Public speaking, imagine this: You must give a presentation at work. It’s next week. You have tried to get out of doing it but failed. You feel petrified and are struggling to know what to do next. This is taking over your thoughts, and now you can’t sleep because you are thinking about this presentation. The last time you had to do public speaking, you froze, felt sick, and hated every minute.
You remember it clearly. You can’t understand why you blushed when you were introduced. You recall starting to shake and having an intensely dry mouth. You dread going through that again, but you know you must tackle this fear of public speaking.
Let’s imagine the alternative now.
You are well prepared. You dress well for the next presentation, and your skin looks healthy.
You look fantastic. You stand tall and give that presentation calmly and confidently. Your presentation is well-structured and exciting, meeting all the requirements for your brief. You feel good, and the audience appreciates everything you said.
Picture your audience clapping you. Hear all the positive things that people are saying about your presentation. You did it!
Are you ready to start your journey to let go of the fear of public speaking now?
In this blog, I want to explain how there are solutions to this fear of public speaking, and hypnotherapy could be something you haven’t considered before.
Where do fears come from?
You may have heard of fears such as fear of spiders, flying, or heights.
All fears are either learned behaviours from others because we are not born with most fears, or they are fears developed during an emotional time.
Fears are on a continuum, from mild dislike to intense fear, which becomes a phobia.
A mild fear might be disliking the sound of chalk on a chalkboard. Although you might not like it, it isn’t going to take over your life.
A phobia might be buttons. People who are scared of buttons might only buy clothes without buttons, not touch buttons, and become very fearful if they see or hear anyone talking about buttons.
A fear of public speaking could be mild or build up to become a fear one avoids at all costs.
Why is a fear of public speaking such a problem?
Many people who fear speaking in public, whether at a work presentation, a wedding speech, or at some other time when they are required to speak, miss opportunities to share knowledge and skills and entertain people.
Public speaking is related to leadership, so you might lose those opportunities to stand out as a leader.
It can hold back students academically and professionally.
It results in people avoiding situations throughout their lives, whether it’s a social situation, work or relationships.
What is a fear of public speaking?
Glossophobia is a fear of public speaking.
Some people call it stage fright or performance anxiety.
Public speaking anxiety is considered a social anxiety disorder. (National Social Anxiety Centre)
It is estimated that about 15 – 75% of the population fears public speaking, so it’s a common fear.
Everyone is different, but a fear of public speaking is a psychological condition that affects many people worldwide.
It is a form of anxiety that can cause:
- a dry mouth
- a racing heart rate
- sweaty palms
- shallow breathing
- butterflies in the stomach
- brain fog
- confusion
- worry
- and more
Some people might have one or more of these problems.
People who fear public speaking may also have other anxieties, such as a fear of being judged and lacking confidence or related anxiety behaviours, such as nail biting.
What causes a fear of public speaking?
The fear often comes from difficult childhood or young adult experiences. For example, the children in the class laugh when they stand up to read something and make a mistake.
It sets up psychological, physical and behavioural problems.
What helps a fear of public speaking?
- Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) helps people to understand their thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
- Exposure therapy (Includes virtual reality exposure)
- Relaxation techniques.
- Practice and repetition of skills. You can practice yourself or go to speaking groups, such as Toastmasters.
- Medication
- Some alternative/complementary therapies. (Includes massage and acupuncture)
- Hypnotherapy (Includes self-hypnosis)
Help can be delivered online, in groups or traditionally in the therapist’s office).
What is hypnotherapy?
It’s hypnosis, which is a tool along with therapy.
It is also a process where you become very focused and use positive suggestions and imagination to make changes.
3 Ways Hypnotherapy Can Help
- It helps the mind and body relax. You can learn to relax your body by listening to the hypnosis voice. This is very beneficial as many anxious people have tense bodies when public speaking, which results in a change of voice and difficulty speaking.
- It gives you positive suggestions for achieving public speaking. Some hypnotherapists may regress to the cause or help the person let go of past issues and negative issues. This means that hypnotherapy can help the root cause and symptoms.
- Positive suggestions help build confidence and self-esteem. They can help you imagine the future as a confident public speaker.
In addition, some hypnotherapists also combine CBT, and people are often taught self-hypnosis.
Hypnotherapy helps you unlearn the fear of public speaking and change your negative thinking and behaviour patterns. This results in moving away from focusing on yourself and concentrating on the task and audience.
What happens when you visit a hypnotherapist?
Hypnotherapy can be delivered in an office or online.
The first stage is an assessment by the hypnotherapist. You will be asked for demographic details, some history about the problem, and health/social history. You will be provided with information about the sessions and costs if you haven’t already got this information. You will be asked for your consent to proceed.
Next, the hypnotherapist will guide you to a hypnotic state. You will be awake, can move if you wish, and will not be unconscious.
Some hypnotherapists will tell you a story using hypnotic language; others will talk directly to you to help you let go of the problem and focus.
At the end, you may be asked to listen to an audio recording or to do a task during the week. Three to four one-hour sessions are typical.
Finally…
If you want to learn more, please get in touch with me at Awaken the Change and book a free initial consultation.
I offer hypnotherapy and CBT. Additionally, as a Toastmasters member for many years, I have learned many techniques to make presentations easier. I want to share these skills with you.
