All About The Fear of Public Speaking & How To Overcome it with CBT Therapy & Counselling in Wolverhampton & West Midlands

About the Fear of Public Speaking

The Fear of Public Speaking is one of the most common phobias that people suffer from, including many people who have never made any kind of public speech.

It’s technical name is Glossophobia.

The thought of standing up in front of a crowd of strangers (or friends and colleagues) can turn even the most robust individual into a nervous wreck!

Many people cannot imagine anything much worse than having to get up and give a speech, or make a presentation at work!

For some, the fear of public speaking might create so much anxiety that they would rather turn down a better paid job because it requires making presentations.

It is not uncommon for men to opt out of being their friends best-man as they will be expected to make a speech at the wedding.

Symptoms of Fear of Public Speaking

Typically just the thought of having to get up and speak publicly can result in:

• Palms sweating
• Hands and legs developing the shakes
• Mouth Goes dry
• Thoughts start to race through the mind
• The heart starts to “pound”
• The memory goes completely blank
• Feeling like you’re blushing terribly
• Generalised Anxiety
• Insomnia & sleeping problems
• Panic attacks
• Stress

If you have suffered these “symptoms” when having to speak publicly, or develop these feelings at the prospect of having to do so, then you would almost certainly benefit from undertaking some sort of training or therapy.

You can also try these steps to overcome the Fear of Public Speaking on Wikihow.

The Fear of Public Speaking as Social Anxiety

In all of the cases that we have helped people to resolve their fear of public speaking it has been by recognising that this problem has an almost identical set of “cognitive distortions” as Social Anxiety.

Common underlying thoughts may be that:

• “I will make a fool of myself and people will think I’m an idiot”
• “I’ll forget or stumble over my words and people will think I’m stupid”
• “I’m not as clever as the other people and people will think I’m a fraud”

The common thread in these thoughts is that “other people” will come to some conclusion about them and almost always this is believed to be some sort of negative conclusion.

People hardly ever think to themselves..

I bet they’ll all think I’m brilliant at public speaking

.. even though they might be!

Therapy & Counselling for the Fear of Public Speaking

Fear of Public Speaking, in common with ALL Phobias, is “irrational” in nature and is produced by Limiting Beliefs.

The distorted thinking present with Fear of Public Speaking may have been created by an actual negative experience that has now been “blown out of proportion” or indeed may be the result of “imagined experiences” which can lead to the same outcome – the experience of Anxiety.

If we can learn how to manage this distorted thinking using the tools and techniques contained in therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, then we can also learn how to control the emotional experiences that we have – ie. manage the Anxiety.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for the Fear of Public Speaking

If you’re determined to overcome your fear of Public Speaking then we highly recommend following our 10 session Tranceformental CBT programme with Paul.

T-CBT is a clinically proven psychotherapy course that will teach you everything you need to know to understand your problem, identify any limiting beliefs and unhelpful thinking styles that you might have developed in order to cope, and then provide guidance on how to make changes to your thinking and behaviours to irradicate the problems.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy has an excellent track-record with problems based on anxiety and fearful cognitions (thoughts) which are key factors in the fear of Public Speaking.

Alternative Psychotherapies for the Fear of Public Speaking

Although we generally recommend CBT for Glossophobia, we also offer alternative psychotherapies for people preferring a different approach.

These include:

Psychodynamic therapy which focuses on understanding why the problem has arisen and relies on the therapy relationship to bring about change.

Counselling which is less formally structured than CBT but still provides a safe and non-judgmental environment in which to discuss issues. Talking problems through with a skilled counsellor is often therapeutic in its own right.

Hypnotherapy is an alternative form of psychotherapy that can be applied to a very wide range of problems and is available with Joan.

Free Initial Consultations for the Fear of Public Speaking

We offer all prospective clients FREE initial consultations to discuss your Glossophobia problems prior to commencing any psychotherapy programmes.

The consultation and lasts around 50 minutes.

During this consultation we will discuss the various solutions that are available to you and make a considered recommendation based on your individual personal circumstances.

Initial consultations are also available online.

We recognise the importance of the therapy relationship in helping people to bring about effective change, so it is important to meet (either face-to-face or online) before deciding to follow a course of psychotherapy.

Our policy is to help people make a fully balanced & considered decision about undertaking work with us, including both the financial and personal implications.