Illusion of Transparency and Public Speaking Fear

Do you ever feel nervous when speaking?

Does it seem like the audience knows you are nervous?

If so, read on! This article may instantly make you a more confident and more effective speaker.

The previous article in the Cognitive Bias series studied the Spotlight Effect. This article examines a closely related bias known as the Illusion of Transparency. We will define this cognitive bias and offer several everyday examples. Then, we’ll study how the Illusion of Transparency affects both the speaker and the audience. We’ll conclude with strategies to mitigate these impacts.

What is the Illusion of Transparency?

The Illusion of Transparency is a cognitive bias which describes the tendency to overestimate the degree to which other people know our mental state.

The term “illusion of transparency” was coined in a 1998 research paper by Gilovich, Savitsky, and Medvec who first studied this bias. Their research showed that we tend to overestimate the degree to which our thoughts or emotions “leak out” and become known to those observing us. It’s not as if we believe that others can read our mind; rather, we tend to believe that others can pick up on external cues that we give off, even when we attempt to hide or suppress the emotion.

Does the Illusion of Transparency affect all of us in the same way in all situations? Later research by Holder and Hawkins showed no overall gender difference in the susceptibility to the illusion, although some people can develop a relative degree of immunity to the illusion (more on this later). The illusion does not affect us in exactly the same way in all situations; for example, the illusion affects us most strongly when we have a strong emotional response, whether positive or negative.

Note that the Spotlight Effect is a very closely related phenomenon. While the Illusion of Transparency deals with our internal states (i.e. thoughts, emotions), the Spotlight Effect is the tendency to overestimate the degree to which other people are aware of our external state (i.e. actions, physical appearance). Both phenomenon are believed to have similar origins in our mind; since we are ultra-aware of our internal and external state at all times, we have difficulty compensating for the fact that others are not.

Examples of the Illusion of Transparency

For example, consider the following hypothetical examples in which you might be susceptible to the effects of the Illusion of Transparency:

• If you tell a lie, you are likely to believe that others (who have no prior knowledge about your statement’s truth) can detect the lie much more often than they do.
• If you feel strong disgust or strong pleasure when eating or drinking, you are likely to believe that others at your table will know your opinion of the food more often than they do.
• If you feel guilt over not being prepared for a meeting, you are likely to believe that your colleagues can sense your guilt more often than they do.
• If you are disappointed that you didn’t receive the birthday gift you were hoping for, you are likely to believe that your friends can sense your disappointment more often than they do.
• If you are nervous in a job interview, you are likely to believe that the interviewers will sense your nervousness more often than they do.

How can the Illusion of Transparency bias a presenter’s frame of mind?

Speaking in public can be a highly emotional experience. Thus, when you present, the Illusion of Transparency can bias your thinking in several ways, including:

• Amplified anxiety and nervousness.
  Savitsky and Gilovich performed a follow-up study to specifically test whether public speakers are susceptible to the illusion of transparency. The answer is a resounding yes! Their research confirmed that when a speaker feels nervous, they tend to overestimate the degree to which the audience can sense their nervousness. To make matters worse, this leads to a negative feedback loop. A belief that the audience can easily detect the nervousness can lead to more nervousness. The speaker then feels that the audience can detect this nervousness. And so on. And so on. A speaker’s cognitive focus can be consumed by this cycle of nervousness, potentially resulting in degraded performance.
• Amplified embarrassment over small mistakes.
  Suppose you realize that you’ve made a mistake by mixing up the order of your planned presentation. Like many presenters, you may feel embarrassment at this situation. (“Oh, how could I make such a silly mistake!”) The illusion of transparency may, in turn, lead you to overestimate the likelihood that your audience members can sense your embarrassment. However, unless the sequencing mistake was literally obvious (i.e. mixing up two chronological events), most audience members are likely unaware.
• Compulsion to apologize.
  As a result of the above effects, you may feel compelled to apologize to your audience. This type of apology can be awkward, because the audience isn’t generally aware of the reason for the apology.

How many of these actions do you recognize in your speaking history? How about other speakers you’ve recently listened to?

How can a speaker overcome the Illusion of Transparency?

