The difference between procrastination and prevention?
A few years ago I was in a fascinating lecture on procrastination: why we don't do things we know should be done. The topic interested me very much because like everyone else it is difficult for me to go for a run in the morning or write an article, but it interested me professionally because procrastination is one of the biggest problems of anyone who wants to learn to speak in front of an audience.
What Ariely explains is that procrastination is not related to laziness but to anxiety. It is a constant war between the short term and the long term, for example between my desire to watch TV and my knowledge of how important it is to exercise or between the desire for chocolate versus the desire to diet. Of course, those who avoid speaking in front of an audience know the phenomenon: there is always a reason to postpone a week or ask someone else even when it is clear that the career would benefit a lot from standing in front of an audience.
At Sukkot, we held a discussion at an alumni meeting about the 'after the holidays' phenomenon and I came to the conclusion that avoiding speaking in front of an audience is actually two separate problems, with separate solutions.
Problem 1: Procrastination when speaking in front of an audience
Here the problem is simple avoidance, where people avoid taking advantage of opportunities even if they have great value, or make excuses to avoid doing tasks even at a high cost. Two examples: an economist who comes to meetings with two cell phones, and when it's her turn to speak, she dials from one to the other and then 'apologies' that she has an urgent call, and a law student who was unable to present a paper and failed the seminar. Luckily for him, a workshop with us solved the problem for him.
The solution: to take ourselves in our hands, all the time.
There are some short-term solutions that I teach in the course, for example In an old newsletter I showed how anger can conquer fear. Even better, is to find a partner who will 'force' us. And the best thing is to practice in a professional setting that provides tools to scare an audience in addition to practice opportunities. For example a debate club or practice sessions designated.
The main thing is continuous and constant effort: to constantly remind ourselves not to give up.
The good news is that, as with diet and physical training, when you practice something a lot it becomes less difficult (unless you are in a feeding cycle of negative criticism that causes increased stress and thus impairs speech, in which case practicing without support does not help at all).
So Talk to us, right after the holiday!
Problem 2: Procrastination to learn to speak in front of an audience
Apparently, there is a simple solution on the market for avoidance and procrastination by purchasing tools to minimize the fear of the crowd, thus preventing the cause of procrastination and avoidance. The solutions to crowd fear exist, and are effective. If you received this email, you have probably been following me long enough to know that I make a written commitment to their success, and have been doing so since 2007 (in November we will celebrate our 16th birthday. Follow me on Facebook to get an invitation!), and you also probably understand that if I hadn't stood behind the commitment I would have been flooded with lawsuits or shaming.
In practice, of course, we have 3,900 graduates (here are their letters), which is a lot, but it still leaves almost 2 million Israelis with a fear of crowds. So why do people still avoid the treatment process?
Because of skepticism. As in the old commercial for baldness, people with fear of crowds do not believe that there is an efficient and effective solution to fear of crowds. (This was the reason that since 2007 we have been giving Commitment of 100%) and as in the advertisement, they remained bald from here to there.
The solution: jump into the water. and drop the risk that they are frozen on someone else.
The positive side of 'after the holidays' procrastination is that when after the holidays comes, we have to take care of ourselves. And what happens then is that in a short period of time we feel more motivated and determined to complete things that we have put off for a long time. So the time to jump into the water is now.
But if procrastination is also anxiety, the risk needs to be addressed. anxiously. So my recommendation is that you drop the risk of failure on us. Start by checking who are the people whose fear of the public has been treated - for example, go to a practice meeting. Or you will Diagnostic call to see if you qualify. or simply Fill in details And hear how it works.
The main thing is that you don't let another year of your life pass with fear of the crowd!
Tag:Procrastination, avoidance, tips, stage fright