Lecturing Anxiety and Sleepless Nights
Posted: 15 Jun 2025, 17:03
One must consider that anxiety around public speaking is hardly uncommon, yet I confess—much as it bruises my ego to admit—that even after decades of lecturing at Oxford, the familiar tightening of the throat still emerges before particularly substantial or controversial lectures. Indeed, anxiety often has little regard for experience. I've found solace in meticulous preparation, as superior knowledge has always been my shield against apprehension. Yet, lately, anticipatory nerves seem to defy even my rigorous preparations, causing undue mental turmoil and occasional insomnia. Perhaps some here could suggest methods beyond mere preparation to quell these irrational yet persistently vexing anxieties. Has anyone managed to overcome, or at least reduce, such seemingly intractable nerves, when faced with critical public discourses?