I don’t know that there is any help for me.” I assured him there was.

Over the years, I have researched and learned a lot about glossophobia – the fancy word for fear of public speaking.

The cause of speech anxiety is complex, and overcoming it requires training, coaching, and counseling on multiple factors.

But understanding the science behind that fear is the first step in helping you manage it.

The amygdala is the part of your brain that reacts when you sense potential physical danger. When something happens that you perceive as threatening.

This danger signal is sent when you have to give a presentation and think things like, “Oh no! This is a big crowd! Everyone will be judging me! What if I forget something important? What if I go blank and embarrass myself! I don’t want to do this!” The amygdala believes whatever you tell it. Even though the threat is imagined, and there is no actual physical danger, it still triggers a pounding heart, shallow breathing, sudden brain fog, and other physical and emotional responses that say, Run for your life!

All of these fears are self-imposed. And self-imposed fears can be controlled and, with coaching, can be overcome.

The more negative your mindset gets about public speaking, the larger and more hypersensitive your amygdala gets. It continues to send those intimidating false alarms, feeding anxiety because of your imagined, self-imposed “what if” fears.

We believe what we continually tell ourselves, so when you have to give a presentation or speech, tell yourself only positive things. Envision success! The moment a negative thought starts to creep in, immediately change it to positive language. Say, “I can do this! I’ve got a great presentation with good information. This is going to go well! I’m calm, and the audience will enjoy my presentation. I’ve got this!”

Research shows that as you retrain your mindset, your amygdala literally shrinks in size, reducing panic and allowing your confidence to grow. Speaking before an audience of one or 1,000 will become more comfortable. Then one day, as you are enjoying applause after giving a fantastic presentation, you’ll smile and think, “Wow! It’s hard to believe that this used to freak me out!”