Does public speaking strike error in your heart? Do your palms sweat and your stomach churn? If so, you are in good company. Most people are uncomfortable to some degree with being in front on an audience. I speak from personal experience. The cartoon to the left could have been me assuming that you could have gotten me on stage at all.
As I was completing my hypnotherapy training, my fellow students often asked how I planned to attract clients. I would always say, “I am going to teach.” Then I would look over my shoulder to see who in heaven’s name had said that!
What a change. Today I not only speak to groups but I enjoy it. I used to define a group as any number that exceeded two–now I speak comfortably to groups of 150. What caused this tremendous change, you might ask. I overcame my fears by using self hypnosis. I began by visualizing myself as an effective speaker, connecting with the audience and holding their attention. Through this process I learned that, deep down, I really love being the center of attention! Another piece of my True Self was revealed. As a child my parents often explained to people that I was very shy. Naturally, I believed them so I spent a great many years “acting as if” I was shy. As I worked through my childhood issues and got to know my True Self, I found that my label of being shy simply did not fit.
So all of you out there who need public speaking skills to further your personal or professional growth, take heart. You, too, may have been mistakenly labeled. You can use hypnosis to make effective presentations and overcome your fear of public speaking. Also, as you connect more with your True Self, you are better able to speak your truth, express what you have to say, and speak from the heart. All a natural outgrowth of spiritual progress, although some specific learning may be a part of the process.
Let me give you some ideas. First you need to relax your mind and body. The following exercises will help you, especially if you practice them on a regular basis.
Cook’s Hookups
Benefit: Has a centering and grounding effect; slows down an overactive left brain; brings an overactive right brain to focus. Very calming.
Phase 1: cross one ankle over the other and cross one wrist over the other (with same side ankle and wrist on top); place tongue on roof of mouth, just behind teeth; breathe comfortably for 30 seconds.
Phase 2: uncross legs; place all fingertips together; breathe deeply.
Emotional Stress Release
Benefit: Reduces stress; helps mind respond to outer events and inner thoughts differently; brings you back to being “at choice.”
Action: Lightly hold forehead and back of the neck; close eyes and focus on breathing for 30-60 seconds.
Visualization: Having Fun in Front of a Group
Another easy exercise is to visualize yourself as an effective speaker. An excellent time for this exercise is just as you are falling asleep at bedtime. Your subconscious mind never sleeps, so it works all night on any information that you present at that time. If you fall asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow, I recommend that you learn self hypnosis in order to practice this visualization technique.
Lie in bed and relax. As you feel yourself becoming sleepy, imagine yourself speaking to a group. Remember to create a positive scene. See or sense yourself feeling calm and confident. Imagine moving your body in a relaxed way. Smile at your audience. If your mind brings up past negative speaking events, erase that image and build a completely new scene. As you become comfortable with this initial image, you can elaborate on it. Let this image be the last thing on your mind as you fall asleep every night.
This is how I overcame my fears of teaching groups. Three or four times a week I would imagine myself speaking to a large group. It was the same image every time. I felt calm and relaxed. I could easily imagine having fun and feeling in rapport with my imaginary group. Then, one day, I tried to access that familiar image. It was nowhere to be found. I searched my mind but the image was gone. It occurred to me that perhaps I no longer needed that image. I just might have reached my goal. Sure enough, I felt very comfortable with the next class that I taught. Not only did my visualization work, my mind also knew when to “cut me off.”
Generally, our minds need eight to twelve weeks of positive programming to accomplish a goal. This is not much of a commitment when you consider how long you have dealt with these negative parts of your life. It is best to work on one goal at a time. You can combine ten to fifteen suggestions about your goal with your visualization.
Achieving any goal is an important reflection of your creative power. As you clear out negative beliefs and limitations, the goals that you set will reflect the guidance of your True Self. In the meantime, even if the goal you set does not ultimately turn out to be appropriate for you, you will have learned much to enable you to move forward on your path. And wherever you are on your path, it is important for you to be able to speak your truth whenever it serves the greatest good to do so–including situations where you have a large audience.
Key Points
▪ The most effective time to visualize is when you are falling asleep or have hypnotized yourself.
▪ Create a positive scene, including how you are feeling, moving, and interacting with your audience.
▪ Using this approach, our minds need eight to twelve weeks of positive programming to accomplish a goal.
In addition to relaxation methods and visualization you can also apply the Emotional Freedom Techniques to eliminate fears about public speaking. The most effective combination might be to use EFT to eliminate the fear and use the visualization to recreate yourself as an effective speaker. While it’s great to speak without fear, it’s also important to be able keep the audience’s attention and make a dynamic presentation.
Excerpt from Finding Your True Self (out of print)
Be joyful, be grateful, live in peace,
Katherine Zimmerman
Clinical Hypnotherapist