From the author: How, with the help of a simple shift in thinking, I can get rid of the fear of public speaking and social anxiety once and for all. (Fear of exams, job interviews, audiences, negotiations, social anxiety) I don’t know about you, but I’ve always experienced this inexplicable fear of speaking in public. There is a lump in the throat, the legs give way, the voice and hands do not obey, terrible anxiety appears, a rapid pulse, dizziness and uncertainty. If you have ever felt something like this, then you understand me. And since the life of a modern successful person is difficult to imagine without public speaking (interviews, seminars, debates, etc.), fear (phobia) of public speaking only spoils professional life and career. I myself have seen how, due to fear of the audience, many professionals remained in the shadows, and instead they were replaced by self-confident ignoramuses who could only talk. At the same time, those same talkers had all the laurels. The reasons for the fear of public speaking go far back to childhood. When, for example, somewhere on the street or in a store, a child suddenly began to show a natural reaction in communication, speaking very loudly or even screaming. And the mother, lost and feeling uncomfortable, hits the child on the lips and says: “Be quiet.” Everyone is watching. Well, shut up... Subsequently, the child’s subconscious firmly settles the conviction that expressing oneself as an individual in public is dangerous, this is not possible, etc. Other reasons for the appearance of this fear lie even deeper and at the heart of social phobia there is an attitude of non-acceptance. That society or a group may not accept us and even reject us. This is an irrational attitude, but it unconsciously manifests itself in us whenever we have to go out to speak in public. !!Is there a simple solution to this problem?!! Before I tell you about my completely idiotic idea that magically eliminated my fear of public speaking, let's look at the traditional ways to neutralize the fear of public speaking. !!Imagine that in front of you are puppies or dolls!! Quite an interesting method. It has proven itself well and is often used by young speakers. However, it does not always work, especially for people who do not have a developed imaginative type of thinking. Simply put, it is difficult for them to imagine puppies or dolls in front of them when they know that directors and managers of large companies or other important people are now listening to them. !![b]Muscle relaxation !![/b] As you have already noticed, before you need to go on stage, you begin to experience various spasms and tension: in your throat, in your arms, legs, head, stomach and other parts. All this simply paralyzes and does not allow you to perform normally, driving you into even greater confusion. To do this, many politicians, actors, public people do small physical exercises before speaking. For example, they squat or simply squeeze all the muscles of their body until they become overstrained and relax, then repeat this exercise several times in a row. This is indeed a very effective exercise that relieves muscle tension due to overexertion, which was done earlier before the performance. Another relaxation option is that a few minutes before the performance you retire, turn on music or without it, close your eyes and start dancing, imagining that you are a feather in the wind. You simply let go of your body and dance in free form. However, as practice shows, this exercise is not always possible to put into practice. In addition, it only technically helps to relax, but does not solve the problem at the root. !![b]Switching attention !![/b]This is truly a powerful technique that helps not only quickly relieve tension and free yourself from the fear of public speaking, but also better understand yourself and your listeners. What does it consist of? While speaking, you can shift your attention to/