Why do we fear public speaking? | Dave Guin | TEDxCPP

Ever wonder what fighting a bear and public speaking have in common? Professor Guin explains the hunter-gatherer perspective behind why humans fear public speaking more than dying.
Professor Guin has a BA in Communication Theory and Process - Interpersonal and Intercultural communication, and a MA in Human Communication - Performance Studies and Communication in the Classroom. Guin has been doing public speaking for almost his entire adult life. He spent 13 years in business before coming back to school to get his degrees. Guin has been a professor of human communication for over twenty years. He describes himself as having “a (self described) mental disorder, with a neurotic need to be omniscient.” This has led him to being a voracious reader, with particular interests in communication, the human brain, and psychology.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

[@Vectrex4Life]

My left ear really enjoyed this video.

[@saintdawar1206]

haha same here

[@Anekinzz]

thank god, i thought it was my headphones lol

[@aboumarryam9967]

+Annie Wilson i do not think so Annie ,,, what is wrong with this video guys ? :)

[@Vectrex4Life]

Yhia Essa Is your world in monophonic?

[@aboumarryam9967]

mmmm i dont know

[@TheFreshspidey]

Some serious audio issues. Please reupload with clear audio if possible. Also with my headphones I noticed the audio plays on one ear.

[@stanley1757]

i literaly thought my speaker was broken, before read ur commend

[@MLVProds]

Spent 10 minutes trying different things until I saw this comment...

[@imdguin]

+LifesRecycled Yeah. I was the first speaker for these tech's at this event. We worked out some "bugs" At least y'all don't have to endure the "buzzes" and "pops" that I did ;)

[@UniversalMysticsOfChrist]

+LifesRecycled Oh... I thought he was dropping "F" bombs and they were just censoring. Lol!

[@EnverCanyurt]

+LifesRecycled The left and right channels arent adjusted and the volume of the video is also a bit too quiet.

[@corndog984]

I thought that he was cursing alot lol it was just bad audio

[@hibatabaaa1969]

+corndog984 ME TOO

[@justasgriskevicius3492]

+corndog984 yeah at 1:40 it sounds like "magic moments, like the little p*ssy", which, coincidentally, makes sense.

[@user-vk8ml6ym3j]

lol same

[@monicacabrera8714]

Me too.

[@doniajjm273]

a master in telling stories, i love his voice

[@mrskncts]

This is not a talk, this is performance at its best! I feel deep admiration. So glad KZbin led me here.

[@dave3130]

My left ear is confident

[@parealicollectionwitheduca3079]

same here ... i tried another video for the clearance if my headphones are doing fine with me .. yeah they were...

[@peterswag47]

Fighting a bear - you Public speaking - fear = Fear to the dark = you overcoming the fear to the dark = self confidence

[@cseeger1]

For me public speaking is just acting. When put in that frame, it's far easier to do as it's not me speaking, but a character, another persona. Same goes for doing Karaoke, a job interview, telling a story, robbing banks, ya know...doing stuff in public.

[@roseawen5961]

+cseeger1 I feel like you do. It feels similarly to acting for me. I just get out there and do it, and it comes naturally for me. I've been doing a shit ton of work on killing my ego though, and I think the less I care what others think of me the easier it becomes for me to speak in front of groups of people.

[@cseeger1]

+Rose Awen -- You are spot on. >>>>>> EGO

[@Anekinzz]

+Rose Awen what a great insight👍

[@Dooger111]

This actually helps a lot

[@sygb.550]

Am listening Tell me more

[@jandejohn5775]

Secret = Just do it This talk annoyed me because he could have shortened this talk to like 5 minutes.

[@Sevenxsnroses]

Great stuff well put together and entertaining. Ad an audio engineer myself yes, the audio was a distraction. But when you're doing live audio for a living you deal with it stuff happens. I still got a lot out of this TED Talk. Thank you

[@jdean2131]

What an OUTSTANDING presentation and incredible human being…this guy is really cool! I’m a big fan!!! This is gent knows who he is . He’s not one bit self-conscious about anything. He’s the real deal! Nicely Done ✅

[@epicshawn8811]

Why we fear public speaking sometimes: *audio/microphone problems*

[@NewSchoolCrap]

LOL this guys fucking hilarious wtf is wrong with that audience..

[@aDotFromTheFuture]

+Big L Fear of public laughing?

[@H2Raby]

I'm trying to like him, really, but I can't laugh at anything he says. I'm just glad he's doing public speaking instead of being in a biker gang.

[@hlchopra8060]

An amazing, charismatic, and actor par excellence. We rarely find such performance on social network. Thanks TED talks for such shows.

[@grahamt19781]

Basically just DO IT or forever be held back from achieving your full potential.

[@konyvnyelv.]

You can achieve your full potential even without doing it

[@Roberto-cc7rt]

THANK you for THIS.

[@popnavarro6896]

It all make sense now. Thank you!

