The Fear of The Fear of Public Speaking

According to StatisticBrain.com, 75% of women and 73% of men suffer from speech anxiety or the fear of public speaking, also known as “glossophobia”. Borrowing from a Jerry Seinfeld routine, he noted that people are more afraid of public speaking than dying, such that “given the choice, people would prefer to be in the casket than delivering the eulogy for the person in the casket.”

About five years ago, I suddenly developed glossophobia. It happened as I approached my 40’s. It struck with horrifying consequences. Suddenly, in the middle of a presentation, I would experience a panic attack. I was unable to continue, my heart racing, and unable to catch my breath. I immediately forgot everything I was going to say. It really frightened me because I had not previously experienced such anxiety. And throughout my life, I’ve been very comfortable presenting in front of very large audiences. I’ve hosted entire IT Conferences, single-handedly, without a trace of serious nervousness. Worst yet, the panic attacks continued. I started dreading doing any presentations and then even conference calls with large audiences. Something had changed and I desperately needed to find out what – and correct it.

“Suddenly, in the middle of a presentation, I would experience a panic attack. I was unable to continue, my heart racing and unable to catch my breath.”

I started searching for examples of others who had experienced such problems and stumbled upon a number of very successful stars who were in a similar situation. Celebrities like Donny Osmond, Leann Rimes, and Paula Dean all struggled with social anxiety and panic attacks.

For me, Osmond was the most intriguing. At the same time, I was searching and coping, I actually happened upon a television special specifically about Osmond’s issues. As he described, in the mid-nineties in the middle of a run of starring in Jason and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, Donny Osmond started suffering panic attacks. The child star who had been performing in front of thousands since age five suddenly was calling in sick, or faking his way through performances. What had happened? He was Donny Osmond! How could he feel such anxiety? How would he correct this? In short, he ended up in lengthy therapy and taking all sorts of anxiety minimizing drugs.

Neither of those options seemed palatable but the idea that others had experienced the same onset of anxiety made me feel that there was hope.
The best part of the situation is that I had a boss that was quite supportive and would keep an eye out for my attacks, jumping in and taking over. He sat and listened to me, in astonishment, as he watched someone who had been so outgoing and confident now nervous about presenting information that I knew very well. I also had peers and direct reports that I confided in who would also rescue me if they noticed me faltering.

Now that I’ve generally been able to address my anxiety without therapy or medication, I want to pass along some tips and techniques that work for me – and some interesting information that I’ve found after speaking to other speakers that I consider dynamic and talented.

The Fear of the Fear
My first revelation was that I was starting to fear the feeling of fear. Having a panic attack is a horrible feeling – one that you don’t forget. After a few panic attacks during presenting, I started to worry well before my next presentation. I was feeling that panic feeling days and weeks before my presentation. It would come and go, but when I had it, it was as if I was presenting and panicking. My brain was making me relive the worst possible moment over and over, and it caused me to dread presenting. Was I having a mental breakdown? Was what I was feeling unique to me?

“My first revelation was that I was starting to fear the feeling of fear. “

I decided to find the answer by approaching my peers who I thought were very good speakers and asking them directly “do you get nervous before presenting?” The answers I received were interesting and reassuring. A summary of the most common answers included:

  • “Yes, I still get a little nervous but once I get going on stage I get over it very quickly.”
  • “Yes, but I would not describe it as nervousness. It’s actually more like adrenalin and I’ve learned to almost like that feeling.”
  • “Yes, I get very nervous, but then I realize that I’m totally prepared and so I talk myself to a more calm state.”
  • And from one speaker who always seems so confident and cool while presenting: “I’m nervous the whole time. I’m not panicked, but in the back of my head, I do get a little edgy. It keeps me on my toes.”

The message was most speakers still feel that twinge of nervousness prior to the limelight, but they are able to muscle through it. Some presenters do a good job of hiding it. Or, they change that nervousness into excitement. Now, this was a technique I could practice! It did feel good to know that even the best speakers have some derivative nervousness just like me. I’m not so special after all, and that was okay with me!

