I've been working on something in this space, which has made me notice a few things about public speaking anxiety.

and theres one thing with people who struggle with it.

They try SO hard to not be nervous.

deep breaths before speaking, rehearsing everything 20 times, telling themselves to calm down, trying to somehow convince their brain that speaking in front of people isn't scary.

I actually think thats the wrong goal.

Instead of fighting the anxiety, just accept it.

“yeah, I'm nervous. Public speaking is scary. My heart is pounding because I'm about to do something uncomfortable and I'm doing it anyway.”

sounds like a tiny difference but it completely changes what the nerves mean.

shaky voice, faster heartbeat, weird breathing... none of those automatically mean you're bad at speaking. Thats just what being nervous feels like.

Kinda like sprinting. Your heart pounding doesn't mean you're shit at running. its literally part of running.

I've also started thinking that maybe the real solution isn't practicing until you stop feeling nervous.

Maybe its practicing enough that you've been nervous AND still spoken well so many times that your brain eventually goes

“oh... I can actually do this while nervous”

full disclosure, SayIt (usesayit.com) is the speaking app we're building, so obviously I have some bias here.

But app or no app, I think thats the part people miss.

You dont need to become fearless before you become a good speaker.