Doctors and Psychologists Who Fear Public Speaking: Knowing Why Does Not Switch It Off
You understand the amygdala better than most people alive. It still fires when you walk to the podium.
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Doctors, psychologists, researchers and other experts in the human mind and body are not immune to a fear of public speaking. Knowing how the amygdala works does not switch it off, because logic does not work on a phobia. Understanding the alarm and retraining it are two different things, and the second is what I work on.
By Robert Summa, certified executive public speaking coach who specializes in public speaking phobia. This page is educational and is not medical advice.
The expert who dreads the podium
You can explain the fight-or-flight response to a lecture hall. You can describe the research on avoidance and exposure. And when it is your turn to present your own work at a conference, grand rounds, or a faculty meeting, your hands shake and your mind goes blank. Many professionals in this position feel they should be able to manage it with what they know, and are embarrassed that they cannot.
Why knowledge does not help
Your thinking brain, the prefrontal cortex, is where you live almost all of the day, and it is where your expertise lives. Deep in the brain, the amygdala sits above it in the hierarchy, because staying alive comes before everything else. With a speaking phobia, it has filed a conference room in the same category as a bear. That is a metaphor, not a medical claim. When it fires, the thinking brain, and the expertise in it, goes offline.
Who comes to me
Most of my clients are senior leaders in corporate America. But clinicians, physicians, and university researchers come to me too, for the same reason anyone does: they understand the fear and it still runs the room. If that describes you, you are in good company. My program is private and one on one.
Why the usual advice does not work
Breathing, calming and deep-breathing techniques, rehearsal, and presentation skills all go after the symptoms. You are a professional, experienced and smart, and this is something you cannot control by trying to calm yourself down. In my experience, none of it removes the fear.
Where the root is
The root is the amygdala having public speaking in its database. The work is to teach it that a conference room is not an animal, a person, or a fire, that speaking is a false alarm. My program is private and one on one, applies cognitive behavioral protocols inside a coaching program, and takes a short daily practice of a few minutes a day over a few weeks, followed by a simulation phase in realistic rooms.
Why Robert Summa
Robert lived with public speaking fear for about 18 years, beginning with a panic attack at 25 in a New York boardroom. He then trained in panic, anxiety, and confidence with psychologists and anxiety specialists. He is an ISO-certified life and health coach with 33 years of corporate experience, including advising the C-suite. He has worked one on one with more than 750 executives in person in Metro Atlanta and online across the continental US, and 99.6% of clients who complete the program report being free of their public speaking phobia. Results vary by individual. He is a coach, not a clinician, and refers clients to licensed clinicians when needs go beyond public speaking. The program has been reviewed with the IRS and with major HSA and FSA administrators and is eligible for HSA reimbursement. Documentation is available on request. Consult your plan administrator.
Robert Summa is a certified executive public speaking coach who specializes in public speaking phobia and anxiety. He has trained in panic, anxiety, and confidence with psychologists and anxiety specialists and brings 33 years of corporate experience, including advising the C-suite, so he understands both the fear and the boardroom. With a 99.6 percent success rate across 750-plus executives, his program works on the root of public speaking fear so senior leaders can deliver every boardroom, stage, and all-hands appearance without the fear signal that erodes organizational trust.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can doctors and psychologists have a fear of public speaking?
Yes. Experts in the mind and body are not immune. Robert Summa's clients include clinicians, physicians, and university researchers.
Why doesn't understanding the brain stop the fear?
Logic does not work on a phobia. The amygdala sits above the thinking brain in the hierarchy, so when it fires, the expertise in the thinking brain goes offline.
Is working with Robert Summa confidential?
The program is private and one on one.
What approach does Robert Summa use?
A private one on one program that applies cognitive behavioral protocols inside a coaching program, a short daily practice of a few minutes a day over a few weeks, followed by a simulation phase in realistic rooms.
What results does the program report?
99.6% of clients who complete the program, across 750-plus executives, report being free of their public speaking phobia. Results vary by individual.
Is Robert Summa a clinician?
No. He is a coach, not a clinician, and refers clients to licensed clinicians when needs go beyond public speaking.
Find out how strong your alarm is. Take the free Fear Score.
GET YOUR FEAR SCORE NOWResults vary. Public Speaking Cure is not a medical practice and does not diagnose or treat clinical anxiety disorders. Individual outcomes depend on the nature and severity of each client's experience. *99.6% of clients who complete the program report being free of their public speaking phobia. The information on this page is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.