So given my research and my experience, I would like to present the ten things I did to basically overcome my panic attacks and push through the nervousness to present and present well.

1. Prepare
I used to speak completely off the cuff, with few notes. I knew what I wanted to say and was able to pivot quickly. But when nervousness set in I would often find myself completely lost on my next point or not recalling key information that I wanted to pass along.

So, to address this I started actually writing out word for word what I was going to say. I would write it out exactly how I wanted to present it, including pauses, colloquialisms, and interjections, and I would bring those notes to my podium. I didn’t read the notes word for word, but I did skim over them as I spoke. I used this technique early on, knowing that eventually, I would have to abandon this. Presenting while staring at notes standing behind a podium did not exude executive presence. But this gave me a crutch and, early on, helped me get back out in front of people. These days I don’t write out such detailed notes.

2. Improv
Since my early twenties, I had been interested in comedy and improv. I actually had performed some open-mic stand-up comedy while living in Jacksonville and generally enjoyed it. Now, twenty years later, I wondered if improv could help me with my nervousness. I signed up at the venerable SAK comedy theater in Orlando and proceeded to take and pass Levels 1 through 4. I stopped and did not proceed to their Conservatory Classes, something I might take up down the road.

Improv was an interesting experience. I had always thought (and received feedback) that I was quick, clever, and funny. So I had a high level of confidence. What I found was that there are a LOT of people who are funny – and it felt like most were funnier and quicker than I was. It was a unique experience, both enjoyable and humbling. I had a fantastic instructor in Level 1 named “Bob Kodzis” who was quite supportive. I made a number of friends that I still have today.

Through Improv, I found confidence in performing, especially since Levels 1 and 4 had a “showcase” at the end where we put on a real show in front of a live audience. It was nerve-wracking and exhilarating – and great fun.
What Improv taught me was that I could stand in front of a group and talk about anything without any preparation. I didn’t need notes and could come up with material without much effort. It was a great confidence booster.

I think of this when I find myself nervous. I say to myself “heck, I could get up there and get an offer from the audience and create a whole scene, so presenting material I already know will be a breeze!” This helped.

3. Reality Check
Sometimes as I’m about to present, I think to myself “in an hour I’ll be back at my desk and this will be behind me”. I practice “mindfulness” and try to take myself out of the “right now” and think about what is happening to me as if I was a spectator.

Mindfulness is a useful technique that I use even when I’m not presenting.

4. Break Up The Monotony
Having to present twenty PowerPoint slides full of material is not only boring to the audience but it is also stress-inducing. It’s just talking and talking, and it is difficult to allow for a few seconds of silence to catch your breath. So, now I try to add some multimedia. This accomplishes three things:

  • It allows me time to be “off-stage” and catch my breath
  • It provides for more a more interesting presentation
  • It breaks my presentation into thirds or quarters and this allows me to track my progress towards completion.

I’m not suggesting that you pepper your presentation with home movies or clips from South Park. Any multimedia needs to be pertinent and appropriate. Also, it cannot be too long. A few minutes tops. And you should introduce the clip and summarize it afterward.

Another technique I have is that I might find a co-presenter for materials or parts of the presentation. I introduce an expert to provide some additional insight. Again, this has to be well thought out and appropriate. And nowadays I don’t use this technique, though I found it helpful early on.

5. A Life Line
I found that having an outlet available takes away some of the anxiety. That is, I have one or more people who can answer any questions or elaborate on a particular point. This is like a co-presenter except that these individuals stay out in the audience. I may even let them know that “I might ask you to elaborate on this” so that they can be prepared.

If I became nervous, I could always say “hey Eric, what would you say is our potential list of customers” and let Eric expound on this. I would use this time to take a drink of water and gather myself.
But here’s the key, just knowing that I have that lifeline takes away a lot of anxiety. I rarely now have to use these lifelines.

