Comments on: Overcome your fear of public speaking the proven way

By: Olivia Mitchell

Olivia Mitchell — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 02:53:12 +0000

Thanks Fergus, for telling us about this aikido exercise.

Olivia

By: Fergus

Fergus — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 10:03:28 +0000

Hi folks, I have found that a practical exercise is what many people find useful to control nerves. The brain anticipates some negative event in the future and creates anxiety, the body only recognises and reacts to the present. The aim is to get the brain to do the same as the body and focus on the here-and-now. To achieve this I draw from a martial art called Aikido which alerts us to our ‘centre’ (a couple of inches below our navel and in the centre of our body). There is unsufficient space here to go into much detail, but focussing on our centre and breathing deeply makes the lower half of the body feel ‘heavy’ and the feet feel planted to the ground and the earth’s core beneath us. For many people their shoulders relax as a result, their voice lowers and they realise they’re ‘in the moment’. Contact your local Aikido teacher to learn more about exercises to help develop your ‘chi’ and all the amazing things you can do with it. Good luck!

By: Olivia Mitchell

Olivia Mitchell — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 15:25:35 +0000

Hi Manou
I feel for you. It’s not pleasant to go through that experience. I recommend you join a public speaking club like Toastmasters where you can get regular practice. Most clubs are very supportive and you will be encouraged by other people who have gone through what you’re going through. Go well.
Olivia

By: manou

manou — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 10:01:22 +0000

Hello Olivia,

I’m reading this with great interest. My problem is that i’m not doing public presentations often enough to be able to get over my fear, and i can see that the more it goes, the worst it becomes. My problem is becoming so acute that for the first 2 mins on stage, i litteraly loose the use of my voice; my heartbeat goes mad, and my throat becomes tight. It’s all going the wrong way, and i’m really keen to resolve this!

By: Olivia Mitchell

Olivia Mitchell — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 05:38:26 +0000

Hi Jing
That’s great that positive thinking is working for you – and that virtuous cycle is great.

For others reading this – positive thinking doesn’t work for everyone – because you do have to believe that what you’re telling yourself is likely. For example if you say to yourself “My presentation will go really well and the audience will smile and nod” but don’t really believe it you’ll have another voice in your head go “Nah – that won’t happen.” If you can relate to this you may find CBT more effective.

However, if positive thinking is working for you, that’s great.

Olivia

By: Jing Wang

Jing Wang — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 21:04:16 +0000

Hey Olivia,

i think “thinking it” is the first step and “doing it” is the next step. Though I do not know what kind of thinking patterns do we have, I do konw that positive thinking works well for me.
For me “thinking” and “doing” are like a virtuous circle. The more I think positively, the better I will do the presentation. And the better I do the presentation, the more I built my confidence. The more confidence I have, it arouses my interest, to do more presentation.

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