What is the Best Way to Stop the Progression of Type 2 Diabetes Symptoms?

 

Click HERE to Discover the 3 Easy Steps to Beat Type 2 Diabetes in 28 Days or Less

Stop the Progression of Type 2 Diabetes Symptoms – This Spice Defeats Diabetes

Once type 2 diabetes starts raising its ugly head, a vicious downward slide begins.

Traditionally, the only way to slow it down has been using strict diet changes, exercise, and losing weight. And often, even that’s not enough.

But a study published in the latest Journal of the Endocrine Society reveals a common spice that can put type 2 diabetes progression to a quick stop.

What’s more, this spice is dirt cheap and can be found in all supermarkets.

Prediabetes involves many of the same symptoms that diabetes does, including high blood glucose and glucose tolerance. But it is not as out-of-control and is still easier to treat than diabetes. For this reason, it is important to find ways to prevent prediabetes from progressing to diabetes.

To confirm or possibly disprove the findings of previous studies, researchers decided to test the effectiveness of cinnamon on prediabetes sufferers. They recruited 39 participants from the Kyung Hee University Medical Center in Seoul and another 12 from the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, Massachusetts.

All of the participants were adults with high fasting glucose, defined as between 100 and 125 mg/dL, and impaired glucose tolerance, defined as a 2-hour plasma glucose level of 140-199 mg/dL.

The subjects were divided into two groups: one that received a 500 mg capsule of cinnamon powder three times a day, and one that received a placebo consisting of a capsule with cellulose and cinnamon coloring and flavor.

The subjects took the capsules for 12 weeks and their prediabetes parameters were tested at the beginning of the study and again after six and 12 weeks.

Over the 12 weeks, fasting glucose increased by approximately five mg/dL in the placebo group but remained constant in the cinnamon treatment group.

Compared with the placebo group, the cinnamon group also displayed a smaller area under the curve for plasma glucose following the two-hour oral glucose tolerance test: 19,946 compared with 21,389 mg/dL, to be precise.

Regarding glucose tolerance, the cinnamon also did a good job. Two hours after the oral glucose tolerance test, the cinnamon group had blood glucose levels between 20 and 27 mg/dL lower than those of the placebo group, showing that glucose cleared better and faster from their blood because of the cinnamon.

There were no significant differences between the two groups after six weeks, suggesting that the effects of cinnamon probably only last while taking the supplement.

It is a pity the study did not continue for longer to see whether the benefits of the cinnamon supplements increased even further after 12 weeks of use.

But cinnamon is only one piece of the puzzle. To completely reverse type 2 diabetes, you must follow the three steps explained here…

Stop the Progression of Type 2 Diabetes Symptoms – The Easiest Way to Improve Type 2 Diabetes

If you’re suffering Type 2 Diabetes or pre-diabetes, then for sure your doctor has told you to exercise.

Well, that may not be the right advice if researchers from Maastricht University Medical Centre are right. They published their findings in the December 2017 edition of the journal Diabetologia.

Yes, you must move, but in a very specific way.

Some medical specialists believe diseases result from a lack of vigorous exercise, while others believe diseases stem from too much sedentary time.

If the latter is the case, medical authorities can prescribe regular walking, instead of a heavy exercise routine to stay healthy.

The Dutch researchers recruited 19 patients with type 2 diabetes, gave them all the same diet, and assigned them to one of three groups:

1. A sitting group that sat for 14 hours, stood up for one hour, and leisurely walked around for one hour per day (4,415 steps.)

2. An exercise group that leisurely walked 4,823 steps, moderately to vigorously cycled 1.1 hours, and sat for the rest of the day (also approximately 14 hours.)

3. A sit less group that stood up for three hours and walked leisurely for two hours (17,502 steps) by breaking up their sitting bouts every 30 minutes.

The exercise and sit less programs were designed to burn the same number of calories.

After four days of this, the groups swapped, until all three groups had done all three programs.