6. Turn Anxiety into Excitement
Like one of the survey takers said to me, nervousness and excitement are closely related emotions. I practiced turning my nervousness into excitement. I’d say to myself “Hey! I’m getting the chance to present and many people will not get this chance!” I knew that I do present very well and always get great feedback, so this is yet another chance to spread this joy to more people. I talk myself into being excited about the upcoming presentation. And when it goes well, I congratulate myself privately on doing a good job.

7. Calm Down
When you are about to go on, your nervousness can often peak, causing your heart to race and your breathing to speed up. I’ve found that forcing yourself to breathe deeply and slowly, and paying attention to how you are controlling your heart rate can actually make yourself feel calmer. This gives you the ability to control your body and your reaction.

Some people may need a relaxant to prepare for a particularly stressful presentation. And while I do not, I know others who do and find this useful. The challenge is not to look “drugged up” unless you’re presenting in front of pharmaceutical companies.

8. Take Notes While Waiting to Present
One of the funniest things in comedy is called a “call back”, which in general is a reference to something that has already occurred. While waiting to go on, always have a notepad and pen with you. Take note of things the previous speaker said that you can emphasize as well. Also, sometimes things said can be used for humor. The current speaker may mention something that you can use as a light, personable attempt at humor. Have your presentation printed out and with you, and flip through it (quietly) as the current speaker speaks and annotate points that they made that you can make on the appropriate slide.

I recall one example where my boss’ boss presented something before me that was about the traits they are looking for to fill a particular position. The words he used included “never let you down”, “never give up”, “never lie” and to me, this sounded like the lyrics to the Rick Astley song “Never Gonna Give You Up”. I made a note, tried to remember and wrote down the various phrases in the song, and then suggested in my presentation that Rick Astley could be the right person. Got a solid laugh and put me at ease. In fact, as I read off the lyrics to the song, people quickly knew what I was doing, but I methodically went through the lyrics to the end before I announced Rick’s name as the best candidate.

By the way, taking notes has the added benefit of taking your mind off your presentation.

9. Rehearse
An easy technique to help with nerves. Rehearse and rehearse again. Driving to work, speak out loud to yourself, and pretend you are presenting. Time yourself. Record yourself. But in general, know your material and your speaking points. This helps stem a key facet of insecurity while presenting.

10. Stand on Stage Beforehand
A simple technique that helps me is to get up on the stage prior to the session being opened. Walk around the stage to every edge. Look out over the empty chairs. Imagine what it will be like when there are people in those seats. Get comfortable with the layout of the stage, the location of the podium, the controls you will need to flip through your slides.

Also note that in presentations on large stages with a sizable audience, you will likely have spotlights on you. This has two effects: it makes it quite warm on stage, so be prepared to sweat. And it makes it difficult to actually see the audience. It’s why performers ask for the house lights to be brought up when addressing the audience. But it can help you because if feels like you’re presenting to an empty room. Sometimes you can see a few rows upfront and that’s good because it gives you some feedback.

***

I can’t say that these techniques will work for you. Heck, you may need lengthy therapy and medication – and there’s nothing wrong with that. But if you’re like me, just knowing that others have similar problems can make you feel a little more confident that you, as well, can address the fear of public speaking. And maybe using some of these techniques you can get back to giving knock-out presentations.

Southwest Airlines WiFi – So Far So…Pretty Good (and Cheap)

The good news, I guess, is that recently I have been traveling a bit more so I’m finding myself in the position of using in-flight WiFi more.  Hopefully, these reports will help you understand what airlines offer what service, and how good that service is.  Of course, this is just my experience.  Yours may vary.

By the way, hardware-wise I use a MacBook Pro or an iPad Pro (which I’m typing this article on right now).  I’m actually in transit right now so I’m using Southwest Airlines WiFi to write and post this article.

I’m en route to Las Vegas, a four-hour flight, so there’s plenty of time to write.   Let’s get right down to it.

