Comments on: Public Speaking Anxiety Hits the News! http://unconditionalconfidence.com/blog/2006/04/24/public-speaking-anxiety-hits-the-news/ Sat, 06 Sep 2008 02:31:43 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: Nancy Tierney http://unconditionalconfidence.com/blog/2006/04/24/public-speaking-anxiety-hits-the-news/#comment-30 Nancy Tierney Thu, 27 Apr 2006 01:25:57 +0000 http://unconditionalconfidence.com/?p=19#comment-30 Yeah, Sarah, you are SO right! While I appreciated the study, I felt Dr. Witt's conclusions about the study were way off. As were his suggestions. It would have been wiser for him to say that these high-trait, low-trait aspects are just tendencies or habitual ways of reacting based on our beliefs about ourselves and how we interpret those experiences of anxiety. Though I do believe that even in the process of shifting how we feel about ourselves, what we believe, and how those beliefs effect what we feel, we are still asked to make a shift in our focus. When we are redefining what human interaction means to us, that also requires us to focus on what we want to experience in those interactions, not just react to what we don't want. Yeah, Sarah, you are SO right!

While I appreciated the study, I felt Dr. Witt’s conclusions about the study were way off. As were his suggestions.

It would have been wiser for him to say that these high-trait, low-trait aspects are just tendencies or habitual ways of reacting based on our beliefs about ourselves and how we interpret those experiences of anxiety.

Though I do believe that even in the process of shifting how we feel about ourselves, what we believe, and how those beliefs effect what we feel, we are still asked to make a shift in our focus. When we are redefining what human interaction means to us, that also requires us to focus on what we want to experience in those interactions, not just react to what we don’t want.

]]> By: finding the confidence http://unconditionalconfidence.com/blog/2006/04/24/public-speaking-anxiety-hits-the-news/#comment-31 finding the confidence Wed, 26 Apr 2006 23:45:07 +0000 http://unconditionalconfidence.com/?p=19#comment-31 <strong>Confidence of personality or humanity</strong> I clicked onto the article, Help For Public-Speaking (thank you blogger and confidence coach Nancy Tierney for sharing it) and I was quickly riled up by what it said, Here's the bad news. You cannot change your traits. They are part of your personality... Confidence of personality or humanity

I clicked onto the article, Help For Public-Speaking (thank you blogger and confidence coach Nancy Tierney for sharing it) and I was quickly riled up by what it said, Here’s the bad news. You cannot change your traits. They are part of your personality…

]]> By: Sarah Malik http://unconditionalconfidence.com/blog/2006/04/24/public-speaking-anxiety-hits-the-news/#comment-29 Sarah Malik Wed, 26 Apr 2006 23:12:55 +0000 http://unconditionalconfidence.com/?p=19#comment-29 Hi Nancy - I clicked onto the article (thank you for sharing it) and I was quickly riled up by what it said, "Here's the bad news. You cannot change your traits. They are part of your personality. If you are a person with high-trait anxiety, there's no simple way to become a low-trait-anxiety person." This is just not true. To me, it reflects a superficial way of understanding what personality, behavior and physical experiences are. If we change what we believe about ourselves, about who we are and what we are capable of, there is a way to love the human experience of interacting - inside of groups and in front of groups. This is no small thing, however, altering our sense of what it means to be human and be in relationship with other humans in social situations. Here's why I think the philosophy that the article suggests of + visualize + practice + change your focus is not deep enough: What good does visualizing do if you still believe you have something to hide in front of others? What is the point of shifting focus if you feel ashamed and inferior to others? When the real beauty of the experience lies beneath the level of language or thinking in the brain, but in our being, our body, our humanity, our spirit, our heart. Something that the cognitive brain (that is busy visualizing and practicing) does not get. Hi Nancy - I clicked onto the article (thank you for sharing it) and I was quickly riled up by what it said, “Here’s the bad news. You cannot change your traits. They are part of your personality. If you are a person with high-trait anxiety, there’s no simple way to become a low-trait-anxiety person.”
This is just not true. To me, it reflects a superficial way of understanding what personality, behavior and physical experiences are.
If we change what we believe about ourselves, about who we are and what we are capable of, there is a way to love the human experience of interacting - inside of groups and in front of groups.
This is no small thing, however, altering our sense of what it means to be human and be in relationship with other humans in social situations.
Here’s why I think the philosophy that the article suggests of + visualize + practice + change your focus is not deep enough: What good does visualizing do if you still believe you have something to hide in front of others? What is the point of shifting focus if you feel ashamed and inferior to others?
When the real beauty of the experience lies beneath the level of language or thinking in the brain, but in our being, our body, our humanity, our spirit, our heart. Something that the cognitive brain (that is busy visualizing and practicing) does not get.

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