Fear of Speaking in Front of Small Groups
- Tips to Deal with Small Group Anxiety

The fear of speaking in front of large groups is extremely common, but what if your fear extends mainly to small groups of people? If you find yourself growing tense when you have to speak up in small business meetings or in social situations where small groups of people huddle together to talk, you are not alone. Millions of people deal with this type of fear of speaking every single day.

The first thing to consider is whether your fear of speaking is isolated to specific types of small group encounters or if it is more a generalized fear of speaking to people in smaller groups at any time and under any circumstances.

If you find that it is mainly in business settings then you may be experiencing more anxiety than fear. Many people get very anxious when they are speaking in front of a boss or others who may judge them inadequate on the job. Since this could threaten their career and livelihood the fear and anxiety makes a lot of sense.

If your fear of speaking is more general, then chances are there is an ingrained fear that you will be judged, rejected, or otherwise harmed by speaking out in front of others. In the worst cases you may be fearful of speaking out even when you are friends with everyone in the group, while minor cases isolate themselves to speaking to others who you are not very friendly with.

If your anxiety is isolated to a business or professional setting where you have a fear of talking in meetings and other situations that could affect your job, here are some things you can do to help:

1. Make a list of all your qualifications for your job.  Make sure to list personal attributes and previous praises received from your boss as well as technical experience and skills.

2. Make sure you are thoroughly prepared for every meeting, which means staying on top of the job to ensure you are prepared for a surprise meeting with less warning for preparation.

3. Attend social events or after-hours activities with your colleagues. Getting to know them on a more personal level can ease your anxiety in business settings.

4. Take a moment to do deep breathing exercises and mentally prepare yourself prior to attending the meeting, whenever possible.

If you have a more generalized fear of speaking in a small group setting, here are some things you can do to help:

1. Make a list of all the things you fear may happen if you speak up in these situations. Include every little fear no matter how silly it may seem. Then think of reasons why each of these fears is irrational.

2. Include meditation, yoga, Pilates, or other forms of relaxation into your daily life. The goal is to be more relaxed and easy going in general so anxiety is relieved during these interactions.

3. Put yourself into as many small group situations as possible so you get more accustomed to this type of interaction.

Practice is the best thing you can give yourself to get over this type of fear. The more you put yourself into situations that require small group interactions the easier your fear of speaking in a small group will be to handle.