[@peterswag47]

Dave guin, your totally right, in fact I hope every single that read this comment might agree it. But what you said about the hunters sample just fit to the fear of public speaking as self-confidence

[@imdguin]

+Pedro Gonzaga Systematic desensitization can be used to overcome many of life's obstacles :)

[@reyazhussain3152]

Thank you 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@amalkrishnakg4488]

This guy is a gem 💎

[@himanshugadari8946]

What an insight!

[@Indrajeetkumar-xi7cg]

great explanation dave

[@MaryJane-fx5of]

Very nice... Great points dave!

[@katrhodes2310]

I really enjoyed the presentation and the humor that was added to capture the attention of the audience. speaking in public can be hard but he made it look easy. Also the examples were true and on spot. Good Job.

[@RaferJeffersonIII]

I have to do it in my job. It will dominate my mind for 3 weeks before. It will crescendo in the week before. I can’t sleep properly. Usually on the day it’s terrible. Once up, I can do it provided I’ve massively over prepared. Yesterday, I was fine until the CEO walked into the room - he’s a great guy; not intimidating; but his badge made me stumble my words. It didn’t help having a senior employee who kept looking at me checking his watch and rolling his eyes. Now I feel like I’ve been hit by a train. I’ve had CBT and hypnosis. Others I see can just rock up and speak. I am so nervous my brain just can’t work. It’s a shame as my career would take off if I could do it. I usually have propropanol but I was out of it. I feel like an imposter and I don’t belong there. If only I was privately educated as I think it breeds a sense of self worth and trains you to do this. My education set me up to be a compliant worker.

[@brianbachinger6357]

Be careful of the story you tell yourself. It reinforces bad thinking.

[@konyvnyelv.]

Why just not choose a job without it

[@RaferJeffersonIII]

@@konyvnyelv. my pay goes down about 50%

[@newbreed1199]

Beautiful

[@mohammedsaleem529]

How can we conquer the fear withouth Audio in this video lol

[@bhavaniseetal3381]

Awesome Sir!!!!

[@bang_arhinelo]

the real viking guy

[@meowow2693]

thank you for this:)

[@duckthishandle]

this guy is one of the biker dudes straight outta GTA IV

[@FazuEli361]

Dave looks like the writer of games of thrones

[@Mr_Davis573]

Blessed

[@curiousgeorge555]

1:36 is it just me or is his voice really trembling at that point? He says we are all afraid of public speaking. Seems he hasn't overcome the fear entirely. Nonetheless he's a very good public speaker. Way better than I am.

[@jesusarmas9054]

My professor 👨‍🏫

[@dylanguin2013]

My grandpa👴

[@yoshiyt5742]

My.... Santa?🎅

[@florian0100]

awesome guy

[@BluezFan91]

This guy really fell off the wagon when his Jurassic Park was shut down.

[@juanperez-ni2iw]

bro.. i was thinking the same thing

[@adelam4903]

Why does the audio keep cutting off? AND only works in the left ear?

[@TicketAirline]

i needed to hear this in 2015

[@Arcticninja123]

take care of yourselves people. Eat healthy clean we all wana be with you longer dont let us miss you

[@justexpressingmyself397]

Great story teller I don't care about audio,i get it anyway

[@prashantkaushik5390]

yeah very good

[@belalnoor9686]

Do not watch the whole video: The real message is to just do it.

[@lesjardinsdelumiere8530]

That was an awesome presentation. Kudos Mr. Guin!

[@hottiemchot2998]

Why is it so choppy? Chunks of time are missing from the vid.

[@ghostofvalor4349]

Damn CPP, invest in some audio quality control! I need this video and I can't hear all of what the presenter is saying!! For shamsies

[@animeshwarkaur]

Very infornative video

[@OGSuki.]

What is wrong with the audio? I'd like to use a clip from this talk as a visual aid for my Public Speaking 😭 class but the audio is wonky. lol

[@katrhodes2310]

This video is funny but true we often fear what we can't control. But the point made make sense practice do make better.

[@DanielPSurman]

Public speaking is having a conversation with your audience

[@nitindua86]

thanks Dave, that was very helpful

[@fosforlukalem9429]

So he just connected the fear of public speaking to theory of evolution because he thinks fear of public speaking might be coming from fear of unknown and again he thought evolution is origin of the fear of unknown so fear of unknown equals the fear of public speaking ?... there is a lot of reasoning going on here and i never saw a man who would believe neither 2+2=4 or 2+2=5 without you to tell him logic behind it with a proof.

[@aneesurrehman7405]

what the heck is wrong with sound

[@ManishSingh-eu4kz]

how to control coverting into hindi in english and i speak so fast many people do not understand my words.

[@TorongTong]

Funny and good trainer

[@lildevil7907]

I have a speech on the 29th in front of my class I'm in 6th grade

[@naomibrock4769]

Geez I've never seen a drier audience. Guy had genuinely funny moments and it's just dead silence.

[@owendeboer2991]

That audience did not pass the vibe check at all

[@sbrave6572]

😄 so true!

[@johnny5039]

I'll just write the script and let the pro's do it.

[@user-xo2rb5oo7o]

10:56 12:27 12:47

[@autumnbronze7]

needs better audio

[@smug8567]

I don't believe that I have the capability of being able to couch anything in a vernacular that's going to be understood by the people that you want me to talk to.

