A new client came to see us because he just started his own business
and he understood the advantage of holding presentations to promote his
product. His challenge was fear of looking foolish and not
communicating too clearly and convincingly to his audience. Fear was
standing in his way, blocking his confidence.
We spent the next couple of sessions building up his
self-confidence. Then I suggested that we dedicate the next session to
him doing the entire presentation as if he was giving it to ten
attendees. I sensed him tighten up as the thought sank in, gripped by
fear. When he calmed down, he accepted and trusted my reasoning.
On the set day, he arrived wearing a dark suit and was clutching a
brown leather brief case. He quietly opened it to reveal a folder that
contained his presentation notes, all neatly and clearly typed. He
gestured for me to sit down and provided me with a pen and pad to
freely and constructively criticise. Then he stood in the middle of the
office and welcomed his audience.
He was slow at the beginning, nervously referring to his index cards
for support. After a little while, I asked him to put them aside. He
carried on as if the cards weren’t even there. He focused his attention
to an area as if there were ten people in the room, and went on with
the presentation.
I watched in excitement as he went through the entire presentation.
As he progressed into it, he gradually gained more confidence; his
posture was tall and composed, his voice radiated courage, the spoken
words showed his complete knowledge of the product. At the end, he was
so impressed with himself that he laughed loudly and clapped hard and
long. “Yes. Yes. Yes, I did it!”
When I asked him how he felt, he victoriously explained, “I didn’t
fight it. I made it my intention to conquer this fear, and the only way
to do it was for me to step right into it.”
That was his first step in conquering his fear of lacking
confidence. A few weeks later, he held a small presentation to
seventeen people, then twenty.
By gradually increasing your self-confidence, one small step at a
time, you can reduce and overcome your fear of greater success.
If you have a fear that is holding you back from greater achievements in life, what would that fear be?
