Ease Social Anxiety

Understanding:

Your social anxiety around presentations seems driven by the fear that others will judge you as incompetent, leading to feelings of terror and potentially avoidance behaviors like over-preparing or avoiding eye contact during the presentation.

Cognitive Strategies:

• •Challenge the mind-reading: 'How do I know they'll think I'm incompetent? What evidence supports a more balanced view?'
• •Consider alternative interpretations: 'Maybe they're focused on the content, not judging my competence'
• •Practice perspective-taking: 'When I listen to presentations, am I harshly judging the presenter's competence?'

Behavioral Strategies:

• •Conduct a behavioral experiment: give one presentation with minimal over-preparation and observe the actual response
• •Set a small social goal: make eye contact with three people during the presentation
• •Reduce one safety behavior: resist the urge to over-rehearse and stick to normal preparation time

Motivational Insight:

Most people are too focused on their own concerns to harshly judge yours. Your courage to show up authentically is what creates real connection and respect.