The only downside of Southwest is that there are no “extra legroom” seats, so I’m having to prop my iPad Pro up against the seat-back in front of me.  The person in front reclined their seat a bit and thankfully did not just shove it back as far as it goes.  Still don’t understand people like that, of which one I am not.  The flight is completely full.  I boarded Group A-45 so most of the choice seats (bulkhead, exit row) were already taken.

Getting onto Southwest Wifi is fairly simple.  There’s an SSID (or wireless name) called SouthwestWIFI.  You select that and then use your browser to head to any site.  I always use Google on traditional HTTP and this usually kicks in the “purchase” screen.  Surprisingly the cost is only $8 for this 4-hour trip, where the trip on United, which was just about 5 hours, was $14.99.  I think last time Delta cheated me $12.99.  So Southwest, you win the price war.

Although you can enter your Rewards number into the purchase screen, you cannot sign in so I’m assuming the cost is $8 per device.  Supposedly United allows you to signin and switch devices, but as I noted, I was not able to sign in on United’s site.

You’re then presented with a confirmation screen and Southwest immediately emails you a receipt, which is great for business trips.  The receipt arrived quickly.  You then are brought to a web page that gives you a trip summary and plops you on their home page.  At that point, you can toddle off to do your browsing.

Southwest offers an even cheaper version of their WiFi if you only intend to use it for gaming (or via apps).  This means you would not be able to Browse to sites, and I’m not sure what it means regarding using Outlook.  I’m guessing it will work with Outlook.  The cost for this limited WiFi is $4, which is bargain basement.  Clearly Southwest is not trying to make a killing on this service.

Texting to my iPhone friends using Message seems to work fine.  However, text messaging using SMS does not appear to work (sorry Android!).  That needs to be corrected.

The speed overall is good – not blazing – but good.  Some sites are slow to load, but most are just fine.  I’ve not had to reset my browser nor have I had to ask them to reset their Internet connection.

So, well done, Southwest Airlines! At this point, you’re comparable to Delta and way ahead of United in terms of WiFi.  Plus, you’re flight attendants do live up to that “I enjoy my job” tag line you guys do, which makes the flight at least a little more enjoyable.

Should I encounter any issues with the rest of my flight’s WiFi, or on the return flight, I’ll post an update.

United Airlines Wifi – Still 50% bad

I hadn’t flown United in nearly a year but decided to opt for in on a non-stop flight to SFO from MCO.  For some reason, hopefully not my previous complaints, United had since upgraded me to Silver-Elite, which includes a space-available upgrade to first class.  Honestly, though, planes are so overbooked nowadays that your chances of having space in the first-class cabin are slim.

Nonetheless, I booked the flight and had plans to hop on the Internet connection and do office work during the 5-hour flight.  Unintelligently, I brought nothing else with me to do.  No books, no crosswords.
Once the flight was underway, it became clear that WiFi would again be an issue.  The first sign of problems was when I attempted to log in with my United account.  This, I was told via the sign-on page, would allow me to swap Internet connectivity between devices.  But, it turned out this option was not available.  I attempted to sign-on and received an error message (below).  They’re sorry for my inconvenience, which as you’ll see later, is a theme at United.  Both the sorry part and the inconvenience part.
IMG_0382.PNG

I was forced to purchase access as a guest, thus presumably losing the ability to switch devices.  But as I was to find out, this wouldn’t matter much.

Once online, the connection began to fail.  I noticed others who were also having issues.  I made my way back to the flight attendants at the rear and asked them whether WiFi was working or not.  I was assured it was.  As I made my way back to my seat, I did a survey of other passengers and found that their connection was down as well.

So rather than sit down, I made my way to the front of the plane and let that flight attendant know.  Apparently, they have to call into the cockpit to have the system reset.  The system was reset, but it still didn’t work.

Short version: no Internet for 5 hours and I had to request a refund.

On the way back, I still was not able to log in using my United frequent flyer account, so the second purchase of $14.95 was only for a single device.  The connection stayed up this time, but during various points in the trip, it would hang.  So I’d lose connectivity for 15 mins and then it would slowly come back.  This flight was over the US (not over water), so coverage should have been there.

