You CAN blame your ancestors for your public speaking fear

Really we’ve only just got here. All of us arrived yesterday. Yes, really

In the blink of the evolutionary eye we have arrived at modern civilisation. For 99.9% of our history we have been foragers. Our ancestors lived in violent times where one mistake could mean death. Our human brain developed in those turbulent times

As a result our brain got really good at spotting threat and we developed our flight and fight response. That’s great for when there is a tiger around but not very handy when you have to deliver a presentation on Tuesday morning to the sales department.

Our stone-age brain helps us to over-think, over-worry, get entangled in thinking about what others are thinking. We make it all too complicated. As a result of this evolutionary legacy lots of people hate public speaking. Now that's the part you can blame on your ancestors 2 and half million years ago. But you also know without them - we wouldn't be here. So we have to learn how do deal with their legacy!

So we need a re-think.

We need to see public speaking differently. We need to make it simpler. So we can get past the stone-age part of our brain. And get on with our lives.