While both the exercise and sit less programs reduced their average glucose levels over a 24-hour period, the sit less program was more effective at countering their resistance to insulin.

As such, the sit less program may even be better than the exercise program.

But if you want to completely reverse your type 2 diabetes, you need to take a little more drastic action and use the 3-steps here. Thousands of diabetes sufferers have succeeded with this…

Stop the Progression of Type 2 Diabetes Symptoms – These Berries Reverse Type 2 Diabetes

The berries in the study I’ll be telling you about today are so powerful that in the highest intake they were proven as effective as common type 2 diabetes drugs.

And that is without causing any side effects.

What’s more, the study subjects taking these berries gained no weight – even those who consumed quite an unhealthy diet.

The catch is, however, that the berries need to be prepared in a very specific way.

Researchers have long known that specific nutrients in berries, named anthocyanins, have a beneficial effect on people with type 2 diabetes. That is why the American Association of Diabetes recommends that diabetics eat large amounts of berries.

In the last few years, medical scientists also realized that they could increase the concentration of anthocyanins in berries by fermenting them.

Based on this discovery, academics at the University of Illinois started wondering whether an alcohol-free berry wine would be an even better natural dietary addition for diabetics than normal berries. They used an alcohol-free beverage because alcohol is sugar-rich and may increase, instead of reduce blood sugar.

They first gave mice a high-fat and high-sugar diet for a couple of weeks to induce type 2 diabetes.

They then made a fermented berry drink with 70 percent of blackberries and 30 percent of blueberries by first fermenting the berries in low temperatures, and then replacing the alcohol with water.

They divided the diabetic mice into five groups:

– The first received pure water to drink
– The second received the diabetes drug sitagliptin.
– The other three received the fermented berry drink with three different

concentrations of anthocyanins: high, medium, and low.

They found that the mice given the fermented drinks had lower blood glucose levels than those given the water, and that they put on no weight, even while they were on a seriously unhealthy diet.

In addition, their bodies managed to deposit glucose in their muscles and organs where it was used as energy.

Finally, they showed less oxidative stress and less systemic inflammation, two of the main contributing factors not only to diabetes, but also to heart disease.

The mice that were given the fermented drink with the highest concentration anthocyanins benefited as much as those on the diabetes drug.

Unfortunately, this berry drink is not available in the shops, and fermenting berries at home will probably produce products with too much sugar to match these effects.

Mentioning alcohol-free grape wine that is already produced for diabetics, the authors recommend that wine makers use this research to produce an alcohol-free berry wine. Hopefully we’ll see more varieties on the market soon.

To learn how to stop the progression of type 2 diabetes symptoms, watch this video – How to Reverse Type 2 Diabetes Naturally

But you can completely reverse your type-2-diabetes using the 3-step program found here…

This post is from the 3 Steps Diabetes Strategy Program. It was created by Jodi Knapp from Blue Heron health news that has been recognized as one of the top-quality national health information websites. 

In this program, Jodi Knapp shares practical tips and advice on how you can prevent and cure diabetes naturally. She also dispels myths commonly associated with diabetes, like for example, diabetes being a lifelong condition. There are also lots of information going around that is simply not true and she’s here to correct it.

Diabetes is a disease, and it can be cured. This is just one of the important tips Jodi reveals in her program. Also, she included several ways in preventing the onset of disease, choosing the right food to eat, recommended vitamin supplements, the right time of the day to take the blood sugar and many more.

But the most amazing thing would have to be her program which only takes 3 simple steps to help you to control & treat type 2 diabetes. What it does is cure diabetes without having to rely on expensive drugs, diets that make sufferers crave for even more food they are not supposed to eat, and exercise programs that make people feel tired and depressed.

To find out more about this program, click on Stop the Progression of Type 2 Diabetes Symptoms

4 Tips to Be More Comfortable Around Family or Relatives

 

CLICK HERE to Find Out How to Overcome Your Social Phobia

Nervous Around Family or Relatives? Here’s Why & 4 Tips to Fix It

In this post I’ll show you why you feel nervous, anxious or shy when around family or other relatives. I’ll also show you 4 tips you can use today to fix it.