[@danjosephmusic]

His microphone socket in the radio pack was faulty, so the audience was distracted by the technical issues. Hi I'm Dave! Lol :)

[@Broadway1982]

I want to punch my fear of public speaking in the face.

[@konyvnyelv.]

No. Just accept it. You can decide not to fight it if it is not necessary for your job

[@Sunny0660]

The guy is a rockstar

[@nikhilthakare3533]

Pls improve voice quality

[@user-nb6ox4sk7h]

Bad audio mono plays only in left side.

[@nystagmussumgatsyn15]

i can get over the nerves such as sweating and increased heart rate. There is no way i can get over the irritable bowel syndrome. fuck it i lose

[@prankstergangsterreloadedt6767]

I know him

[@bryanbariza]

PLEASE SUBTITLE IN SPANISH TO THIS CONFERENCE. PLEASE.

[@vilhelmvonbraun3093]

Impossible to watch with all the audio issues. Too bad :(

[@BrianDornTFP]

I'm tired of being a scaredy cat.

[@thegraciefighter102]

mad as a box of frogs

[@GovindaSakhare]

Fortunately, my right earphone does not work.

[@matthewwhite6314]

Hey, that’s Tears for Fears, not Rush.

[@RefreshDamage]

that's my uncle dave

[@ashleyjordan4390]

I love this guy

[@favouredqueenmadollar3485]

@first last hahaa

[@jellyrolle95]

No sound in the right ear bud.

[@jakemcgeough3396]

Tldr: practice

[@draft1643]

Does he mean Tears for Fears because what Rush song is he referring to?

[@whitedude11]

He does mean TFF

[@victorb21000]

He looks nervous lol, how ironic.

[@imdguin]

+Victor Beltran Parkour I test out "very high" on communication apprehension ;) It is one of the reasons I spend so much time thinking about it :P

[@bronsonperich9430]

+Fresh Vic He said he has a fear of Public Speaking... so what's your point?

[@englishlovers7261]

+Bronson Perich I didn't think he looked that nervous anyway. The crowd was a bit tough, but I don't know how many speeches they'd already watched. Gets boring after a while.

[@bronsonperich9430]

It can be hard. It's like going to a fight night...

[@ccc6007]

12:48 Fear public speaking is simply fear of unknown. The story he told is too too too too long

[@zoomzoom530]

Childish... (no really)... The evolutionary explanation is incorrect and confused. But, it was a nice and simple demonstration of how natural selection works..., which is not the topic of the presentation, nor does it explain why most people are afraid of public speaking.

[@thetoughones]

Wow, he curses a lot.

[@sygb.550]

Lol..at first i thought he was cursing every time his voice go mute, then i realized it's just audio problems xD

[@imdguin]

+thetoughones IRL I actually curse. I was a construction worker for 18 years before I returned to school. :O I just don't curse during formal presentation ;) The "audio drops" in this were technical problems for the sound tech's

[@imdguin]

+VeteranCape LOL! Reductio ad absurdum much?

[@wildfirez5764]

@@imdguin That was an amazing speech.

[@nmbilq]

I got about 8 mins in, quite enjoying the bits I could hear but the audio issues make this unwatchable. Shame.

[@Gravitating]

Yes. Awful shame.. Sounds like a wonderful speech, But i could't get past the audio quality.. Ironically I'm doing a Sound Engineering/audio/visual course that requires public presentations..

[@tangotanjomusic]

Earth is only 6,000 years old.

[@thekeypresser]

sadly unwatchable, even if the melodramatic 'hunter gatherer' skit were good, the audio issues are a barrier

[@schitlipz]

For some reason I feel like going to a steak house.

[@eljibarito6891]

schitlipz hahaha good one

[@lordgains3317]

why the fuck does the video keep jumping!?

[@alexomondi2708]

Almost every speaker carries a gadget???

[@silentlessons4221]

not serious really.

[@leighbloomfield9458]

Shams the audio for this talk is so bad.

[@stueydoubleyou]

The evolution hypothesis of mans history is so sad and bankrupt.

[@nr655321]

+Stuart Wright Yep: it lacks the dialectics between freedom and outside conditions.

[@konyvnyelv.]

Nope it's true

[@ghostofvalor4349]

Wtf is up with this video's audio?

[@Brotonik]

He's a genius btw

[@DrWhom]

I don't. It's shit easy. I don't believe that famous statistic.

[@kshitizshrestha7119]

Hilarious!!

[@ishanmadhav2471]

So accurate hahahahaha EPIC EPIC

[@Giannantonio83]

fat and smart like me =D

[@jeffron7]

+Gianni Orsini It however is not smart to be fat!

[@Giannantonio83]

+jeff0516161 But in some cases the extreme amount of intelligence that permeates one's brain can overload one's feelings and throw one's life into an unending spiral of abusing the pleasures of life.

[@WichooSS]

Dave your cute asfk

[@winnywagtail3988]

This is the the worst argument I've ever heard in my life.