Do you ever get nervous before giving a speech or a presentation? You’ve prepared for it, you know the material, you’re an expert in the field, and, then, when the time comes to lecture, you freeze…

Fear of public speaking is one of the leading fears in people, along with fear of spiders, heights, and flying.
A certain amount of intensity, not anxiety, can be helpful before giving a speech. However, too much anxiety makes the speaker unable to focus on what he/she is trying to say. 

Public Speaking Anxiety Treatments

Propranolol is a medication that is sometimes given to patients with this problem. It works by slowing the heart down, so that people won’t have that fast heart rate that accompanies anxiety. Of course, propranolol can have side effects, including:

• Fatigue
• Feeling light-headed or fainting
• Slow or uneven heart rate
• Being short of breath
• Nausea
• Insomnia

Medical hypnosis allows people to give a talk or lecture even more confidently. Dr. Lazarus also incorporates cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques when he sees patients with any type of anxiety. CBT has been shown to be extremely effective for anxiety of all sorts, and Dr. Lazarus has found that by using a combination of medical hypnosis and CBT, his patients not only learn some extremely powerful tools, but they also have significant improvement after only 1 to 3 visits.

Click here to watch Dr. Lazarus’ interview with an Olympic Silver Medalist. Her advice is universal and can be applied to people who are struggling with public speaking anxiety.