I figured this was the perfect topic because the holidays are here.

This is that time of year when people get together more often. This is usually bad news for someone who has shyness or social anxiety.

The holidays mean you will be FORCED to socialize more than normal. You may have to talk to people you don’t connect with that well and maybe even don’t like.

I’m talking about those relatives or family friends who you don’t know what to talk about with. Or your grandma who points out how quiet you are at the dinner table. Or that annoying uncle who asks every year if you have a girlfriend or boyfriend yet.

So I wanted to share with you some deep insights and quick tips to help you deal with these issues, so you can have a more enjoyable and relaxing holiday season. The best part is, these tips will not only help you with family and relatives, but they will allow you to be less nervous around pretty much anyone.

It feels refreshing to be visiting my family for a couple weeks during the holidays. We get to spend time together and catch up on all the new things happening in each other’s lives. We can enjoy the holiday meals together. Later we’ll celebrate Christmas and open our presents. We can connect at this time of the year easier than any other time. Everyone’s in one place, and school/work are out of the way for a bit.

But, To Be Honest … It Wasn’t Always Like This

In the past I actually HATED the holidays. It was my least favourite part of the year, besides my birthday.

The holidays meant I would be forced to be in the same room as relatives I never talked to. I would usually try to hide away in my room. But if this was impossible, then I would be nervous and awkward at the dinner table.

I hated it when someone would make a comment about me … maybe about how “quiet” I was. Or maybe someone would ask me if I had a girlfriend yet — and then everyone would watch me become uncomfortable and laugh.

Yup, I absolutely dreaded the holidays before.

Now, it’s all changed. I don’t feel the same anxiety or nervousness I did before. I don’t try to avoid talking to people. I feel comfortable at the dinner table, instead of tense and uptight. I can actually relax and enjoy spending time with my family and other relatives.

What happened to make me change?

I figured out the psychology BEHIND why I felt shyness and social anxiety, and this allowed me to fix it. In this article, I’ll share a big insight into why you’re nervous around your family and relatives. Then I’ll give you a 4 practical tips to fix this issue.

I’ll start with the insight. The basic reason why you’re nervous around family and relatives comes down to…

Who’s in Control?

A lot of confidence comes from how in control we feel we are in our lives.

As kids, we have almost no control. Our parents and relatives need to have the control so we survive and make the right long-term decisions. But as we grow older and slowly become adults, the balance of power usually shifts. You start to get more and more control over the decisions you make and the direction your life takes.

At least, that’s what’s supposed to happen.

Unfortunately, many people love a feeling of power and will cling onto whatever little power they feel they have. This includes many parents. I’m sure you can think of some people in your own life that continue to try to control their kid’s life a lot longer than they should. They may be your own parents or someone else’s.

(This is the reason why “teenage rebellion” is so common, by the way. Getting tattoos, a weird hairstyle or breaking rules are all attempts at establishing control over one’s own life. It’s a way of getting a feeling of independence. In psychology, this process is called individuation, and it’s actually a healthy thing to do.)

So you may be nervous and feel less confident around your family or relatives because you’re afraid of losing control. You want to remain the one in charge of your life, and it’s harder to do that when you’re around people who have been able to control you in the past. (And who may feel like they deserve to continue controlling you now.)

How can people control you?

• By giving you unwanted life advice about what you should do in the future.

• By making you do things you don’t want to do — like chores or spending time with relatives you dislike.

• By making you conform to their way of thinking and their value systems. You’re not allowed to or afraid to express a conflicting opinion.

But the most common and most sneaky method of control is…

Emotional Control

This is about who has control over how you feel inside. The big question is: Are you in control or are you ALLOWING other people to manipulate the way you feel?

Most people believe that they are in control of their feelings more than other people, but it’s really not true. When you feel nervousness or anxiety about what someone says or thinks about you, it shows that they have control over how you feel.

