76 Business Spotlight 2/2020 CAREERS & MANAGEMENT
Fotos: Happy_vector, 4x6/iStock.com; privatCAREERS & MANAGEMENT
EXECUTIVE EYE“Much of the problem with
public speaking is not about
skill, it’s about fear”
Nicht der Inhalt einer Präsentation ist das eigentliche Problem.
Viele haben Angst, dass sie nicht vor einem Publikum sprechen
können oder die Technik nicht beherrschen. Mit professioneller
Hilfe lässt sich diese Unsicherheit überwinden.
ADVANCEDM
odern management is about
presentations, and there is
a thirst for courses on pres-
entation skills. Presentations
range from mundane talks,
such as “How to Use Your
Multimedia Tools”, to the su-
perstar TED-talk model.
In the first type, the focus is more on
the design than the presentation. It is cer-
tainly important to know how to work
the electronics. There is no more pathetic
sight than a fumbling speaker who cannot
upload or download their material.
At the other end of the scale is the peo-
ple-focused approach. Indeed, “presenta-
tion” is considered too downmarket a
word for this kind of training. Instead, it is
called something sexy like a “multimedia
interface course”.
We have all sat through enough ram-
bling, tedious talks to know that a bad
speech can seriously damage your repu-
tation. Equally, we can recall the exhila-
ration of a sparkling performance, even
though the content may have been thin.
But are skills courses what most people
need? The assumption is that if you are
taught the basics — use of slides, pace of
presentation, complexity of story — you
will become a competent presenter. But
much of the problem is not about skill
but fear. Public speaking is the most wide-
spread, and for many, debilitating, phobia.
And that needs a therapeutic approach.
A phobia is the fear of fear. It manifests
itself in chronic avoidance behaviour.ADRIAN FURNHAM
is a professor in
the Department of
Leadership and
Organisational
Psychology at the
Norwegian Business
School, and author
of 92 books.People “cope” by avoiding situations that cause that fear — how-
ever debilitating that strategy is itself.
There are three types of therapies for phobias: two behaviour-
al, one psychoanalytic. “Flooding” is the most dramatic. Scared
of birds? You get marched trembling into a public area full of pi-
geons. You learn that you can survive. The fear can be managed,
and you are cured! At work, you would be forced to give a speech
— with help to control the anxiety, such as deep breathing.
The second approach is desensitization. This is more gradu-
al. You give a presentation to your partner, then to your family,
then to your most supportive colleague at work. You learn how
to present, and also that you can do it. The focus is on feelings,
not skills. This is the favoured method of treatment.
The third method is based on the assumption that there are
unhappy memories about public speaking buried deep in the
subconscious. The therapist’s job is to uncover the memories
behind the fear so it can be dealt with.
In presentation training, there is perhaps too much focus on
skills and not enough on anxiety management. That is not to say
that everyone will become a star presenter after flooding or de-
sensitization, or even psychoanalysis. But the place to start is the
heart, not the head — with feelings, not the formatting of slides.anxiety [ÄN(zaIEti]
, Beklemmung, Angst
assumption
[E(sVmpS&n]
, Annahme
debilitating
[di(bIlIteItIN]
, lähmend
desensitization
[)di:)sensEtaI(zeIS&n]
, Desensibilisierung
downmarket
[)daUn(mA:kIt] UK
, wenig anspruchsvoll,
für den Massenmarkt;
hier: 08/15exhilaration
[Ig)zIlE(reIS&n]
, Hochgefühl
fumbling [(fVmb&lIN]
, herumfummelnd
mundane [mVn(deIn]
, profan
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, mitleiderregend
pigeon [(pIdZEn] , Taube
psychoanalysis
[)saIkEUE(nÄlEsIs]
, [wg. Aussprache]
rambling [(rÄmb&lIN]
, schwafelndscared: be ~ of sth.
[skeEd]
, sich vor etw. fürchten
slide [slaId] , Folie
sparkling [(spA:k&lIN]
, spritzig, brilliant
talk [tO:k]
, hier: Vortrag
tedious [(ti:diEs]
, langweilig, ermüdend
therapeutic
[)TerE(pju:tIk]
, [wg. Aussprache]
tremble [(tremb&l]
, zittern