There can be very few people who don’t feel some degree of anxiety before standing up before an audience, no matter how small and whether made up of colleagues, family, friends or strangers. Even in a space where the audience is willing you on, there’s a degree of tension arises before any presentation.
However, when this perfectly normal degree of anxiety turns to debilitating stress, an almost phobic physical and emotional response to standing up and presenting to others, that help should be sought.
Amelia was coming up to the final term of her MSc, in cancer research, planning on a career in this vital study. She was heading rapidly towards two major presentations she knew she had to get absolutely right, to achieve the grade she needed to start the career so important to her – and to all of us. It was Amelia’s mother who did the research and found me, but, of course, it was Amelia who did the work.
Amelia says: ‘My mum found Sally. Coming from a very science-driven background, I was naturally quite sceptical, but I knew I needed help so went to my first session with an open mind.
‘I had realised my increasing fear of public speaking could be really damaging both to my hopes for the best MSc and for my future career. And after just three sessions with Sally, I am so, so much happier with it.’
Amelia’s increasing fear of public speaking started right back in high school, when she had to give a presentation to her class. It wasn’t big, or important, and nothing went wrong, but she hated it, and really didn’t want to be in that position again.
Her first year at university was a Covid year and all her lectures and seminars were held online.
‘We had to give a weekly lab report, to our whole class, but as everything was online it just felt like speaking to a screen, with no issues. It did mean however that I didn’t get to interact with my class, or to learn useful techniques for presenting. In my second year I was only required to present to my tutor group, which was small and relaxed, although I didn’t ever feel relaxed and still struggled with this and it really started to become apparent then that this was hindering me.. When I went into my third year, presentations needed to be made in front of the entire lecture hall, and I very quickly got to the point where I was feeling and being physically sick, and almost fainting.
‘It was doubly frustrating as I had always performed really well in every other aspect of my studies, I just needed to beat this.’
Amelia and I had three face-to-face sessions, where I used a mixture of BWRT and hypnotherapy, to effectively rewrite previous bad experiences and plant visualisations of good experiences. We also practised some psycho-sensory techniques that Amelia could use immediately before a presentation, to calm her and help with her visualisations.
‘In our first meeting we spent some time getting into where my fears lay, so we could remodel my past experiences into something more positive,’ Amelia says. ‘Visualising how I wanted them to go rather than how they did go. And then I went home with some techniques to practise.’
Our brains change and adapt according to experience – which is known as neuroplasticity. We can use this neuroplasticity to create new, better memories by overlaying these on top of bad memories, using BWRT techniques, while hypnotherapy helps frame our approach to real, positive experiences with presentations.
‘Our final session was spent visualising my two upcoming presentations, both vital to achieving the best score in my MSc. It was really important I do well, which was of course extra pressure.
‘I had the recording of my final session with Sally to listen to the night before, and a colour to visualise that represented success, which I used right before I made my presentations.
‘And they both went really well. I still have a little, normal anxiety, but now I have the tools to ensure I know I can overcome this and be the best I can be.’
Amelia went on to achieve a distinction in her MSc, and I can’t want to hear how her career progresses, knowing I have had a small part to play in her success.
‘I would recommend it to anyone. I was sceptical at first, but the proof is there – it works, and has kept working.’
On average it takes no more than three sessions to cure you of your phobia. From those initial discussions to overcoming the fear of giving presentations, just like Amelia, you will need to visit me three times.
Don’t let fear of public speaking damage your career or your life, Rediscover your freedom in just three weeks, with hypnotherapy for fear of public speaking.
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