the shaking voice. the blank mind. the dread that starts a week before.
Fear of public speaking. Stand up without the dread taking over.
You can run a business, lead a team and handle a difficult client. Then someone asks you to present and your body goes into lockdown: racing heart, shaking hands, a mind that goes blank. Presentation training teaches you what to say. It doesn't touch the fear, because the fear isn't about skill. I use hypnotherapy and coaching to change the response itself, so you can stand up and be the person you are in every other room.
If this is you, you're in the right place.
"I dread it for a week, then it's over in ten minutes."
"My voice shakes and everyone can tell."
"I've turned down opportunities to avoid speaking."
"One-to-one I'm fine. Put me in front of a room and I fall apart."
The fear isn't about the talk. It's about being seen.
For most people, fear of public speaking, glossophobia, has very little to do with public speaking. It's a protection response linked to being watched, judged or getting it wrong in front of people, often set off by one early experience: the school assembly, the meeting that went badly, the moment someone laughed.
Your nervous system learned that standing up equals danger. Every time you avoid it or white-knuckle through it, that link gets stronger. Breathing techniques help on the day. They don't change the link.
Change the response, then sharpen the delivery
Hypnotherapy lets us rehearse speaking in a calm, controlled state until your body stops treating the room as a threat. If a specific event started it, EMDR clears that memory so it stops setting off the alarm. Then we work on the practical side: preparing without over-preparing, handling questions, and what to do if your mind goes blank.
The first session is two hours. We map when the fear started and how it plays out, and you leave with something to use straight away. Most people need fewer sessions than they expect.
What the work looks like before a big talk
When the invitation lands
The dread starts here, so this is where we start. We find what the fear is really about and begin changing the response.
The sessions before
In hypnosis you walk through the day, the room, the faces and the first line, until your body stops bracing. If an old experience is driving it, we clear that with EMDR.
The week of the talk
A final session close to the date, and a short recording to use on the morning. Most people tell me the strangest part was enjoying it.
What people ask first.
Is this presentation skills training?
Not mainly. I work on the fear underneath, which is what usually holds people back. Once that changes, we work on delivery too.
I have a big presentation soon. Is there time?
Often, yes. Get in touch as early as you can, give me the date on the call and we'll plan the sessions back from it.
Can my company pay?
Yes. I can invoice your company directly, and what we discuss stays confidential.
Can this be done online?
Yes. Hypnotherapy works well by video. In person is near Harrietsham, just outside Maidstone, Kent.
Got a question that isn't here? Ask me on WhatsApp. I reply personally.
More on this: Hypnotherapy in Maidstone
Jon Billingsley DHP CHyp MCMA. MSc Psychology. MSc Communication, Behaviour and Credibility Analysis. Master Certified Hypnotherapist, EMDR practitioner, Master NLP Practitioner, member of the MCMA and BAThH, published author. 25 years in business and personal development before this work, and I did it on myself first.
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A free 15-minute call. No pressure and no pitch. Tell me what's going on and I'll tell you honestly whether I can help, and how.