Finally, unrelated to WiFi, when you purchase meals on United (meal boxes), you don’t get a receipt.  You have to go to www.united.com/receipts and request them.  So I did, and the first problem I encountered was a weird error message that didn’t make sense (see below).

Receipt Error

There’s only one travel date entered and yet it complains that the dates (?) are before the departure date?   I had to submit each segment separately.
When my receipts email came, it did not have my meal receipts.  It only showed my ticket and seat upgrade monies paid.  Great, how do I get receipts for my meals?

After this flight on United, I flew on American from MCO to DFW.  That outbound flight had no WiFi (an old 767) so I guess while frustrating and surprising, I could not attempt to use WiFi.  On the way back, the plane (a brand new Airbus) had Wi-Fi through Gogo and worked perfectly.

I am just appalled that United continues to use some custom system and eschews Gogo.  If Gogo has attempted to negotiate outrageous terms, I’m all for United kicking them to the curb and using option B.  But the replacement should at least be as good as Gogo.  It’s as if both the actual technology is bad and the site to sign up for it is bad and the web page to request receipts is bad.

Note: I can say that the United iPhone app is actually well designed and easy to use.

But WiFi has become a commodity on planes.  Not having it or not having it work should be the exception.  How can it be that the few times I fly United, there is always a problem with WiFi?  To me, this indicates there is a widespread problem that United needs to address, or they will be losing travelers.  Their customer service rating is already in the basement (see link at end of the article).

When I Twitter-messaged United about my recurring WiFi issues, they replied that they were sorry.
United Tweet

In a related story:
JD Powers Ranks United Last in Customer Service (May 2016)

By the way, I do not have a vendetta against United.  It used to be my favorite airline.  But I’m a technology guy and I can’t wrap my head around a large corporation like United just not being able to address core technology issues.  Thus now I avoid United.  However, I’m happy to return to United and provide technology reports back to them (at regular price, I’m not asking for a discount) as long as they make attempts to identify the root cause and solve the issues once and for all.

I also read that there are newer Earth-to-ground Wi-Fi solutions that might improve the connection for all platforms.  I can envision a day when the speed is comparable to ground-based Wi-Fi.

Finally, tomorrow I’ll be on Southwest and will provide a follow-up on my experience there.

The Horrors of United Wifi

I truly have only rarely experienced technology issues to the extent that I have while attempting to use United’s Wi-Fi Internet services.
Conservatively, 4 out of the last 5 flights I have taken on United have experienced either no Internet service or impaired service.  I have made United aware of the issue and what I received in response was a digital shrug.

As I write this, my fellow business travelers (on United) had no Wifi from Orlando to Houston, and my wife/daughter returning to Orlando from San Francisco (a 4+ hour flight!) have no Internet!  It might be somewhat reasonable (but arcane) to not have Wi-Fi on a flight, but to advertise that it has Wi-Fi only to find the system inoperable boils down to fraudulent business practice.

To make matters more irritating, now United actually advertises these in-flight services with snappy commercials that make it look like business executives can continue working in-flight.  That may be true on flights that use GoGo Inflight services (literally every other airline but United), but I would consider it false advertising for United.

United is being sued for advertising their inflight movie capabilities when in truth these are only available on the continental US.  But let’s get down to the details.

Problem 1 – United Wifi Often Just Does Not Function
And to make matters worse, no one on the flight crew knows how to kick-start it into working.  There’s some flaw in the system that happens when the plane lands and converts to local (terminal) power and back.  This appears to cause the service to disconnect or hang.  Users are presented with a “not available” screen when this is not actually the case.

If you can talk your flight crew into resetting the system, and believe me it takes quite the cajoling, sometimes the system will start working.  On one flight I was not able to convince the crew to reset the system.  The response I received was that “it’s not possible” or “the cockpit has to do it” or, “oh that never works” or even more amazingly “we’re over an area where there’s no coverage”.

The service just does not work reliably.

