Getting Your Subconscious Mind Working For You

How Can I Overcome Speech Anxiety?

First of all, remember no one in class is trying to make you nervous. The only person who can make you nervous is you. This means you have the power to make yourself calm. In fact, you are the only person who can make you calm. Your brain is made up of two different minds: your conscious mind and your subconscious mind. Your conscious mind, sometimes referred to as your left brain, is the reasoning, rational, decision-making part of your brain. Your subconscious mind is the center of your emotions and creativity. Unlike your conscious mind, your subconscious mind never shuts off. Even when you are sleeping your subconscious mind is running your dreams, maintaining bodily functions such as heartbeat, breathing, digestion, hair growth and reacting to ideas placed in it by your conscious brain. If your conscious mind were the size of a golf ball your subconscious mind would be the size of the Houston Astrodome. As you already know:

1. A hypnotized individual told s/he is a dog will believe it and begin realistically barking.
2. Placebos, sugar pills with no medicinal value, have cured people's ailments when the patient believed them to have medicinal qualities.
3. People may have spontaneous, miraculous healing brought about by the power of their own belief.
4. There is literal truth in the old saying, "Let's sleep on it tonight." You can wrack your brains (use your conscious mind) for hours trying to remember the answer to a vexing question only to have the answer come to you in a flash when you are no longer consciously thinking about it (thanks to your subconscious mind that never quits thinking about it).

How does this apply to us?

Your subconscious mind is incapable of differentiating between reality, dreams and imagination. It regards them as equally real experiences. If you spend time worrying about giving a speech, imagining public speaking as a horrible, nerve-wracking experience, you will imprint this message on your subconscious mind. Your subconscious mind will regard your imaginings as real and will provide the experience you imagined to re-enforce your world view. Your subconscious mind will create a self-fulfilling prophecy. It allows you to prove yourself correct in your assumptions. After all, no one likes to be proven wrong. On the other hand, repeatedly picturing giving your speech as a calm and enjoyable experience programs your subconscious mind to give you that experience when your actual speech occurs.

How do you program your subconscious mind?

The key is to bypass your conscious mind and "speak" directly to your subconscious mind. The best times to do this are as you are falling asleep and as soon as you wake up. Begin by relaxing your body. Your conscious mind begins to shut down as you relax your body, but your subconscious mind continues to run full-tilt. Be happy, speaking pleasantly and positively to your subconscious mind. Never speak negatively to your subconscious mind. Don't say, "I'm not going to be nervous." Such a statement reinforces the existence of nervousness.

Here are some techniques to use as you are falling asleep or immediately after you wake up. Your conscious mind's controlling power is weakest at these times. Begin each technique by relaxing your body from head to toe.

• First, visualize a positive speaking experience in great detail. See the clothes you'll be wearing, the lectern you'll be using and the classroom in which you will be speaking. Involve as many senses as possible. Feel the lectern. Feel your hands gesturing. Create four to six images. Concentrate on each image for five seconds. You might imagine your teacher, friends, fellow students, even people you admire outside of class, smiling, applauding and congratulating you a fine performance. See a nice, firm, red letter "A" printed on the top of your outline. If you find you have a favorite image discard the others and focus on it.
• Secondly, repeat phrases such as, "I'm going to be a calm, confident and poised speaker," "I will be relaxed and at ease," or "Everything is working for my success." However, if you don't believe it, don't say it. Saying, "I will be completely calm," but thinking, "No, I won't," every time you say it programs the wrong message into your subconscious. Say something you believe. "I am becoming a better communicator," or "My communication skills are getting stronger every day," are two sentences everyone of us should believe. Should nervous thoughts sneak up on you during the day repeat your empowering thought until the nervous thoughts vanish. Your subconscious mind cannot differentiate between reality and imaginings. As far as it's concerned your imagined positive speech experiences are real, and when you deliver your speech for an audience your subconscious mind will make the actual experience conform to your imaginings.
• Finally, you can employ a visualization technique commonly used by athletes. Repeatedly imagine yourself successfully delivering your speech. Imagine yourself doing hand gestures, looking at the audience, adding inflection, etc.

Advance visualization will make giving your speech a more familiar experience. You can also imagine something going wrong, and imagine what you could do to correct the problem. For example, a quarterback may imagine what he will do if the halfback runs in the wrong direction on a handoff. Should the halfback run in the wrong direction in a game the quarterback has already worked out a plan to compensate.

Most pre-speech worries are overstated and easily solved. "What do I do if I suddenly go blank and can't remember a thing I'm going to say?" is one commonly-stated concern. The answer is simple, look at your speech notes and read them. That's why you wrote them in the first place.

Start now and do these on a daily basis at bedtime and first thing in the morning. A third daily practice in a relaxed state may also beneficial. You have nothing to lose except your nervousness.