Part of the fear of Public Speaking is that we will put a false facade on to show we have power and control over our audience. Self consciousness comes from societal order and fitting in. As our population increases, survival of the fittest comes to the fore as we try and maintain a standard of living.
Our literary standards are dropping. I am sure a lot of financially successful people would not admit to having literacy or even numeracy interpretation difficulties. So in the Public speaking arena when we expose ourselves to our audience we are afraid of displaying our vulnerability. The audience can sense even smell fear. It doesn’t mean that you have to come out like an AA meeting and state your weakness but sub consciously just let it go. Apprehension is another mechanism that disconnects us from our audience. Those things that we think disconnect us from our audience will truly connect us with our audience.
Life is too short to be full of pride to think that you are right or better than someone else. You can see that in family relationships when people don’t talk to each other for years by an instant of hurt or misinterpretation. Swallow your pride say sorry or forgive and understand you are just another small cog in the journey and impart some perspectives of life that you have observed when speaking. This belief I believe will help you connect with your audience and feel less apprehensive about speaking.