For example: When someone calls you quiet or shy and you feel bad … or makes a comment about something that you are insecure about and you feel uncomfortable … then they have control over how you feel. Their action or comment caused you to feel a certain way.

 (One thing that used to really bug me was when a relative asked me if I had a girlfriend yet. For other people this could be their weight, lack of financial success or any other insecurity.)

I could give a million more examples.

The point is this: Shyness and social anxiety basically come down to being overly emotionally invested in someone else’s opinion of you. You probably already know this — it’s what some people call “caring too much what people think.”

When you are emotionally invested in someone, then you give them control over how you feel about yourself.

So the real question is: How can you become LESS emotionally invested and stop having other people control the way you feel about yourself?

Now, the topic of becoming not emotionally invested in what people think of you is something that I can’t explain in this short article. I cover the topic deeply in my system.

Instead, here’s a few quick tips for regaining control over how you feel about yourself. Once you start seeing that YOU can be the one in charge of how you feel, then you will become much more relaxed around people. You’ll stop letting others make you feel awkward, insecure or nervous .

How to Stay Emotionally in Control

1. Realize That YOU Are the Source of Insecurity

In other words, nobody can make you feel insecure or uncomfortable about something you weren’t already feeling self-critical about.

I gave the example above about how I always became uncomfortable and awkward whenever someone asked whether I had a girlfriend yet. The truth is, the reason why I felt uncomfortable was because I was already feeling  inferior for not having a girlfriend. I was already feeling like a loser about it, and I was afraid of having this “defect” or imperfection exposed.

These days, since I have now dated plenty of girls and had a girlfriend, I don’t feel insecure when a relative asks me if I have a girlfriend. I am comfortable with myself in this area of life, instead of feeling like I have a flaw I need to hide.

Think about how this applies to any other insecurity you may have. Are you worried that one of your relatives will comment about how quiet, fat, skinny, short or antisocial you are? If you are, then it shows you that you are uncomfortable with some part of yourself. The best way to fix this is to learn unconditional self-acceptance, something I teach in my system.

Think about it. If a skinny person gets called fat, then they will just laugh and take it as a joke. Only someone who is already feeling self-critical about being overweight will feel uncomfortable or offended.

Which brings to the second tip…

2. How to Respond to Annoying Comments from Relatives

The best way to respond to those comments that make you feel nervous, uncomfortable or annoyed is in a calm and straightforward way. There’s no need to be clever or get emotional. Just try to remain in control and don’t react too strongly.

Did someone call you quiet? You can either ignore them, or just say something like “Yeah I’m being pretty quiet right now.” This is how someone who isn’t feeling insecure about it would react. Answer in a calm, straightforward way and then move on.

Another technique is to interpret what the person said as a joke. For example, when I started to overcome my shyness, then sometimes relatives would point out that I was acting more confident or dressing differently. If someone makes a comment like this, then you can just laugh as if it’s a joke and then move on.

One last technique for dealing with annoying comments. This one is called “Agree and Amplify.” You just take whatever the other person said, agree with it, and then make it worse.

For example, if someone says “You’re so quiet.” Then you agree with what they said and then exaggerate it in a funny way. A good reply could be: “Yeah I’m so quiet. I’m just sitting here like a mouse.”

Or if someone points out that you gained weight (and they’re not being too rude) then you could say “Yeah, it’s because I just love eating chocolate chip cookies too much.”

3. The Opposite of Nervousness Is Not Confidence, But Relaxation

Most people who have shyness or social anxiety are too worried about acting confident. Don’t worry about looking confident, instead focus on making sure you are staying relaxed.

When you are relaxed, your awkwardness, nervousness and anxiety go away. And confidence comes only after you are feeling relaxed. These two techniques (be very relaxed and breathe deeply through your belly)for coping with anxiety are extremely effective because you can do them anywhere. They are very simple and straightforward to do, but don’t underestimate the power of them.

