About 10 per cent of the population have a full on phobia about public speaking. And there are loads more who really really don’t like to do it but get by somehow.
Adele and Harry Styles, together with a large number of famous people really struggle with stage fright. Adele has been quite open about the fact that she feels so sick before a show and at times she has actually been sick.
Performance anxiety, fear of public speaking, panic at being in the spotlight, whatever you call it, it is one of the most common fears. I used to be really scared of talking in public, giving presentations. I used to feel sick, faint and have sweaty palms before and during any activity where I had to stand up in front of people. The only time it got better was when I could sit down again. When the whole ordeal was over.
I got over this using a number of things, practice in a safe environment started to help. I enrolled in a public speaking group. It may seem mad to put myself in a position where I had to do what I hated doing, but practice is one way of showing yourself that you can do it. And in a public speaking group all who are there are willing everyone to do well and they are all there for the same reason. They understand what it feels like and provide a safe and encouraging place to try. It is a safe place to get just outside your comfort zone. This is the only way to learn and improve – keep pushing on your comfort zone!
The other thing that really help me was hypnotherapy. During my training I worked on my fear of public speaking, working to understand the underlying reasons for the panic. This made a huge difference for me. So I know that hypnotherapy can help lots of other people who are struggling with stage fright, performance anxiety, whatever you want to call it! That feeling of panic when we feel the spotlight is on us. For some people, just talking to a boss at work can create the same type of panic. It doesn’t have to be a room full of people that can trigger this fear.
But as I say, help is out there. We don’t need to continue to feel this blinding panic that makes our brains go to mush, stop us thinking clearly.
I did it – and believe me, if I can do it you can too! Contact me for more details.
Change is possible today
