Recently, someone emailed me for advice on how to handle his fear of public speaking.
I thought I’d share my response to him with you because it contains valuable tips on how you can handle your fear of speaking.
Here is the response I wrote to him:
The very first step is to look at your fear. Ask yourself, “What do I feel when I have to speak in public?” and then make a list of what you are afraid of.
What will happen?
What will you feel?
What happens to your body?
Your answers are clues. Clues you can follow to understand and overcome your anxiety.
I believe overcoming anxiety and fear is like putting together a puzzle.
You always start with the edge pieces. Your answers to the questions above are the edge pieces of the puzzle.
Once you know what the edge of the puzzle is, you can get to work filling in the rest of it.
In this case, the middle pieces of the puzzle are the different strategies you can use to overcome or deal with your public speaking fear and anxiety.
Let’s look at a couple of examples…
If you have a scared little one inside of you who never got a chance to shine, then you need to embrace this part and give it compassion.
If your heart beats uncontrollably, then you need to learn to counteract this with a relaxation method that will work for you. Google stress reduction and guided relaxation programs.
If your anxiety surges when you imagine yourself going blank in front of others, saying the wrong thing, getting laughed at, or anything where you feel like you might fail, then you need to start doing visualizations of the positive outcome.
If you have regret afterwards, then you need to find ways to affirm your courage and your willingness to try. Now learn what you need to do next time.
Those are some of my thoughts.
Fear is the puzzle you need to solve. Only then will you have the answers to how to handle it.
P.S. Solving a puzzle can go much faster with help.
Especially expert help from someone who has solved the puzzle before.
If you are ready to solve your anxiety puzzle so you can speak without fear, book an “Anxiety Breakthrough” session with me now.
In your “Anxiety Breakthrough” session you will…
- Gain clarity on exactly why you get afraid of speaking in public.
- Find a strategy so you can feel the freedom from anxiety.
- Discover how to solve your puzzle so you can speak with confidence.