Next time you are feeling nervous before a big family dinner or party, walk into it remembering to focus on doing these techniques. The key is that you need to actually do these techniques when you feel nervous and anxious. You will probably forget to do them the first few times you need to. It takes some time to make it a habit to remember to use these techniques.

I promise you that once you start using them consistently, you’ll be amazed by the results.

4. Speak Up by Looking for Conversational Threads

Okay, so that takes care of dealing with uncomfortable comments and feeling less nervous, but there’s another big problem.

What about those situations when you just don’t know what to say to a relative you barely talk to?

You back? Good.

Now you know about conversation threading. So next time you’re at the dinner table sitting next to your Aunt, make sure to keep an ear out for these “threads” and then comment on them.

The big secret is: You don’t need to think of new, original things to say, you just have to learn to use the responses people give you. This is how you can talk to people easily and naturally, without running out of things to say or sitting there with a blank mind.

So make sure to watch the video I recorded about this technique here: How to Always Know What to Say Next.

For more ideas on how to be more comfortable around family or relatives, watch this video –Social Anxiety: Holidays, Birthdays & Social Gatherings

Going Further

I hope these tips help you with being less nervous, awkward and uncomfortable this holiday season. They definitely helped me get to where I am today.

I also hope you had a couple of insights into the psychology behind shyness and social anxiety. Ideas like emotional investment, and realizing that you need to take back control of how you feel are very important.

The problem is, I didn’t really get a chance to tell you the main strategy of HOW to overcome these big issues. Even a long article like this one can only scratch the surface and give a few tips.

That’s why I created my program called “The Shyness and Social Anxiety System.” I recently updated the whole system and DOUBLED the amount of techniques and strategies in it. I also turned it into an 8.5-hour audio program that you can just sit back and listen to instead of an e-book. This program is designed to totally reprogram your personality using the latest tricks in psychology.

So if you want to learn my complete and total system for rapidly overcoming shyness or social anxiety, then click here.

– Sean

By Sean W Cooper, the author of The Shyness and Social Anxiety System, is an ex-sufferer from social anxiety and shyness. This program is a compilation of his research and effort in overcoming shyness and anxiety.

Sean W Cooper’s Shyness and Anxiety system is a step by step audio course broken down into modules that are easy to access. It teaches you ways to start overcoming your social anxiety and self-doubt. The system utilises cognitive behavioural therapy which explores how feelings and thoughts can drive behaviour. 

The Shyness and Social Anxiety system is endorsed by professionals and praised by psychologists due to the way it provides the relevant skills to manage issues of shyness and social anxiety.

To find out more, click on Overcoming Fear of Public Speaking

8 Steps for Overcoming Fear of Public Speaking

 

CLICK HERE to Find Out How to Overcome Your Social Phobia

The fear of public speaking is one of the biggest fears in the world.

In surveys, it’s usually near the top of the list. Often, it’s above the fear of death, spiders, snakes, heights, or flying.

That’s right. Many people would rather babysit a snake or jump out of an airplane than make a ten-minute speech.

Now… if that’s how afraid NORMAL people are of public speaking, then can you imagine what shy and SOCIALLY ANXIOUS people have to face?

From personal experience, I can tell you that having social anxiety makes talking in front of a large group of people about 100 times worse.

I Know Because I’ve Been There

If there was one thing I hated in elementary and high school days, it was public speaking. I remember I would have done anything to get out of making speeches and presentations in front of the class.

The only reason I did them was because I was even more afraid of my parents finding out if I didn’t. So I ended up always forcing myself to go up and talk even though I felt like I was going to die inside.

And I would dread the presentation or speech for weeks in advance. Whenever I thought about it I would suddenly get a surge of anxiety imagining all those eyes on me and me being the center of everyone’s attention.

When the time came to finally make the presentation, I would be a nervous wreck. I’d get up there, look down at my cue cards as much as possible, and speak as quickly as I could. Even though I tried to talk normally, my voice always seemed to sound weird and the teacher would always write that I was too “quiet” or “soft spoken” or “nervous” on the evaluation sheet.

