Can a Speech Coach Help With Public Speaking Anxiety? What You Need to Know

“My speed is the right speed.”

These were the words that a private client said to me last month at the end of our 3-month speech coaching process.

A mid-career Product Manager, she came to me wanting to "uplevel my communication." Like many professionals experiencing public speaking anxiety, she was preparing for hours for leadership meetings and then going blank when anything went off-script—she couldn't access her confidence, her clarity, herself when there were high (or even medium!) stakes.

She'd struggled with public speaking anxiety her whole life, but especially since the pandemic and becoming a parent. Her nerves were unpredictable (the worst part!) and her unspoken speaking anxiety felt like it was getting worse with age and experience, not better.

What a Speech Coach Actually Does

She left our process realizing that her communication was not some problem to be fixed. As her speech coach, I helped her see how much the cycle of over-preparing → freezing under pressure → blaming herself was perpetuating the exact behavior she wanted to shift.

This client left our speech coaching process saying "I now feel like I can talk to anyone, anywhere."

She left with a flexible, personal playbook to create structure without scripts (and with far less over-preparation and exhaustion).

A month later, she's in our shared whiteboard preparing for presentations efficiently, using the frameworks and tools we built just for her, all while working less hard in less time—because she's no longer focusing on being a "better" communicator (an endless energy suck).

She's built stable and sustainable—unshakable—confidence.

The Reality of Public Speaking Anxiety

Before she came to see me, she was considering giving up her career altogether, not because she couldn't do the work (she's amazing at the work) but because she struggled with this unpredictable public speaking anxiety that much.

That's how painful this unspoken speaking anxiety can be.

But if you've read this far, you already know that.

If you've read this far, you might be saying, "It sounds like they're describing me."

The sad truth is this person's story is not unique.

I hear from people every single day who are struggling (secretly and with oh so much shame) so deeply that they are considering giving up their lifelong career because of public speaking anxiety.

They feel ashamed, too, like they shouldn't feel this way, like they should be able to communicate better.

How Speech Coaching Addresses Public Speaking Anxiety

And then they realize that working with a speech coach was never about fixing their communication or themselves.

It's about slowing down, learning to be present, and cultivating control, comfort, consistency (and yes, confidence!)—trusting their own ability to show up and speak up as themselves.

Sometimes slowing down can be painful. It feels like going backwards.

But as my own coach said this week, we never go backwards. We are always evolving and becoming the most optimal version of ourselves.

And it's in that space that we get to deepen our connection to ourselves.

But when we blame ourselves, beat ourselves up, berate ourselves, we abandon ourselves. We splinter our attention as part of us is focused on how we're being perceived, and the other part on why we can never speak as well as we want to.

The Real Issue Behind Public Speaking Anxiety

So when people come to me asking for help with public speaking anxiety, wondering why they are so relaxed and at ease with their teams but freeze in front of anyone with authority, in situations of high stakes, or in front of groups, they think they need to become better communicators. They think it's about public speaking skills or preparing more or learning more—doing more.

But you know deep down that there is something else going on. You know you know your stuff better than anyone. It's not impostor syndrome—you're super confident in your work and leadership—but you also know that executive presence doesn't work.

You know how to lead and be present in the work. You just struggle talking about it. And that is not a communication issue.

What I know to be true after working as a speech coach for so long is that this work is never about fixing your voice.

What You Actually Need (And What a Speech Coach Provides)

So remember: You don't have a communication issue. You have a focus issue. Your attention is splintered between the important work you have to do, how you're being perceived, and then blaming yourself for not being polished or perfect or precise or present.

It's a pattern. And patterns can change.

If you're experiencing public speaking anxiety and wondering whether a speech coach can help, the answer is yes—but not in the way you might think. The right speech coach doesn't teach you to be someone else. They help you access who you already are, even when the stakes are high.

What's your confidence pattern?

If this post resonated with you, there's a good chance you're experiencing unspoken speaking anxiety, a pattern I see with empathetic leaders.

Take the free assessment (3 minutes) to discover your pattern—and more importantly, what actually works to shift it.

You'll get immediate results sent to your inbox with pattern-specific strategies you can start using today.