Fear of Speaking

This was the first time I had worked with a client on my own. I was at a speaking event in San Diego and one of the attendees was talking about how he was terrified to get up on the stage. But each one of us had to get on the stage.

I told his wife about the work I had been doing and what it had done for some of my friends. She said she was sure he would be open to it. So during a break, we took him aside, went into a breakout room and after I explained what the process involved, he was willing to give it a try.

I checked in to see what the first issue was and it had to do with an event that took place when he was in high school. He wasn’t prepared with his homework assignment and when his teacher insisted he get up in front of the class and deliver the book report any way, he froze.

From that point on he was terrified of speaking in front of any group any size.

The issue registered an 8, which is a very high emotional draw. A five would be average and the closer to 10, the more influence it has on current reactions.

We only had about 7 minutes to work on the issue when we had to return to the room. He was up next.

He got up, delivered his presentation flawlessly and after he walked off the stage he made a beeline for the wall. He slid down the wall to sit on the floor.

I walked over to him and he said “I can’t believe I got through that!”

Results: I was able to keep up with him for a few months and he told me he wasn’t exactly ready to look forward to speaking in front of an audience on a platform, but he was definitely more comfortable with doing so.