End the Silence. Overcome Your Fear.

In Saturday's NYT, Adam Liptak writes that it has been nearly five years since Justice Clarence Thomas has spoken during a court argument:

In the past 40 years, no other justice has gone an entire term, much less five, without speaking at least once during arguments, according to Timothy R. Johnson, a professor of political science at the University of Minnesota.

Apparently, here is one reason why:

He has said...that he is self-conscious about the way he speaks. In his memoir, “My Grandfather’s Son,” he wrote that he had been teased about the dialect he grew up speaking in rural Georgia. He never asked questions in college or law school, he wrote, and he was intimidated by some fellow students.

Clearly, this is an insecurity that can and needs to be overcome.


From the Green Room: Don't let fear or insecurity get in the way of your being a better and more confident speaker. While the fears may be real, they can also be overcome. The payoff is immeasurable - even if you're not on the Supreme Court.

The First Speech Coach

As my family gets ready to celebrate Passover, I am reminded that the fear of public speaking is as old as...well, Moses.

When God tries to convince Moses to speak to Pharoah and argue for the slaves to be freed, Moses responds, "Please, my Lord, I am not a man of words...for I am heavy of mouth and heavy of speech.

Does God respond by giving Moses a pep talk about his underated speaking abilities? Nope.

God says, "Who makes a mouth for man or who makes one dumb or deaf, or sighted or blind? Is it not I, God? So now, go! I shall be with your mouth and teach you what you should say."

What can the non-prophets among us learn from this interaction?

Sometimes it helps to see yourself as an emissary. Rather than worry whether the audience will like you, focus on delivering your message.

Afraid of Public Speaking? Try Crossing a High Wire

What can the seemingly fearless teach us about fear?

Take a look at an interview with Philippe Petit, the tightrope artist who crossed a high wire linking the Twin Towers. (His story is the plot of Man on Wire, the 2009 Oscar winner for Best Documentary Feature):

Given Mr. Petit's steadiness at 1,500 feet and his entrepreneur's resilience, it's fair to ask what does rattle him.

"I am very human and full of little stupid fears on earth," Mr. Petit says. "I have problems with big dogs showing their teeth. And centipedes and tarantulas. But up there, I have no fear. And I have no fear, I feel, out of working on it, knowing my subject, not out of not wanting to know."

"That," he said with characteristic seriousness of purpose, "would be death in my profession."

(New York Sun, July 2008)

This is not the answer I expected to hear.

I thought Mr. Petit would say that he is afraid when he can't get out of his head. Yet instead he says that it is knowing his subject that allows him to conquer his fear of it.

Of course, one has to imagine that when Mr. Petit is actually on the high wire, he survives because he is able to quiet his mind. Yet, what enables him to do that is the preparation he does beforehand - his absolute knowledge of his subject.

So unfortunately for those of us who like to wing it (I am often guilty of this), there is no substitute for thorough and thoughtful preparation.

From the Green Room: Prepare. Prepare some more. Then trust yourself.