Once the presentation was over, I was just glad to get back to my seat as fast as possible and have it be over already. I was always completely shaken up and agitated, but relieved, once the whole experience was behind me.

I would be relieved for a few days, weeks or months, but it didn’t last forever.

Eventually the teacher would assign a new project that involved public speaking, and the cycle of anxiety and dread would start up again.

And the worst part is, my fear of public speaking didn’t seem to go away over time, it just seemed to get worse. Even as I went through the later part of high school and after I graduated.

I only started to get better at public speaking when I decided to learn specific techniques to overcome my fears and anxiety. I’ll share with you a few of these in this post.

1. Exposure Is the Way to Go

In order to overcome your anxiety and fear of public speaking, you’re going to have to do it. Over and over again. Even if you are afraid.

That’s the harsh reality, and anyone who claims otherwise is probably trying to sell you something.

Progressive exposure is the most effective and scientifically proven way for most people to get over their fears. This means you set up opportunities to slowly desensitize yourself to talking to people. The basic approach to overcoming fear is this: slow, steady improvement and putting yourself into uncomfortable situations.

Be afraid, be nervous, be hesitant, but do it anyway.

One way to gain exposure that’s often recommended is to sign up for Toastmasters International. Toastmasters is an organization that has groups that meet up in most major cities all over the world. Every week, one or more people in the group make a presentation/speech.

Of course, if you have severe social anxiety, then the idea of Toastmasters probably makes you want to hide under your bed. That’s why I say that PROGRESSIVE and GRADUAL exposure is the key here. First practice talking to people on-on-one, then, when you’re confident with that, then go for the big leagues with Toastmasters.

I know this piece of advice doesn’t help you if you have a presentation tomorrow, but it’s very important to follow it if you want to get better in the long run. If you want to get over your fear of public speaking permanently, then exposure is an absolutely necessary part of the plan.

Overcoming social fears is a long-term goal. Don’t expect to totally eliminate your fears and not feel anxious right away, but if you start doing things in spite of the fear, then you will amaze yourself with the progress you make.

Of course, I said a couple minutes ago that my public speaking just got worse over time, even with exposure. So why do I recommend it now?

The short answer is that I don’t recommend exposure by itself. By itself exposure will give you some progress, but not much. But if you combine exposure with other techniques for coping with anxiety, as well as practicing the tips I share with you in this article, then your fear will decrease until it is basically gone.

2. Repeated Practice Creates Confidence

The confidence that a polished public speaker possesses comes from making thousands of presentations and realizing that no single presentation has any lasting consequence on their life. This makes them able to express themselves freely and let go of the stress and anxiety most people feel.

Think about it. Why do most people fear public speaking? Because they think there’s a good chance they’ll “mess up” and look foolish. Even more importantly, they believe the CONSEQUENCES of messing up and looking foolish are very big. If they mess up, they feel like the sky will come crashing down. Nobody will ever like them again. The universe will end.

And the solution to this problem is not to tell yourself “What’s the worst that can happen?” but to go out and prove to yourself through first-hand experience that you will live regardless of how well you make your speech or presentation.

As a side note, the reason people feel fear is because a small part of your mind that triggers fear (the amygdala) thinks that public speaking is a threat to your survival. It sounds bizarre, but when you feel fear, it basically means your mind thinks there is a chance you will die.

So the solution is to keep exposing yourself to public speaking to show the “fear trigger” in your mind that it doesn’t kill you. Once you do this enough times, you will basically re-wire that “fear trigger” and not feel fear anymore about public speaking.

Once you start regularly making public speeches and presentations, your brain will slowly realize that there really are no permanent effects on your life, even if you screw up bad. 

You realize that people forget about your speech within a day or two, maybe even an hour or two. People are way too concerned with their own lives and issues to worry about that one time you made a fool of yourself.

