When I speak in front of audience I stammer, but when I personally converse with people I speak fluently. Is it due to fear of audience that exists inside me? I even read the newspaper loudly everyday. Will that help me solve my problem?

Dr. Saul PereiraPsychologist46yrs exp

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Reading the newspaper loudly does help with the stammering but not with regard public speaking and its fears. This is the number one fear of all people. Even the most successful speakers admit to this problem. In fact the first 90 seconds are most frightening. The heart beat races to doubles the normal: 144 times a minute. So you are advised to prepare a good opening sentence to launch you off to a good start. The fear is generally centered around rejection: am I good enough? Will people like me? Will people know more than me? Etc. A host of self-conscious comparisons that only make you feel inferior. When the whole world is in the same boat, take heart and learn some basic techniques to overcome this stage fright. Join a Toastmasters club in your town and develop your public speaking skills and experience. Also remember some little rules: look for some pleasant face in the audience, look over the audience, prepare yourself well, talk simply, understand that you can only talk on what you know not on some grand made-up design of yours, there are always others who are better than you, pray before you speak, and so on. Focus on the three areas of public speaking according to their importance: Presentation and appearance (20%), audience (30%), and content (50%). You probably have fear from childhood that has not been resolved and is tending to find an outlet in your mouth to make it stammer. You could meet with a counselor to settle this matter. There are a lot more points but space constraints do not permit me to be more elaborate. 

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