Lee Glickstein Reports 7 States of Performance Anxiety
On January 3 of this New Year, I received an e-zine from Speaking Circles International in which Lee Glickstein talked about the 7 states of performance anxiety that he has observed in his many years of working with people who want to be free in front of a group.As I read Lee’s article, I could feel myself seizing up inside. While I understand what he was trying to say, I felt that identifying or naming certain states by name is not really helpful to someone who may be experiencing fear or anxiety. The way I see it, it’s the “naming” of certain experiences that cause more fear, resistance and hopelessness.
Terror. Primal, overwhelming impulse to flee or avoid any public exposure. Moving up from Terror to Fear is a result of simply showing up.
Fear. Here there is at least a sense of what one wants so much to avoid. Standing in the Fear in front of a supportive group relaxes it into Anxiety.
Anxiety. This comes when the Fear has been faced and is abating. Those with the courage to stand in the unease of Anxiety soon find themselves Coping in public speaking situations.
Coping. Here the Anxiety is controlled but continues to lurk just beneath the surface. Most people with significant speaking experience, even professionals putting on a great show, live their entire public lives here. Those in the Coping state sometimes transcend to moments of Ease, but they don’t know how they got there, or how to stay there.
Ease. Achieving this plateau brings pleasure and freedom in body, mind and soul in front of groups, any time, anywhere. The Anxiety is gone. When moments of Coping return, those who know Ease know exactly how to get back to it, and naturally move toward Flow.
Flow and then Mastery arise naturally from Ease and incorporate content. These states will be discussed in a future article and are explored in intermediate and advanced trainings such as Voice Your Vision.
And then Lee goes on to talk about how “ease with groups is a ”metaphor for Ease in the world” and how Speaking Circles is a vehicle to access that ease.
First of all, Ease, Flow and Mastery do not sound like states of performance anxiety. They sound more like states of empowerment, alignment and pleasure. But I digress, again!
You can call it Terror, you can call it Anxiety, you can call it Lucifer for all I care, but the truth is that it’s just energy. What makes one energy feel different from another? Usually the degree and type of sensation felt in the body AND the kinds of thoughts and beliefs that accompany and/or illicit such feelings.
Sound too conceptual? Yeah, you’re right. Let me simplify.
Rather than there being 7 States of Performance Anxiety, there are only two:
1. One feels really bad (or sometime really, really bad) and is undesirable.
2. One feels good (or even ecstatic) and is desirable.
When we name these feelings of energy, we can give them more power than they have. They become scary entities that we must protect ourselves against or slay in the battle between fear and freedom. No, no, no! It doesn’t have to be that hard.
So, while I respect what Lee was trying to do in his article, I don’t think it’s helpful. Forget about giving names to what you are feeling. Just know that it is all energy and sensation moving through. Let it move. Abd it will move, you know, if you don’t grab onto it by trying to figure it out or name it or judge it or kill it.
If you have a question about all of this and more, I invite you to my free Teleseminar coming
on Friday, January 13, 2006. All you have to do is submit your question here. http://www.unconditionalconfidence.com/ask
Tags: Speaking Public Speaking Performance Anxiety Anxiety Fear of Public Speaking Confidence Self Expression
Posted by Nancy Tierney at January 5, 2006 09:34 PM · Permalink
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Comments
Hi Nancy ~~~
I read the same article from Lee Glickstein's (www.speakingcircles.com) Jan. e-zine and found it to be very helpful!
First, I don't see anywhere in Lee's article that he refers to "7 States of Performance Anxiety" as you suggest. Instead, he explains what he has learned from witnessing performance anxiety as "a continuum of 7 states of ease/dis-ease people experience in front of groups". Also, there is nowhere in Lee's article where he suggests we name, judge or figure out our experience. He is only inviting us to be curious about what spectrum we see ourselves within the "7 states of ease/dis-ease".
In the last paragraph of his article, which you did not quote, he writes, "In this greenhouse we move, without trying, from wherever we started--Terror or Fear or Coping--up the continuum to Ease. Indeed, it is precisely the not trying that gets us there." It's the "not trying" part that seems to be your message Nancy and Lee's too!
What Lee's article clarifies for me is that there are layers of deeper understanding beyond the simple conclusion that "it's all just energy anyway". He points out a continuum that unfolds with what happens to most of us in front of groups and ultimately making room for all of it to show up, allows us greater freedom and expansion.
And as I go through my life exploring the energy of fear- or any other emotion for that matter, I'm not only interested in exploring it from bringing awareness to the sensations of the body, but also from exploring my thoughts I hold about the "ease/dis-ease"- or as you describe it, "what feels good/what feels really bad".
It's always helpful for me to hear about other people's understanding of how fear plays out in front of groups. I think Lee's article offers me yet another very useful perspective.
Posted by: Sahara Chaldean at January 16, 2006 01:46 AM
Hey Everyone!
Lee would like me to clarify that he did not
use the term "7 Stages of Performance Anxiety."
He was describing the states of ease and dis-ease
he has seen people, who experience performance
anxiety, move through.
I've invited Lee to clarify further by leaving a comment.
Posted by: Nancy Tierney at January 20, 2006 03:54 PM
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