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  • Public speaking is one of the problems that comes up most often for people with social anxiety.

  • And if you think about it, if a person suffers from social anxiety,

  • if I have social anxiety, I'm greatly concerned about how other people view me.

  • And there I am in front of a group of people

  • and I'm in the spotlight, I'm literally in the spotlight

  • and so how how can I manage that?

  • Well, a couple things that we recommend: One is

  • to consider those things that I might ordinarily do to

  • to try to make myself feel comfortable... and not do them.

  • I might be tempted to over-prepare,

  • over-polish what I'm gonna say. And ultimately that

  • makes me more afraid. That's a barrier to me really getting past my social anxiety.

  • I might be attempted to look above their heads

  • and not make contact with my audience,

  • but ultimately that produces a worse experience for me, and for them.

  • I can't see the people who are smiling at me or nodding as they understand

  • what I'm saying and appreciating it. I put a greater distance between myself and them

  • when I avoid them. Or if I rush through my public speaking,

  • what happens then is that

  • I start breathing faster. When I breathe faster,

  • I actually become more anxious and when I become more anxious

  • then it's less easy for me to be the kind of public speaker it could be,

  • and I'm actually a little less pleasant to listen to.

  • So few basic things a person can focus on.

Public speaking is one of the problems that comes up most often for people with social anxiety.

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