Stage Fright & Fear of Public Speaking

April 11, 2005

One of the most important skills you can have is the ability to freely express yourself. I don’t mean being a great orator. I’m talking about the ability to express your ideas clearly, succinctly and comfortably without fear, anxiety or panic. It’s having freedom from Glossophobia or Lalophobia. If you have stage fright or a fear of public speaking, you owe it to yourself to discover EFT. I challenge anyone to show me a faster, more effective or gentler method for helping people overcome uncomfortable feelings associated with these fears.

Ever have this happen to you? You go up to speak or perform. Your heart starts pumping faster. You get a choking feeling, and have trouble breathing. Your hands start sweating. You get dizzy, start getting panicky, and want to run away. This is how many people feel with a fear of public speaking, stage fright, or performance anxiety. Most people have some form of it. Yet, people continue to believe that they’re alone with this problem. They aren’t. Typical symptoms and fears include:

Rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, trembling
Chest and neck tension, butterflies in the stomach
Dry mouth, wavery voice, shaking
Feel of being disorganized, memory loss
Fear of making a mistake
Fear of being laughed at
Fear of being judged
Feeling helpless, inadequate
Feelings of panic, dread or terror
An overwhelming desire to flee the situation

Logical solutions produce limited results because negative experiences create fearful feelings. The brain links to other similar experiences. Most often, the negative experience happened a long time ago and is stored in the subconscious. The trick is to neutralize the linkage between the memory in the subconscious mind and feelings. That’s what EFT will do for you.

EFT Offers Powerful Method

My experience is that EFT offers a wonderful way for people to erase their discomfort from performance anxiety. Although there are other solutions available, all of them take days, weeks or months to work. Time after time, people are surprised to get results with EFT in minutes.

For a case story, see the EFT Website and read Public Speaking Phobia. To see EFT in action for performance anxiety, I suggest getting the Borrowing Benefits video series, available in CDs or DVDs. See video #7. The other video set that includes work with a fear of public speaking is Steps Toward Becoming the Ultimate Therapist. See videos #6 and #12.

A speaking phobia can have many different aspects. That’s why I recommend finding an EFT practitioner experienced in working with people on stage fright, performance anxiety and fear of public speaking issues. Go here and search by specialty under “Public Speaking.”

Professional Speakers

Allan Misch and Allan Kaufman are professional speakers that have pioneered using EFT for stage fright and speaking anxiety. They teach individuals and groups. Visit their Website at www.nosweatspeaking.com.

Patricia Fripp, a past president of the National Speakers Association and in the prestigious Speaker Hall of Fame, offers her article: Public Speaking: Stage Fright Strategies. Arnold Sanow, another very successful professional speaker and esteemed author offers sage advice in How I Overcame My Fear of Public Speaking.

Here are some other resources for you to peruse.

Articles

For other interesting articles read:

How to Conquer Public Speaking Fear
Ease Performance Anxiety Naturally
Stage Fright: Performer’s Friend or Foe?
Rex Sikes, a talented magician, performer and NLP trainer, uses a technique of asking your brain directed questions. Read First Performance Jitters.

Books

One of the best books available is Janet Esposito’s, In the Spotlight: Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking and Performing. She also offers coaching and workshops. There’s also Natalie Rogers’ book, The New Talkpower: The Mind-Body Way to Speak Without Fear. Natalie also does workshops.

Audio/Video

Dr. Roger Callahan, developer of Thought Field Therapy, offers a video and booklet package, Eliminate Fear of Public Speaking. Monroe Products has a Hemi-Sync audio CD, Speak Up, which teaches you a method to overcome shyness and enhance confidence.

Natural Remedies

For natural remedies consider Bach Rescue Remedy. There’s also Performance Plus.

Organizations

Toastmasters is an international organization that helps people hone their speaking skills. Speaking Circles provide a supportive listening environment where you learn to express yourself confidently and naturally.

Let me finish with a quote from psychiatrist Dr. Karl Menninger. He said,

“Fears are educated into us, and can, if we wish, be educated out.”

Learn EFT and educate out any stage fright, performance anxiety and fear of public speaking discomfort you may have. EFT is a fast, easy and gentle way. You may be surprised by its undeniably wondrous results.

Posted by Ron Ball | Filed Under Family & Relationships, Health & Living, Learning, Work & Money