Public Speaking
Hypnotherapy For Public Speaking Anxiety and Fear
Hypnosis is an incredibly effective tool for public speaking phobia, because it gets to the root cause of the problem quickly.
In this day and age many companies require their employees to run meetings, lead training courses and deliver presentations in front of large groups of people.
My clients feel frustrated that they can’t advance in their careers because they are afraid of speaking in public; this fear really holds them back.
If this is you, it’s possible to conquer your phobia and reach your highest potential both personally and professionally with the help of a clinical hypnotherapist.
Why Public Speaking Anxiety is Such a Big Deal
The thought of speaking in public drives fear into the heart of even the bravest and stoic among us. Why is it that we make such a big deal about this?
After all, it’s just a bunch of people like you, right?
The logical, rational part of you knows there’s nothing to be afraid of.
Unfortunately, logic has nothing to do with it; this fear is driven by your subconscious mind, and it marches to the beat of its own drum.
Deep down inside of us, there is such a strong need to belong that our fear of rejection often takes over to the degree that we become unnecessarily afraid of putting ourselves in any situation where we may face the possibility of rejection.
It’s In Your Genes
Long ago, in times when we hunted and gathered in groups of one hundred, we needed to belong to a clan in order to survive.
This instinctual survival mechanism is built into your DNA and that is why today, the need to belong is so strong. Sometimes that instinctual need takes over in ways that do not allow us to be the best we can be.
The two most prominent factors that feed public speaking phobia are fear of rejection and fear of being judged. Most of the time, in fact nearly all of the time, we don’t need these fears; yet they come out in full force at exactly the time when you want them to go away!
Specific Causes of Public Speaking Phobia
Like any other phobia, fear of public speaking is an irrational fear. You may have tried to psyche yourself into doing getting over it, by telling yourself: ‘this is silly’ or ‘it doesn’t matter what other people think’.
And if the logical mind was running the show that approach would work. But the subconscious is the driver here, and it is simply responding to deep conditioning.
Driving factors include:
- Evolution; a deep-seated fear of rejection as mentioned above;
- Public speaking phobia can also be triggered by life events which can create negative beliefs that we continue to buy into;
- Once we develop any phobia we can then easily move towards the expectation of doom, failure or catastrophe, telling ourself we can’t possibly do it;
- The fear of being afraid becomes far worse that the actual object or situation.
Public Speaking Phobia Hypnosis Treatment Protocol
I treat public speaking phobia in 4 steps:
- I gather lots of information and talk to the client so I can get an understanding of which factors may have caused the phobia;
- Secondly, the sessions involve hypnosis to address the conditions and beliefs that are causing or exacerbating the phobia;
- I teach all my clients self-hypnosis to manage the fear as it arises in real-time. Self-hypnosis is a powerful tool that allows you to go into a state of detached relaxation at any time;
- And finally, I work with the client to desensitise them to the object of their fear.
This is an incredibly important step, and it involves meeting the client where they are and setting goals with them that will allow them to do the work at home to actively challenge their perceived fears.
Desensitization
Initially, I would ask the client
- What is your ultimate goal?
- Is it to speak in front of a packed stadium of thousands?
- Or is it simply to be able to run meetings at work without going into a tail spin?
Once we figure out what that ultimate goal is, we move in steady, safe increments towards that goal in a way that challenges the client but won’t be so difficult that they can’t do it.
Many of my clients have successfully beaten their fear of speaking in front of others and gone on to receive promotions, enjoy very successful careers and increase their confidence in every area of life.
The average number of sessions required for this issue is around three sessions. If you’re seeking help to conquer your fear and anxiety around public speaking, you can either call me directly or visit the Contact Us page for further information.
As a hypnotherapist based in Melbourne, I am committed to helping you achieve a more fulfilling life through the empowering effects of hypnosis.