Work anxiety can happen any time at work, but one of the most common times people feel anxious at work (after getting called in to see the boss) is at meetings where you are expected to speak up in front of many others.
Let me give you a few quick tips to deal with work anxiety and the best way to approach work meetings:
Generally these type of work meetings involve a group of people sitting around taking it in turns to speak. Most people anxious about speaking in public dread their turn and hope some divine intervention will save them from having to speak at all.
To get around this try the opposite approach. Pretend to yourself and the group that you are actually dying to speak. Before you enter the room, say to yourself:
If you take the above advice on board and it does come to your turn to
speak, you won’t feel the same level of pressure because everyone in the room
is already used to your voice and you don’t feel the pressure of hearing your
voice for the first time in the room.
Everyone is used to you and you are used to speaking to them. Great speakers love an opportunity to talk and present. Believe it or not but you can train yourself to be like that and it starts by pretending to yourself that you really want that opportunity to be in the lime light. Be hungry for it.
Instead of holding back and resisting the opportunity to speak in public, you chase after it! You might think:
“fine but how can I try this out before my next meeting?”
The best way I know of is to join a Toastmaster group in your area (google it) and get started there right away. If there is no toastmaster group locally find a public meeting or volunteer for something like a research group where you all discuss a topic together.
There are lots of places to practice. Dive in, speak up. If you are intrigued by the above tips to overcome work anxiety you also may find this course by Barry McDonagh helpful.
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This article is copywritten material by Barry McDonagh, an
international panic disorder coach.
His informative site on all issues related
to panic and anxiety attacks can be found here
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