3. Breathe and Relax

The mind and body are interconnected.

If your mind is anxious, your body will start to shake and sweat. You won’t be able to breathe or talk normally.

However, the opposite is also true. If you can make your body calm and relaxed, your mind will follow. It will become less anxious and you will feel less fear if you are relaxed “on the outside.”

4. Let Go of Control

When you go up in front of a group of people, do you immediately become self-conscious and inhibited?

The reason why this happens is because you are trying far too hard to control the impression you make on people. Once you get up in front of a group of people, everything you do becomes calculated and measured. Every word you say is chosen carefully, every gesture looks painfully contrived.

You do this to try to avoid making yourself look stupid. You’re trying to avoid disapproval. Unfortunately, trying to monitor and control every little word you say and action you take actually makes you look a lot worse than if you were just acting naturally.

The solution is to let go of trying to control every little word and action. You can do this by changing your focus. Instead of focusing on what specific words to say or how to stand, focus on the message you want to convey to your audience.

What do you want them to get out of it?

And yes, this is definitely easier said than done. Especially for someone who is so shy or socially anxious that they are self-conscious talking to even just one person.

But training your focus like this is a skill that is learnable. And it is essential to learn it if you want to start overcoming any self-consciousness you have in front of groups of people.

I’ll explain more about “how” to do this in the next two points…

5. Focus On the Message

You have to focus on the message and emotions you want to communicate and not worry about controlling the individual words. Trust that when your focus is on conveying the right message, the words will come out automatically and the gestures will choose themselves.

But in order to accomplish this, in order to become spontaneous and “natural” as opposed to self-conscious and studied in your performance, you will have to give up some control.

If you want to talk naturally instead of self-consciously when public speaking, then you will have to let go of needing every word to be perfectly planned out. All you should control is the “intent” you have behind your words and actions, not the words and actions themselves.

Any good performer does this, from top public speakers to world-class pianists.

The most skilled pianist in the world could never play a simple composition if he tried to consciously think out just which finger should strike each key – while he was playing. He was able to become a skilled performer only when he reached the point where he could cease conscious effort and turn the matter of playing over to the unconscious and automatic part of his mind.

– Dr. Maxwell Maltz

Anytime you are feeling self-conscious, it is because you are trying to control how you come across too much. When you are just talking to a family member, you don’t really care if every word is perfect. You have a general idea of what you want to say, and then you just talk.

It’s only when you go up in front of a group of people that you start to carefully pick out the exact words to say and carefully control your body language. And this is what makes you self-conscious.

Look at any videos of top public speakers. Do they look like they are preoccupied with presenting themselves a certain way? No. If they were, they could never put so much energy and charisma into their speaking. When they are at their best, their focus is always 100% on trying to get their intended message across.

6. No Internal Dialogue

One practical way to stop monitoring and controlling your behavior is to stop talking to yourself. You should have no internal dialogue when you are doing public speaking.

If you are talking to yourself, then that inner voice is probably talking about what to say/do next, or it’s commenting on how well you’re doing. Neither help you.

The best public speakers, believe it or not, just say the first thing that pops into their head. They don’t even think about it, they just say it. Their presentations are actually just a big stream-of-consciousness. But since their focus is on conveying the right message, everything works out.

By simply expressing what comes into your head instead of trying to filter and control what you say, your speaking will actually be a lot clearer. This is because you won’t have that “filter” of thinking and self-consciousness muddying up the channel of communication between you and your audience.

People don’t really care about the individual words anyway, but they will be able to FEEL your message if you implement what I’m saying here. To get an example of what I mean, watch this video of Tony Robbins in action…

7. People Don’t Expect Perfection or Brilliance

Many people will tell you that you don’t need to be perfect and flawless when you do public speaking. Not only does this advice help to lower your fear and anxiety, but it’s also true.

Think about what the goal of your speech or presentation really is. The goal of your speaking is not for you to appear flawless, intelligent, or charismatic. The real goal of any public speaking may be to teach people something, to entertain them, or to make them interested about a topic.