Problem 2 – United Wifi Does Not Allow Streaming And Attempts to Guess Which Host Streaming Content
The first part makes sense.  Streaming video would quickly bog down the connection, making it a miserable experience for all users.  So United smartly does not allow streaming of video on its service.

Part 2 is the problem.  It blocks sites that it thinks will stream information.  Even ESPN pages that do not have video are blocked because somewhere on ESPN there is streaming video.  There must be a list of hostnames that, according to United, have a streaming video somewhere on them, and when you try to visit the site (any part of the site), you are presented with a “sorry” message.

Problem 3 – United Wifi Performance is Terrible
Spotty? Slow? Drops connection inexplicably?  Yes, yes, and yes.  I know it can be done better because, on other airlines that have Gogo Inflight Wi-Fi, I rarely have issues.  Gogo is solid.  United Wifi is not.

Problem 4 – Switching Across Multiple Devices
With Gogo, after paying for service, you can log into the service using another device and Gogo will seamlessly slide service to the new device.
Guess what happens with United? It gets confused and has no idea what device you want to switch to.  Then it starts prompting you to re-authenticate but then the screen is missing the verification code you are required to enter.  What follows shortly is some screenshots from a two-hour effort during a recent United flight from Orlando to San Francisco to get any Wi-Fi reestablished on any of my devices.  After paying $6.99 for one hour of service and using my United login, I decided to switch from my Macbook to my iPad.  No can do.  My daughter unfortunately logged into United Wifi on her iPad using my same id and could not get hers to work on her device either.  We could never get the original Wi-Fi service reestablished for the rest of the flight.

I even messed with my network settings, forcing various IP addresses (rather than using DHCP) to try to fool the system to charge me again to at least give me service for what would appear to be a new device.  Again, no can do.

In the end, I was never able to get my service reestablished.
Here are some screenshots that are both hilarious and sad –

Screen Shot 1 – Log In Again
United Wifi - Device Already Has Wifi.jpg

This is a result of my attempt to switch service to another device.  Does it believe both devices are the same?  The error message tells me to log in to get access reestablished. When I logged in, I received a general failure screen that didn’t allow me to proceed.  Unfortunately, I don’t have a screenshot of that message.

Screenshot 2 – Enter the Invisible Captcha Code
United Wifi - Please Enter Captcha

If you attempt to purchase the service again (in your futile attempt to get some Internet service in place), you are presented with the remarkable screen above.  Clicking Continue Mileage Plus Sign In reports the error displayed above that you must enter the verification code.  But it’s missing on the page!  And you can’t continue without it.

If you then think heck, I’ll log in as a guest, first, it does not explain what a confirmation number is (it’s not required but still…), and then clicking continue as “guest” responds with a generic error message that says there was an error establishing the service – and you’re stuck on that screen.  As noted, I was not able to get a screengrab of that screen, unfortunately.
I was able to get to a screen that actually showed a verification code by forcing a URL that included the “/register” page name, but that failed as well.

The Bottom Line

This service is shameful.  In a grab for more money by developing their own alternative to Gogo Inflight, United has shown it really does not have the chops to deliver this technology and then falsely advertises how well it works.

I travel on business frequently and I often take United because they usually have the schedule I desire, but more often than not I’ve opted for American (or any other major airline), which has the rock-solid Gogo Inflight service.  On my return flight later today from SFO, I will be on United once again and it’s more than likely that the Internet service will fail again.  If it does, and I’m able to capture additional screenshots, I will add them to this article.  And as noted, both my business partners that are flying out to  San Francisco to meet me and my wife & daughter that at returning to Orlando from San Francisco are not able to get United Wifi Internet to function.

Note: I have no affiliation to Gogo and I really have no dislike for United.  It used to be my favorite airline and my wife actually was a flight attendant for United a ways back.  This has all to do with the frustration of not being able to conduct business while in transit, United’s lack of response on the matter, and their recent advertisements promoting the effectiveness of the service for business travelers.  At some point, if the service does not improve, I can smell a lawsuit.