Dr. Noah St JohnFounder, St. John Executive Coaching · The Caveman Conversion King | Keynote Speaker: Tame the Caveman in Your Brain™ | My $3 Billion Playbook turns AI fear into peak human performance | What kind of Caveman are you? Take the Caveman Quiz

Afraid of Public Speaking? This 1 Mindset Shift Changes Everything

26 Jun 2025 · 1 min

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In this brief coaching monologue, Dr. Noah St John addresses the common fear of public speaking, identifying it as the top adult fear. Drawing on his experience coaching many individuals, he proposes a single, powerful mindset shift: move the focus from oneself to the audience. He explains that listeners are primarily interested in the value they receive, not the speaker’s performance, and that recognizing this audience‑centric purpose can instantly calm nerves. By reframing speaking engagements as opportunities to help and serve others, speakers can reduce anxiety and improve their presence on stage or in meetings.

Chapters

A lot of people, as I'm sure you know, have a fear of public speaking, right? And so, what I've noticed, and because I've coached a lot of people through this fear and other fears too, but that's like the number one fear of adults is speaking in public. And so, one of the things I help people to remember is it's not about you, it's about the people that you're reaching because, yes, they want you to be good. When you're on stage, when you're performing or whatever it might be, they want you to be good. But really, they're in it for what's in it for me. And so, when I realized that it's not about me, it's about my audience, it's about the people that I can help, that I can make a difference. And for me, that really calmed me down. And for a lot of people, that helps as well. When you're going on stage, you're going into a meeting, going into a presentation, something like that, and that can immediately help you relax. So, that's a nice life lesson there.