Even if these weren’t your goal before, they are now. Don’t view success as making other people think you are perfect or brilliant. Think of success as giving something to other people. If you’ve just given your audience something of value, whether that be a single insight or piece of information they didn’t know before, you’ve succeeded.

The essence of public speaking is this: give your audience something of value. That’s all there is to it. If people in your audience walk away with something (anything) of value, they will consider you a success. If they walk away feeling better about themselves, feeling better about some job they have to do, they will consider you a success. If they walk away feeling happy or entertained, they will consider their time with you worthwhile.

Even if you pass out, get tongue-tied, or say something stupid during your talk . . . they won’t care! As long as they get something of value, they will be thankful.

-Morton C. Ormond, MD

If you’ve ever heard the advice people give to shy people to “focus more on other people and less on yourself,” this is why. Once you view success as giving something valuable to your audience instead of trying to make them like you, much of the anxiety goes away.

8. Keep Your Focus On the Present Moment

When you are making a speech or presentation, it’s very important to keep your attention in the present. Stay focused on what is happening RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW.

If you are thinking about something that happened 2 minutes or even 20 seconds ago, then you are not able to focus on the only place where your actions can make a difference, which is the present. It makes no sense to worry about some blunder or mistake you made while you are still speaking.

You canʼt affect the past or the future. I remember when I was learning to play a new instrument a friend said: “If you mess up or play the wrong note, forget about it! Itʼs done man, you canʼt go back to that. The river keeps flowing. Stay in the present!”

This is exactly the mindset you must be in when you are doing public speaking. If you mess up, donʼt think about it! Bring your attention back to what is happening right now, not what happened a couple minutes ago.

And don’t think too far ahead, either. If you start worrying about something a few minutes into the future, then there’s no way you will be able to effectively convey your message. You’ll be too distracted and scattered all over the place. You’ll be too preoccupied and anxious about remembering some point you need to make in a few minutes.

STOP thinking so much and breathe. Bring your focus back to the present and keep it here.

Summary

In short, here are the 8 steps:

1. Expose yourself to your fears in order to overcome them.

• Repeated practice creates confidence.

• Breathe and relax.

• Let go trying to control how you come across.

• Focus on the message you want to communicate.

• Don’t talk to yourself.

• People don’t expect perfection or brilliance.

• Keep your focus on the present moment.

Remember that overcoming any fear takes time and effort. But it is possible to desensitize yourself to the fear of public speaking, learn to avoid the mistakes you’ve made in the past, and become an effective and relaxed public speaker.

You can become someone who doesn’t feel dread and anxiety before stepping up to do public speaking. Who doesn’t become a shaking, stuttering mess once the pressure of dozens of eyes are on you.

All you have to do is take one of the ideas I’ve shown you in this article, and implement it the next time you speak. Then after that try a second one. Once you have a few of these down and some experience under your belt, your fear of public speaking will decrease dramatically. Keep practicing and one day it won’t bother you at all.

For more tips on overcoming fear of public speaking, watch this video – Speaking Up Without Freaking Out | Matt Abrahams | TEDxPaloAlto

If you want to learn more tips on how to be less shy, anxious and introverted in social situations, then click here to check out my e-book on overcoming shyness and social anxiety.

By Sean W Cooper, the author of The Shyness and Social Anxiety System, is an ex-sufferer from social anxiety and shyness. This program is a compilation of his research and effort in overcoming shyness and anxiety.

Sean W Cooper’s Shyness and Anxiety system is a step by step audio course broken down into modules that are easy to access. It teaches you ways to start overcoming your social anxiety and self-doubt. The system utilises cognitive behavioural therapy which explores how feelings and thoughts can drive behaviour. 

The Shyness and Social Anxiety system is endorsed by professionals and praised by psychologists due to the way it provides the relevant skills to manage issues of shyness and social anxiety.

To find out more, click on Overcoming Fear of Public Speaking