
Workshop for beginners to overcome fear of crowds and social anxiety:
A first and non-threatening (relatively...) step to reduce audience anxiety using CBT techniques.
A unique workshop of its kind that combines public speaking skills with techniques for overcoming public fear from the field of cognitive behavioral psychology (CBT). During the workshop we will learn to feel more comfortable with speaking in front of an audience with the help of support from the audience, i.e. from the other participants. We will learn to overcome avoidance with the help of cognitive techniques that will reduce the negative self-criticism that produces and increases audience anxiety.
The meeting will include 2 rounds of practice where the participants will share their experiences in front of an audience and their coping methods. The advantage of practicing in front of the team lies in the real crowd. This way the practice becomes more real and stressful. In this way, it is also possible to test the effectiveness of the techniques in real time
Theory: CBT as a tool to reduce self-criticism, public fear and social anxiety
One of the processes that create anxiety and phobias is negative and negative thoughts towards the event that is perceived as threatening. These thoughts become a pattern of thinking and subsequently a constant internal dialogue. Over the years the thoughts become automatic and the anxious person is almost unaware of them. In the workshop we will learn and practice types of limiting thinking (which arouses anxiety), we will practice in front of each other raising those automatic thoughts to a more conscious level (which will allow us to have better control over them), and we will replace them with a more positive self-dialogue.
Practice: stand up to them and deal with crowd fear in real time
Theory is nice, but it is important to check that it really works in reality. Therefore, each student will be able to stand in front of the group and practically test every technique learned in class. And this is the biggest advantage of this workshop and the reason it is so much more effective than any other CBT treatment: the performance in front of an audience allows you to know in real time if the tool we built works at all in reality. In psychological therapy you then have to go and look for practice outside, then come back and report if the treatment worked or not. And if he didn't succeed, he should try again. And again it takes weeks and sometimes months. With us, the practice is immediate, so the process takes minutes. And if something doesn't work, you can try again and again until you succeed!
Another advantage of group practice is the group: in each performance and experience, the participant also receives feedback from others who suffer from the same anxiety. They will tell him if the technique helped him improve security and performance (and again - if it didn't work, you can repeat the process until success). At the same time, he himself gives feedback to others and learns from their efforts. This experience will teach each participant - and it will teach us all - how to use the techniques correctly and how to lower anxieties and fears even when everyone is looking at us.
Limitations of the CBT workshop:
The workshop is one-time and therefore not a substitute For the full public speaking course. The workshop completes the course. It is also suitable for people who are in psychological therapy or coaching and want to be strengthened to incorporate practical treatment of audience anxiety in front of a 'real' audience.