The High Cost of Speaking Anxiety in Leadership

Every leader knows the drill. You’re ambitious, sharp, and capable. You have ideas that could shift industries. But when it comes to stepping up and speaking? You hesitate.

You tell yourself, I’ll practise later. Then you leave it to the last minute, so when it’s not great, you have an excuse—I just didn’t have time to prepare. You read articles, maybe even look up coaches, but then take no action. Or you finally call me, feel a spark of possibility, and decide to move forward—until I name the investment. Then suddenly, you take a ‘different direction.’

Because deep down, you don’t trust yourself to show up fully. Not without the nerves. Not without the fight-or-flight response. Not without feeling like you’re one shaky breath away from disaster. You fear your investment will be just another expensive disappointment.

The Hidden Cost of Avoiding This Problem

It’s not just an unpleasant moment on stage. Speaking anxiety starts long before that. It stops you from practising because you’d rather pray and meditate than face the discomfort.

It stops you from signing up for that keynote, because what if you fail? It even stops you from hiring someone like me, because addressing it means confronting what you’ve been avoiding for years.

And that avoidance is costly.

Here’s what speaking anxiety does behind the scenes:

• It makes you play small – You avoid opportunities. You say less in meetings. You let others take the floor. And over time, people see you as someone who follows rather than leads.
• It weakens your impact – You may technically say the right words, but if your energy doesn’t back them up? If your presence wavers? People feel it. And they stop fully believing you.
• It creates internal self-doubt loops – The exhausting cycle of “Did I sound stupid?” “Should I have said it differently?” “Why can’t I just be better at this?” drains your mental energy and confidence.
• It limits your ability to inspire – Leadership isn’t just about strategy; it’s about moving people. But if your presence isn’t fully engaged, neither are they.

The Real Cost: What’s at Stake If You Stay Silent

Let’s talk numbers. If you’re a leader of a sizable business, your impact is worth a multiple of your salary. The deals you close, the investors you attract, the way you inspire and mobilise teams—these are direct factors in your company’s success.

Now imagine losing even one of those key moments because your presence didn’t land. A missed partnership, an uninspiring investor pitch, a disengaged team—all because your voice didn’t carry the conviction your ideas deserved. What does that cost you? Thousands? Hundreds of thousands? More?

If you’re running a high-revenue business, the loss isn’t just a one-time hit—it compounds. A fumbled keynote that weakens trust? That could be a million-dollar mistake. An uninspiring leadership presence? That could cost you the next big promotion—or the entire trajectory of your career.

If you’re the leader of a company, the impact of your voice extends far beyond your paycheck. Your leadership is a multiplier. If your presence on stage or in high-stakes meetings falters, you’re not just risking your salary—you’re risking multiples of what you earn. Your credibility, your company’s reputation, the future of your business—all of it is on the line.

The truth is, when you’re not at your best in the moments that matter, you don’t just lose credibility. You lose opportunity, influence, and ultimately, revenue. And not just revenue. Potential. The future you could have had, slipping through your fingers.

The Fears Leaders Won’t Admit (Even to Themselves)

Speaking anxiety isn’t just about public speaking. It’s about exposure. It’s about the terror of being fully seen.

At surface level, you tell yourself you’re just nervous. But deeper down, these are the fears running the show:

1. What if they realise I don’t fully believe in what I’m saying? – That moment when you stand there, speaking the company line, but inside, you feel the misalignment. What if they see through you?
2. What if they find out I’m not as competent as they think? – You’ve built a career on appearing capable. What if this is the moment they see the cracks?
3. What if I actually am an imposter and this is the moment I get found out? – No matter how much you achieve, that voice whispers: “You got lucky. Don’t mess this up.”
4. What if they don’t like me? – You tell yourself it doesn’t matter. But it does. Because if they don’t like you, what if they start doubting you? What if they question your leadership? What if this moment is the start of everything falling apart?
5. What if I lose their respect? My role? The deal? – The idea that this one moment could lead to a domino effect—losing credibility, losing influence, and ultimately, losing what you’ve built? That fear is real.

Most leaders would rather wrestle a crocodile while wearing a business suit than say any of this out loud. Because vulnerability feels dangerous when your whole career is built on being the one with answers.

The Science of Speaking Anxiety

Speaking anxiety isn’t a personality flaw. It’s a nervous system issue.

Your brain treats high-stakes speaking moments like physical danger. Your amygdala (the drama queen of your brain) hijacks rational thought, triggering fight-or-flight. Your body floods with adrenaline, and suddenly you’re dry-mouthed, heart-pounding, and wondering why you ever agreed to this in the first place.

How do you know you’ve got it?

• Your mind goes blank mid-sentence
• Your voice trembles or tightens
• You feel weirdly detached, as if watching yourself crash in slow motion
• You ramble, over-explain, or speed through just to get it over with
• You have an overwhelming urge to escape

The Difference: Human Before Performer

My approach isn’t about just being confident. It’s about regulating your nervous system so confidence is inevitable.

Here’s how I liberate leaders from speaking anxiety:

• We train your body, not just your brain – Confidence is physical. Your voice, breath, and presence matter more than you think.
• We get you out of your head and into the room – The audience isn’t judging you as harshly as you think. (And if they are? Good. That means you’re worth watching.)
• We make confidence a habit, not a performance – You don’t need to “act confident.” You need to be confident. (Huge difference.)
• We shift the focus from ‘How do I sound?’ to ‘How do I serve?’ – When you stop making it about you, the fear vanishes.
• We prioritise presence over perfection – A perfectly polished speaker isn’t necessarily compelling. A present one? Unforgettable.

The Cost of Avoiding This

If speaking anxiety is stealing your presence, your influence, and your ability to lead at full power—why let it?

You wouldn’t ignore a financial leak in your company. You wouldn’t let an underperforming executive keep draining productivity. So why let fear chip away at your leadership potential?

Speaking anxiety isn’t an identity. It’s a solvable problem. And once you solve it? You become untouchable.

The Decision That Changes Everything

You can stay where you are—stuck in the cycle, losing credibility, missing opportunities, and watching others take the stage while you hesitate. Or you can take control, step forward, and claim the authority that’s already yours.

One choice costs you millions. The other transforms your leadership.

Which will it be?