Chapter Summaries
Chapter 1: Coming Out Of The Closet
Janet describes her own personal struggle with the fear of public speaking, which she had kept hidden for many years. After reading this chapter you know that she understands what you are going through, as she has experienced the problem first-hand.
Chapter 2: You are Not Alone
Janet describes the type of problem you are suffering from and allows you to see it as a shared and common condition, rather than as a personal weakness or character flaw. This helps you to begin to release whatever shame or bad feelings you may experience about having this problem and realize you truly are not alone.
Chapter 3: Kindred Souls
Janet introduces you to some of her class participants who have suffered from the fear of public speaking and performing. She captures in their voices the challenges they have gone through in having this problem.
Chapter 4: No Guts, No Glory
Janet leads you through a self-evaluation of your own experience with the fear and a self-assessment regarding your motivation to get beyond this problem. Janet inspires and encourages a high level of commitment to do what it takes to overcome this problem, as she has done.
Chapter 5: Fearing the Fear Itself
Janet describes the process of how fear spirals into panic and she identifies some specific methods to reduce fear and eliminate feelings of panic. She shows you how to use these methods to begin to build feelings of safety and trust in yourself when you are in speaking or performing situations.
Chapter 6: It's Not About Me
Janet helps you to connect more with a higher purpose associated with speaking or performing rather than creating a self-conscious focus on yourself. Janet shows you how to create a deeper connection with people in your audience and to learn not to fear them.
Chapter 7: Creating Beliefs and Self-Talk That Support Us
Janet helps you to understand the distortions in your thought process that deepen the fear and to develop new ways of thinking that create feelings of confidence and belief in yourself. This chapter describes how to think in ways that support and encourage you rather than lead you to feel discouraged and defeated.
Chapter 8: Creating A Calm And Resourceful Body And Mind
Janet describes a number of different techniques and strategies to reduce the threat of public speaking or performing so that the fight or flight response does not get triggered. This chapter further helps to create a new possibility for an expanded and empowered vision of yourself speaking or performing in public.
Chapter 9: Getting To The Source
Janet guides you toward a deeper understanding of the source of your fear of public speaking or performing. This chapter further helps you to get beyond past associations to fear and to create new, more empowering beliefs based on current realities.
Chapter 10: Overcoming Self-Consciousness And Inhibition
Janet helps you to deal with the self-consciousness in being the center of attention and the fear of looking foolish in front of others. She guides you through some specific exercises to desensitize you to your fear and inhibition.
Chapter 11: New Possibilities
Janet guides you toward letting go of past negative associations to speaking or performing. She shows you how to create new possibilities for more positive associations and a new belief about your ability to come to enjoy speaking or performing in front of others. In this chapter, you will also revisit with the class participants who appeared earlier in the book, as they relate their progress since applying the material they learned in the Getting Over Stage Fright workshop.
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