Public speaking

Public speaking

Public speaking is something that many people find both nerve wracking and embarrassing. It makes a lot of sense really as often when you are giving a speech or a work presentation it is quite an important event.

Both hypnotherapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) aim to give you the skills and control you need to speak in public calmly and confidently.

Why is public speaking such a big deal to people?

With the exception of a few very extroverted people, a fear of public speaking to some degree is very normal. There are a lot of "what if" thoughts such as what if I stutter or what if I forget what I planned to say. There are also a lot of different fears around public speaking such as fear of failure or fear of feeling embarrassed.

What makes public speaking so hard for some people is the way our bodies react to our fears as our body tries to ready itself to face the threat. Most commonly associated symptoms of fear in a public speaking setting are racing heart, sweaty palms, stomach pains or "butterflies" and an increased need to pop to the loo.

This can all be made worse by the social situation such as just having had a big meal at a wedding, a networking breakfast or a business lunch. Awkward...

How can I help?

Firstly I am going to use hypnosis. Yes you will remember everything and no it is not an instant fix, sorry. Hypnosis will teach you how to relax and how to control your mind, I will also teach you how to relax or hypnotise yourself so that you can focus yourself before your big presentation or speech, very similar to how athletes "get in the zone". 

CBT looks at the links between your thoughts and your feelings. For example if you are thinking what if I mess this up? (or words to that effect) then you are likely to be feeling scared, anxious and physically ill.  Using CBT we would aim to set your thoughts onto a different path, I can teach you to think about what would happen if it went well and visualise how awesome your presentation or speech is going to be.

What results can you expect?

This depends a little bit on how severe your fear is however, regardless of how severe you are to start with, you can expect a significant improvement.

Years ago I used to hate public speaking and once did an entire presentation at uni by reading word for word the notes on my cards. Yeah, it was rubbish.  Now I talk about my business and train large groups of people with very little concern. A small amount of nerves before hand is normal as long as you can control it!

You will get exercises to practice at home so as long as you are happy to put some time and work in there is no reason at all why anyone wouldn't feel comfortable giving a speech.