Yes, we all bomb: Use this trick to get over your public speaking fears

When it comes to public speaking fears, we can all learn a thing or two from comedians. 

Stand-up comedians are resilient and thick-skinned, often talking about their experiences “bombing” on stage. If a joke falls flat, a bit doesn't deliver, or if the audience turns into zombies and only crickets are chirping...that awkward silence and excruciating tension is just another Tuesday open mic night in the Comedy Cellar.  

Our public speaking fears? We're all TERRIFIED of "bombing" on stage.

 And it's why we sweat (so much!) before any presentation or interview. 

So…what can comedians teach us about facing our fears? 

Facing our fears, comedy-style

With all that experience in the spotlight, aren’t stand-up comedians immune to fear? 

No way. 

They get nervous too.  

But the big, massive, immense, enormously HUGE difference between comedians and the rest of us is that comedians KEEP GOING BACK FOR MORE. 

They don’t give up. They don’t turn away. They don’t drop the mic, run home, and immediately insist that they’ll never do a bit on stage again. 

Instead, comedians are masters of dusting themselves off, jumping up again, and showing up for another session. They know that bombing is just part of the process.  

Comedians force themselves to go back. Tell another joke. Hit the next bit.  They re-write, edit, tweak and test material…and little by little, they improve.  

Every comedian knows that bombing is just a rite of passage. It passes. And their job is to get up and do it all over again. 

We all bomb…and it’s okay

Sadly, “bombing” is just inevitable in public speaking. 

No matter who we are or how fabulous our ideas are or how much experience we have…there will be a day when no one responds. When the audience is tuned out, distracted, and scrolling on their phone. We’ll be sharing our heart out…and all we hear are crickets, instead of applause. 

(And, oh yeah, we’ll probably have a trickle of sweat running down our backs because we feel so awkward.)

If we’re not a bullet-proof, resilient comedian, it’s a little tough to handle. 

We’re all so darned scared of bombing, that it haunts our dreams. We worry that we’ll stumble, our mind will go blank, and we’ll make a fool of ourselves in front of an audience.

To solve this problem?

Take a page from the stand-ups: admit that "bombing" is inevitable. 

We all have to get over ourselves, and face our imperfections. At some point, we’ll flub up on stage. 

And the sooner we accept it, the better.