My favorite book of 2008 was Bad Science by Ben Goldacre. It promotes rigorous scientific processes and rebukes companies and individuals who use pseudo-science to sell their products.
Goldacre devotes a substantial part of the book to describing the placebo effect, i.e. where patients experience an improvement beyond the physiological effects of their treatments.
I found it fascinating that the placebo effect could be influenced by subtle differences in the administration of the drug. The colour of the tablet, the packaging of the tablet, the price of the tablet, and the expression on the doctors face all effect potency.
Placebos are everywhere, not just in medicine. When we are certain something is going to help us, that belief will manifest itself. That lucky pair of socks you wear to your job interview really are helping you. Not because they posses some magical power, but because your belief that they are lucky boosts your self confidence.
So, can the placebo effect making you better at public speaking?
Anything that you are convinced will make your speech better will make your speech better. Lucky socks. Power moves. Any positive action, however bizarre, will pump your confidence and enthusiasm as long as you have complete confidence in it.
I discovered a study that investigates the effects of a placebo on subjects with Social Anxiety disorder, which uses public speaking as a means of putting them in a stressful situation:
One of the major symptoms of social anxiety disorder is a fear of negative evaluation by others. A classic example is that sufferers show a strong fear of public speaking.
[...] sufferers were asked to engage in a stressful public speaking event. They were then “treated” for 8 weeks (with placebo) and then again asked to speak in public. 40% of the placebo-treated patients showed an improvement in their symptoms over the 8 week period.
The placebo effect might be at play in workshops and seminars about public speaking. You may immediately forget the content, but because you know you have attended (and paid for) all these classes you have increased self confidence. Ben Casnocha made a similar argument when describing how a college/university education can give you a sense of intellectual self-confidence, even if you haven’t really learned anything.
Human physiology and psychology is a vast quagmire of information that most of us will never fully understand. It’s interesting that strange rituals or sugar pills could effect our ability to speak publicly. One lesson we could draw from the placebo effect is to accept that other people’s bizarre beliefs may really be doing them some good, and to realise that they might not be transferable.
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A magic pill
My favorite book of 2008 was Bad Science by Ben Goldacre. It promotes rigorous scientific processes and rebukes companies and individuals who use pseudo-science to sell their products.
Goldacre devotes a substantial part of the book to describing the placebo effect, i.e. where patients experience an improvement beyond the physiological effects of their treatments.
I found it fascinating that the placebo effect could be influenced by subtle differences in the administration of the drug. The colour of the tablet, the packaging of the tablet, the price of the tablet, and the expression on the doctors face all effect potency.
Placebos are everywhere, not just in medicine. When we are certain something is going to help us, that belief will manifest itself. That lucky pair of socks you wear to your job interview really are helping you. Not because they posses some magical power, but because your belief that they are lucky boosts your self confidence.
So, can the placebo effect making you better at public speaking?
Anything that you are convinced will make your speech better will make your speech better. Lucky socks. Power moves. Any positive action, however bizarre, will pump your confidence and enthusiasm as long as you have complete confidence in it.
I discovered a study that investigates the effects of a placebo on subjects with Social Anxiety disorder, which uses public speaking as a means of putting them in a stressful situation:
The placebo effect might be at play in workshops and seminars about public speaking. You may immediately forget the content, but because you know you have attended (and paid for) all these classes you have increased self confidence. Ben Casnocha made a similar argument when describing how a college/university education can give you a sense of intellectual self-confidence, even if you haven’t really learned anything.
Human physiology and psychology is a vast quagmire of information that most of us will never fully understand. It’s interesting that strange rituals or sugar pills could effect our ability to speak publicly. One lesson we could draw from the placebo effect is to accept that other people’s bizarre beliefs may really be doing them some good, and to realise that they might not be transferable.
Related Posts