PDF Summary:Speak With No Fear, by Mike Acker

Did you know that public speaking is the number one fear in the US, even ranking above the fear of death? In Speak With No Fear, public speaker and coach Mike Acker explores why so many people are afraid to address an audience and provides seven strategies to help you overcome that fear. Acker promises that after working through these strategies, you’ll gain the confidence to become a strong, confident, and compelling speaker.

In this guide, we’ll go over each of Acker’s strategies in detail. Since some of the strategies can help you to implement others more effectively, we’ve rearranged them into four “main strategies” and three “supporting strategies.” Our commentary will provide some background information on why the fear of public speaking is so common and so powerful. We’ll also provide tips to help you put Acker’s strategies into practice.

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The author adds that even if something does go wrong during your speech, it’ll rarely be as catastrophic as the scenario you imagined. Therefore, by preparing for the worst, you’ve over-prepared for whatever actually happens, and you’ll be able to handle any problems with ease.

Imagine the Best-Case Scenario

Acker suggests imagining the worst possible outcomes in order to mentally prepare yourself for them and practice controlling your emotions. However, some research suggests that the opposite approach—imagining the best possible outcomes—is also an effective way to reduce your anxiety.

For example, one research study explored the potential benefits of positive mental imagery (imagining good outcomes) for people struggling with public speaking anxiety. The study divided participants into two groups: one group engaged in a positive mental imagery exercise prior to a public speaking activity, while the other group didn’t. Those who did the positive imagery exercise showed reduced anxiety compared to the control group, both leading up to and during the public speaking task. Furthermore, the people who performed the exercise tended to rate their performances more highly, meaning they continued to feel better than the control group after the activity was over.

The researchers note that people with anxiety disorders often find themselves trapped in a cycle of negative mental imagery, imagining worst-case scenarios and potential catastrophes. Therefore, they hypothesize that positive mental imagery helps to counteract that anxiety by disrupting negative thought patterns and shifting people’s thoughts to more optimistic directions.

Main Strategy #3: Do What Comes Naturally

The first two strategies we discussed were about preparing for a public speaking event; the remaining strategies focus on how to perform well at the event itself.

For his third strategy, Acker advises you to "be yourself" when giving a speech or presentation. He explains that too many speakers try to imitate the styles, mannerisms, and personas of other people instead of being their authentic selves. However, this approach just puts more pressure on them—since they’re now trying to give a performance as well as a speech—which inevitably leads to increased anxiety and a lack of self-confidence.

Instead, find and perfect your own intrinsic style. Your unique quirks, physicality, speech patterns, sense of humor, and overall personality are powerful assets when communicating, not flaws to be suppressed or replaced. Embrace them, and you'll gain much more confidence than you could by imitating someone else.

Rehearse Your Speech, but Not Your Movements

Acker’s third strategy is about authenticity. In addition to helping you relax, authenticity makes you seem more trustworthy—and conversely, if your audience thinks you’re being insincere or “fake,” then they’re less likely to listen to what you have to say. Furthemore, a great deal of how audiences interpret your intentions comes down to your body language, not your words.

Some research indicates that natural, unrehearsed gestures often precede conscious thought and speech—in other words, you actually start moving a split second before you’ve decided what to say. Therefore, over-rehearsing specific gestures and other body language elements can make your overall presentation seem artificial. Audience members are likely to pick up on this subtle inauthenticity and decide that you’re not trustworthy, even if they’re not consciously aware of why they feel that way.

Therefore, striking the right balance between preparation and authenticity is crucial for a public speaking event. Although rehearsing the content and flow of your speech is important so that you seem confident, make sure to leave yourself some room to be spontaneous with your body language and facial expressions so you also seem honest.

Supporting Strategy #1: Find a Friend to Speak to

Acker advises you to be yourself when giving a speech, but it’s much easier to be yourself in front of a single friend than a large group of people you don’t know. That’s why his fourth strategy is to find a friend in the audience—or someone you can pretend is your friend—and imagine you’re speaking only to that person.

If possible, mingle with the crowd before your speech. Introduce yourself to a few people, learn their names, and try to form connections with them. Then, when it’s time for you to speak, you can look for those people in the crowd and deliver your speech to them. Doing so will give you some “anchors” in the audience; these people can provide specific places you can focus on so you don’t get overwhelmed by a crowd of strangers.

(Shortform note: This strategy resembles a focus exercise that’s often recommended as a simple, effective way to manage anxiety. The exercise involves clearly and specifically identifying things using each of your senses: taking note of five things you see, four things you feel, three things you hear, and so on. Doing this disrupts your anxious thoughts by forcing you to focus just on the present moment. However, you won’t have time to do the full exercise in the middle of a speech, so identifying specific people in the crowd to focus on can work as an abridged version of it.)

Furthermore, Acker says that your attitude toward your audience will inevitably come through during your speech. If the people intimidate you, they’ll pick up on your nervousness and conclude that you’re not a very good speaker; even worse, they might think that you don’t really know what you’re talking about. On the other hand, if you’re at ease like you would be while talking to a friend, your speech will be much better received.

(Shortform note: As we discussed before, how your audience receives your speech depends a lot on your body language. There are several ways you might be subconsciously telling your audience that you feel uncomfortable or threatened. The most obvious of these signals is folding your arms; it’s a defensive posture that puts a physical barrier (your arms) between you and the person you’re talking to. A more subtle signal is holding tension in your face, especially in your jaw and around your eyes—this gives you an angry or annoyed expression, which your audience will interpret as you being angry or annoyed at them.)

