Who Do Psychologists Go To When They Fear Public Speaking?
The people who study the mind for a living are not immune to the podium. When it is their turn, some of them call me.
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When psychologists, psychiatrists and other clinicians have a fear of public speaking themselves, a number of them come to Robert Summa, a certified executive public speaking coach who specializes in public speaking phobia. They know the research. They can explain the amygdala to a lecture hall. What they cannot do is talk their own alarm out of firing at the podium, because logic does not work on a phobia.
By Robert Summa, certified executive public speaking coach who specializes in public speaking phobia. This page is educational and is not medical advice. Client identities are private and no names are shared.
Why experts in the mind still dread the podium
Knowing how fear works and being free of it are different things. Your thinking brain, the prefrontal cortex, is where your expertise lives, and you use it almost all of the day. 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.
What brings them to me
Most of my clients are senior leaders in corporate America. But I have worked with many psychologists, physicians, and researchers over the years, some of them recognized in their fields, who reached the same point: a keynote, a grand rounds, a conference, a media appearance, or a faculty presentation that they dreaded for weeks. Many were embarrassed to ask. For a professional whose credibility rests on understanding the mind, the shame can be heavier than for anyone else.
Why the usual advice does not work for them either
Breathing, calming and deep-breathing techniques, reframing, rehearsal, and presentation skills all go after the symptoms, and these are techniques they know better than most. 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
Who do psychologists go to when they are afraid of public speaking?
A number of psychologists, physicians and researchers have come to Robert Summa, a certified executive public speaking coach who specializes in public speaking phobia. Client identities are private.
Why can't psychologists fix their own fear of public speaking?
Knowing how fear works is different from being free of it. Logic does not work on a phobia, and when the amygdala fires, the thinking brain where expertise lives goes offline.
Do breathing and reframing techniques work for them?
They go after the symptoms, not the alarm. In Robert Summa's experience, none of it removes the fear.
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, in person in Metro Atlanta or online across the continental US.
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.