When I used to teach public speaking classes, I had a theory about why people have the specific physiological reactions they do when they feel public speaking fears. Some of the main things that happen are that they fail to make eye contact, they stumble over their words, and they lose control of their body in various uncomfortable ways. When I first started teaching university classes, for example, I'd have to pee like ten times before the class started.
My theory was this: these bodily responses bring us back to a time when we did not have control of ourselves, and that evokes the deepest fear possible. My theory is based a lot on Lacanian psychoanalysis, which postulates that our entry into language is literally and figuratively the defining moment of our sense of self. Prior to that, we are undifferentiated from the world. We cannot tell where we begin and the world ends. Right now, our baby, which is at 19 weeks, is physically a part of its mother. There's no difference. They're one organism.
A critical moment as we develop, at least according to French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan, is when we're first confronted with an image of ourselves in the mirror. By that point we have begun to perceive rough differences between objects in the world, but when we see ourselves in the mirror, we encounter the perfect object. While we're feeling like a scattering of limbs with no motor skills and a smelly diaper, we see a perfect, complete version of us staring back, whole of body and in complete control. It is daunting, but it give us something to strive for. Thus begins our search for self.
When you have public speaking fears then, or really any fears, the physical reactions threaten nothing less than the loss of self -- the return to that moment where we have no self-control. The body amplifies this with adrenaline, and suddenly our arms and legs start completely rebelling against us again. You feel like you're going to pee your pants. Everything becomes this pile of wild parts that you're once again struggling to assemble. Having to stand in front of people and make a speech or give a talk elicits fears of not knowing what to say, a pre-verbal state. While the image of a baby is often romanticized in our society, it is in fact a state that we struggle to leave behind us. It's important to leave it behind us. This is why we have such a strong fear reaction when we get reminded of it.
Perhaps an audience specifically reminds you of being confronted with that more complete mirror image of yourself. This may well be why they say to practice public speaking in the mirror. To overcome the fear, the real thing to explore and understand on a deep level, I suppose, is that you cannot be completely returned to your pre-verbal state. I'm guessing that this is why having lots of exposure and practice with public speaking is so good for developing your confidence. You start to realize that you will not be thrown into the pre-verbal, and this consoles you.
I also wanted to talk about waterboarding as a return to birthing, but I guess we'll have to leave that for another day. Hope you enjoyed this rather random and twisty reflection!
My theory was this: these bodily responses bring us back to a time when we did not have control of ourselves, and that evokes the deepest fear possible. My theory is based a lot on Lacanian psychoanalysis, which postulates that our entry into language is literally and figuratively the defining moment of our sense of self. Prior to that, we are undifferentiated from the world. We cannot tell where we begin and the world ends. Right now, our baby, which is at 19 weeks, is physically a part of its mother. There's no difference. They're one organism.
A critical moment as we develop, at least according to French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan, is when we're first confronted with an image of ourselves in the mirror. By that point we have begun to perceive rough differences between objects in the world, but when we see ourselves in the mirror, we encounter the perfect object. While we're feeling like a scattering of limbs with no motor skills and a smelly diaper, we see a perfect, complete version of us staring back, whole of body and in complete control. It is daunting, but it give us something to strive for. Thus begins our search for self.
When you have public speaking fears then, or really any fears, the physical reactions threaten nothing less than the loss of self -- the return to that moment where we have no self-control. The body amplifies this with adrenaline, and suddenly our arms and legs start completely rebelling against us again. You feel like you're going to pee your pants. Everything becomes this pile of wild parts that you're once again struggling to assemble. Having to stand in front of people and make a speech or give a talk elicits fears of not knowing what to say, a pre-verbal state. While the image of a baby is often romanticized in our society, it is in fact a state that we struggle to leave behind us. It's important to leave it behind us. This is why we have such a strong fear reaction when we get reminded of it.
Perhaps an audience specifically reminds you of being confronted with that more complete mirror image of yourself. This may well be why they say to practice public speaking in the mirror. To overcome the fear, the real thing to explore and understand on a deep level, I suppose, is that you cannot be completely returned to your pre-verbal state. I'm guessing that this is why having lots of exposure and practice with public speaking is so good for developing your confidence. You start to realize that you will not be thrown into the pre-verbal, and this consoles you.
I also wanted to talk about waterboarding as a return to birthing, but I guess we'll have to leave that for another day. Hope you enjoyed this rather random and twisty reflection!
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