You're listening to Life Kit from NPR.

Hey everybody, it's Mariel.

There's this weird thing that happens to a lot of us.

We might be perfectly comfortable talking to one person or within a small group of people. But if we find ourselves

needing to speak to a crowd, especially up on a stage or behind a podium, we freeze.

Anxiety takes over.

And next thing you know, you're up there,

saying words, but your voice is shaking,

you're sweating through your shirt,

and you're not sure you're delivering your message.

By the way, this does happen to me, even though I host a show at NPR.

When I was walking down the aisle to officiate my brother's wedding,

I was so nervous that the thought popped into my head. I can make a run

for it. They'll never find me. I pushed through and the wedding went forward, but the point

is a lot of us need help becoming better, more confident public speakers.

And that's what today's episode is about.

Reporter Kyle Norris is going to lead us on this journey.

And the advice applies whether the idea of talking in front of

people makes you queasy or gets you kind of pumped.

Rachel Omen has been terrified of speaking in front of other people for a long time.

Well I have had a lifelong fear of public speaking going back to childhood I would say and

as I've gotten older it's gotten worse and it's gotten to the point that I don't know well one-on-one. She said that fear got even worse when the pandemic started.

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