Imagine Your Anxiety Away?

“Just imagine the audience in their underwear.” Yes, that’s what I heard an instructor of public speaking say at a conference I attended a few years back.

I couldn’t believe it.

Sure, public speaking is a common fear, affecting nearly 30% of people, with up to 75% experiencing varying degrees of anxiety just thinking about it.

And the symptoms are real:

👉🏼 Heart racing uncontrollably.

👉🏼 Struggling to articulate our thoughts.

👉🏼 Worrying about being ridiculed.

👉🏼 Feeling an overwhelming urge to escape.

𝐁𝐮𝐭 “𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐬” 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤.

There are effective strategies to combat this fear, though. They take a bit of time for practice, but in the end, they work, and you won’t have to resort to ineffective tips that just exacerbate the anxiety.

Here are three approaches that have proven beneficial for long-term improvement across various anxiety levels and personality types:

✅ 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬: Spend some quiet time imagining yourself successfully delivering your speech in front of a (clothed) audience. Imagine the audience responding positively. Feel yourself as confident and accomplished. This mental rehearsal can help reduce anxiety and build self-assurance.

✅ 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝: Find a friend or colleague who can provide constructive feedback. This is a low-pressure setting that allows you to practice your delivery and gain confidence without the fear of judgment. Such support can make a significant difference in your comfort level when you actually speak.

✅ 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬: Try learning one breathing technique and practicing it every day for a few minutes. This can help ground you and reduce anxiety. Then before your speech, you can take a few moments to breathe this learned way to lower anxious feelings.

These methods don’t provide instant relief, but they do allow for sustainable growth and can significantly diminish the anxiety associated with public speaking over time.

#PublicSpeaking, #Leadership, and #Resilience.

Also published at https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dr-j-andrew-kuypers-9322b728_publicspeaking-leadership-resilience-activity-7366069510698663937-10l0