Now that you are aware of how the Illusion of Transparency can affect you as a speaker, you can begin to reduce or eliminate its bias in your thoughts. In part, simply reading this article has already helped you to reduce the effect of this bias.

Why? The answer is provided by the Savitsky and Gilovich research into the Illusion of Transparency as it relates to public speaking anxiety. They showed that simply informing speakers about the Illusion of Transparency produced two important benefits in the speakers’ minds:

1. The speakers felt more confident that their nervousness was less noticeable to audience members.
2. The speakers felt more confident in the quality of their speeches.

Equally important, the research also showed benefits in the assessments from their audience members:

1. Audience members noticed less nervousness, and
2. Audience members graded their speeches to be of higher quality.

Savitsky and Gilovich delivered the following message to speakers, and it resulted in increased confidence and higher quality speeches:

I think it might help you to know that research has found that audiences can’t pick up on your anxiety as well as you might expect. Psychologists have documented what is called an “illusion of transparency.” Those speaking feel that their nervousness is transparent, but in reality their feelings are not so apparent to observers. This happens because our own emotional experience can be so strong, we are sure our emotions “leak out.” In fact, observers aren’t as good at picking up on a speaker’s emotional state as we tend to expect. So, while you might be so nervous you’re convinced that everyone can tell how nervous you are, in reality that’s very rarely the case. What’s inside of you typically manifests itself too subtly to be detected by others. With this in mind, you should just relax and try to do your best. Know that if you become nervous, you’ll probably be the only one to know.

This is a tremendous scientific result! Just by understanding the Illusion of Transparency, you can grow your confidence, lower your nervousness, and deliver higher-quality speeches. Further, if you accept your nervous feelings as “normal”, it will reduce the strength of the emotion; as a result, your susceptibility to the illusion will reduce as well.

How can the Illusion of Transparency bias your audience members?

While a speaker is susceptible to the effects of the Illusion of Transparency at the front of the room, audience members are also susceptible from where they sit. Impacts on your audience members may include:

• Simmering frustration. 
  Suppose that an audience member who sits in the front row is having trouble following your presentation, and further suppose that this frustration persists for a lengthy period of time, perhaps across several sessions of a course you are delivering. This frustration may build and build, causing significant internal stress. If affected by the Illusion of Transparency, this audience member may assume (falsely) that you must know how frustrated they are. Further, when you fail to address their (unvoiced) concerns, they may conclude that you don’t care about them.
• Undelivered feedback.
  Years ago, I gave a five-session course to some junior colleagues. After the fifth session, I visited one student in her office to ask how the course went for her. Among her comments, she revealed that she had been very confused in the third session. When I asked why she hadn’t spoken up at the time, she explained that she thought her confusion was “written all over her face”, so she didn’t feel it was necessary to provide the feedback explicitly.

How can you mitigate the Illusion of Transparency bias for your audience members?

There are several strategies you can employ for mitigating the negative impacts of the Illusion of Transparency bias in audience members. These include:

• Analyze your audience.
  Thorough audience analysis will provide many insights into what your audience is thinking, and where they are likely to encounter problems during your presentation.
• Explicitly seek feedback. 
  Develop a habit of consciously seeking feedback from audience members in many ways. Attempt to uncover trouble areas in your presentations, and work hard to address them. Do this before, during, after, and between presentations.
• Pay attention to subtle clues.
  Even though your audience will not always verbalize the things they are feeling (because they overestimate the degree to which you can know their mental state), there are often subtle clues available if you know what to look for. Negative facial expressions, closed body language, restless movements, frequent checking of electronic devices, and many other things can be clues that your message is not getting through.
• “Test” your audience to gauge their understanding.
  I often incorporate informal exercises or discussions where I ask my audience questions based on material I’ve just covered. For example, after I introduce ten principles for effective slide design, I then present slides to my audience and have them match each slide to the principle it illustrates. By listening acutely to their responses (both what they say and what they don’t), I’m able to gauge their understanding in real-time.

Next in the Cognitive Bias series…

In the next article of this series, we will examine the Curse of Knowledge and learn how this cognitive bias presents challenges and opportunities for you as a speaker.