And if you think about it, if a person suffers from social anxiety,

if I have social anxiety, I'm greatly concerned about how other people view me.

And there I am in front of a group of people

and I'm in the spotlight, I'm literally in the spotlight

and so how how can I manage that?

Well, a couple things that we recommend: One is

to consider those things that I might ordinarily do to

to try to make myself feel comfortable... and not do them.

I might be tempted to over-prepare,

over-polish what I'm gonna say. And ultimately that

makes me more afraid. That's a barrier to me really getting past my social anxiety.

I might be attempted to look above their heads

and not make contact with my audience,

but ultimately that produces a worse experience for me, and for them.

I can't see the people who are smiling at me or nodding as they understand

what I'm saying and appreciating it. I put a greater distance between myself and them

when I avoid them. Or if I rush through my public speaking,

what happens then is that

I start breathing faster. When I breathe faster,

I actually become more anxious and when I become more anxious

then it's less easy for me to be the kind of public speaker it could be,

and I'm actually a little less pleasant to listen to.

So few basic things a person can focus on.