As a Coach I work with lots of people suffering with various anxieties. This is completely normal, after all we’re all human.

What often surprises me is that my clients often seem shocked to discover that some of these things also affect me. There is a misconception that therapists, Coaches and other “helpers” never have any of these problems.

The biggie for me is public speaking. I do it all the time. I regularly am featured on the radio and I speak at seminars and conferences across many industries. To my audiences I come across calm and confident but inside I’m quaking in my boots.

You might ask why I put myself through it. Well it’s quite simple, once I’ve got in to the flow of it I enjoy it, it’s only the first few minutes that are tough and also I get an incredible buzz when I’m done.

So here’s how I manage it. First off in the run up to an event I try to stay present. If I notice myself starting to get nervous I remind myself that I’m not even there yet and return my attention to what I’m actually doing.

In the half hour or so before I’m on I visualise myself up on the stage looking and feeling confident. I find it’s much better to try and bring all of my senses into the visualisation, i.e what other noises are there? What smalls can I notice?  This sends a strong signal to my brain that it’s based in reality and not just my imagination.

Finally when I’m up on stage I act as though I feel confident and calm and soon the forced state becomes real.

Something that helps in all of these situations is remembering that everyone in the audience are human, they are just like me. No one wants to judge me badly and they’re there because they are genuinely interested in what I have to say.

You can try these techniques for any situation that gets your heart racing and just remember it’s perfectly fine to feel this way it’s how you handle it that counts.