Supporting Strategy #2: Think About Your Audience, Not Yourself

Another major reason you might feel uncomfortable during a speech, and therefore have trouble acting like your natural self, is that you’re too self-conscious. That brings us to Acker’s next strategy: Think about your audience instead of yourself. The more you shift your focus away from yourself, the less anxious you’ll be.

Acker says that you can do this by trying to empathize with the audience. Think about why they’ve come to listen to you—what are they hoping to gain from your speech? Consider what hopes they might have that you could help them fulfill, or what fears they might have that you could assuage. If possible, ask them questions to see what’s on their minds.

For example, if you’re presenting your company’s quarterly sales and profits, your audience is probably hoping for bonuses and afraid of being laid off, so think about how you’ll address those concerns.

Also, to connect with your audience more effectively, observe them while you speak. Periodically check whether they’re paying attention or seem to be getting restless and try to adjust accordingly. If they’re getting bored then it might be time to move to a new topic, break up the monotony with a joke, or wrap up your speech.

Don’t Try to “Walk a Mile in Their Shoes”

You might be tempted to imagine yourself in your audience’s situation in order to generate empathy for them, especially if you’re delivering bad news. However, in her book Atlas of the Heart, social worker Brené Brown says that practice is actually counterproductive to empathy.

Brown says that empathy is the ability to truly understand and accept the emotions that another person is experiencing. However, imagining yourself in the other person’s place often backfires because you inevitably bring your own biases, assumptions, and personal experiences into the situation—you start thinking about how you would feel in the same circumstances, instead of how the other person currently feels.

The best way to genuinely understand your audience is, as Acker says, to observe them. This will help you to better address their actual needs in that moment, instead of trying to manage feelings that might only exist in your head.

Main Strategy #4: Use Your Nervous Energy

No matter how effectively you use these strategies, you probably won’t completely get rid of your nervous feelings. However, Acker argues that’s actually a good thing—you’re nervous because you care, and because you want to do well. Furthermore, you can harness that nervous energy to deliver a more forceful, more passionate speech than you could ever give while you’re totally calm.

(Shortform note: Fear and excitement are closely related feelings with nearly identical physical responses: increased heart rate, faster breathing, a surge of adrenaline, and so on. Therefore, you can harness your stage fright like Acker suggests by reframing your fear as excitement. One way to do that is by changing the way you talk to yourself about public speaking—instead of telling yourself that you’re nervous or that you can’t speak in front of a crowd, try telling yourself that you’re going to do great and impress the audience. Alternatively, try thinking about all the good that could come from this speech or presentation; for example, if it’s work-related, perhaps doing well will get you a step closer to a promotion.)

The author says that the key to using your nervousness effectively is intent. Remember why you’re there and what message you’re trying to convey, and focus your nervous energy on that intention. Use the energy to invigorate your words and your movements. Even the pauses in your speech should be purposeful; they’re a chance for you to take a breath and recenter yourself.

Conversely, if you don’t have a focused intent, you’ll just waste that energy on anxious fidgeting and pacing—in other words, your energy will work against you instead of working for you.

(Shortform note: Keeping your intent in mind gives you a goal to focus on, which will help you stay fully engaged in what you’re doing. That engagement, in turn, will relieve your feelings of anxiety. In Flow, psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi explains that being totally focused on your task (in this case, giving a speech or presentation) means you can’t devote any attention to feeling worried or self-conscious. In fact, while thinking back on times when they were absorbed in a task, people frequently report that they felt calm and in control—the exact opposite of feeling anxious.)

Supporting Strategy #1: Focus on the Here and Now

Acker says that the key to harnessing your nervous energy is to keep your purpose in mind; the most effective way to do that is to keep your attention on the present moment, instead of regretting the past or worrying about the future. In fact, you can practice this strategy during every step of public speaking.

First, while you’re preparing and writing your speech, don’t get impatient and wish that the speaking event would come sooner. Instead, relish the chance to learn more about the topic and practice your speaking skills.

Then, during your speech, don’t distract yourself by thinking about what else you wish you’d included in it, or by worrying about what you’re supposed to say next. Remember: Your audience doesn’t know what you wrote, so it doesn’t matter whether you follow the script word for word—a strong sense of purpose and a genuine connection with your listeners are much more important.

Finally, once your speech is over, accept whatever happened and move on. Remember that you did the best you could in that moment, and stressing about it after the fact won't change anything. You can celebrate what went well and identify things that you could improve upon for next time, but the most important thing is this: Savor the fact that you faced your fear, you gave the speech, and now your life goes on.

Reduce Anxiety With Mindfulness Meditation

Acker advises you to overcome anxiety by staying focused on the present moment. Another way to say this is that he’s advising you to practice mindfulness.

Being mindful means being fully aware of everything that's happening to you from one moment to the next. This includes internal experiences, such as your thoughts and feelings, as well as external stimuli like sights, sounds, and smells. Mindfulness also allows you to notice how you're responding to those stimuli. For example, are you feeling stress and fear, or are you in a state of calm acceptance? By becoming more aware of your moment-to-moment responses, you can begin to make more conscious and intentional choices about how you want to handle your current situation.

One common way to build mindfulness is through meditation. Meditation involves setting aside dedicated time to focus your attention on one specific thing—such as your breathing or a mantra you’ve chosen—to the exclusion of all else. This exercise trains your mind to be more present and less easily distracted, including by your own stray thoughts and emotions. In fact, some experts say that practicing meditation for just a few minutes each day can greatly improve your ability to stay focused on the here and now.