Resolving the Fear of Public Speaking…Fast

My clients vary so much in terms of why they reach out, their backgrounds and financial security. They range from CEO to factory floor employee, 70s to children… but all have two things in common.  Firstly, they have a problem(s) that they have been unable to resolve on their own, much to their frustration, and they have reached a threshold. Secondly, they are motivated to sort it.

There is a myth out there that anyone who seeks additional support is weak or needy. My clients without exception have shown enormous courage to reach out for help. Many are highly functioning professionals giving the impression they have it all together while inside they are exhausted and struggling.

An example, imagine a senior professional in a large corporate. They have a rich and diverse family life, young family, happy marriage, generally well balanced, keeps good health … and for decades had been able to avoid public speaking without any great issue.  However, this was now impacting their ability to cope with day-to-day activities in the workplace and their sleep was disrupted as they worried about a meeting where they needed to, or might be asked, to speak.  As their career had grown and promotions had happened, the need for taking the lead in group settings and being the expert in person and online became more and more frequent.  The fear of these planned and ad-hoc meetings consumed their day and taunted their attempts to sleep.  The problem was compounding. They would literally become tongue tied and then would end up having to leave the meeting abruptly.  No amount of self-talk or planning seemed to help. They wanted their power back.

In two sessions this client was able to resolve decades of angst.  The changes are at the source level in the brain, there are no work arounds because there is no longer a fear or phobia to trigger.  They reported being able to speak in person to groups and over zoom to large numbers without any of the old freeze then flee response.  In fact, to their surprise and delight it was easy. A casual but meaningful comment to me was ‘I wish I knew about this 20 years ago’.

We have worked on a couple of other areas for them too as once they realised what could happen, they were keen to pursue more to improve their quality of work, life and that of their family.

The techniques require minimal talking unless the client wishes to share. Sometimes it is cathartic for the client. What is needed is trust and rapport, and a willingness to work with me.

If you would like to know more.  Please reach out via www.ellielockhartcoaching.com or give me a call directly on +64212018982.