One of the questions I ask all new clients struggling with public speaking anxiety is, “do you feel like you need to conceal this problem?” The answer is almost always yes. People usually talk about the judgment they anticipate having to face—the kind that can result in pity, discomfort, negative evaluations and even demotions.
Read MoreMany people have butterflies when getting up in front of a crowd. However, people with public speaking anxiety feel these jitters on another level. A racing heart, shaking palms, sweating, dry mouth, lightheadedness, or nausea can all be byproducts of the panic and dread associated with this kind of fear.
Read MoreWhen we meet for the first time, most of my clients say their goal is to totally extinguish their fear of public speaking. However, this not only sets you up for black and white thinking—’either I get rid of my public speaking fear, or I don’t!’—it also makes the goal less attainable and reinforces the idea of the fear being a ‘bad’ thing.
Read MoreWhen our body is busy fending off panic and adrenaline, our thinking is less clear. It’s harder to concentrate, and we’re less likely to perform at our best. Research on social anxiety suggests that this is exactly what ends up happening: when we’re anxious, we perform poorly compared to our non-anxious peers.
Read MoreBridging the gap between where you are now and where you’d like to be is easier when you can unpack, dissect, and be curious about why you’re feeling scared
Read MoreIt’s not that goal-setting needs to go out the window, rather we might want to alter our approach. It requires being agile, perhaps modifying our definitions of achievement and focusing on what I call “activity goals”.
Read MoreThe personal compass is a soul map, personal blueprint and self-made guide to help you gain clarity on how you want to feel in your life. This kind of soul work is needed to do the goal work in our lives.
Read MoreOne of the most powerful things we can do for ourselves in the pursuit of living an intentional life is getting clear on how we want to feel. You’ve probably noticed many people selecting words of the year right now, which I’m all for, but they don’t help us with the ‘how’ or the discovery of how we feel when we feel at our best. In this exercise, you get to review a list of over 100 feelings to create your top 5 words, deep-seated, transformative feelings so you can simplify your life.
Read MoreWhen you’re feeling overwhelmed or the effects of performance anxiety nothing feels more soothing than having a simple and supportive emotional toolkit of mindfulness practices to choose from.
Read MoreAre your self-doubts getting in your way? In this podcast episode, I speak to Dr. Tracy Dagleish, clinical psychologist and host of the podcast, about what impostor syndrome is and how it interferes with our ability to reach our potential.
Read MoreHere’s the important thing about public-speaking anxiety and many forms of anxiety: the more we panic and resist fear, the more power it has over us.
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