I think most people know what glossophobia is now especially with the help of Google's "What is glossophobia?" commercial for its Nexus 7 tablet. It made consumers aware of what the technology can do to help kids beat the phobia. However, does anyone know that about 75% of people have this anxiety and fear of public speaking.
I was one of them. Anytime I had to give a big presentation in front of a large crowd, I couldn't sleep the night before, I would speak consistently fast and I sweated bullets. These are signs and symptoms of glossophobia. Now imagine pitching in front of investors like on the show "Shark Tank".
There are many ways to overcome this fear. You can join your local Toastmaster club, pickup self-improvement books or participate in meetups. However, what the young students did at the Kidpreneur Demo Day on Saturday, Nov 23rd was beyond any of the above mentioned. They took the opportunity to present in a room crowded with strangers, investors and even Andrew Humphrey, Emmy-Award winning Meteorologist at WDIV-TV. And they were exceptional. These early opportunities are practices and it is these rare moments that will help the kids successfully beat their fear of public speaking.
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Many of us wish we had the chance to do more public speaking in our younger years. However, the kids that presented at Demo Day can now say they've done it. They conquered it. They will do it again until it's just public speaking and the fear is left out.
