Soothe

Welcome to Your Weekly Words with Julie Avis Rogers, where public speaking meets personal flourishing. In these posts (the video and the written transcript below), I’ll share one word to enhance your effectiveness as a public speaker while also giving a boost for your soul! This week’s word is *soothe* so let’s dive in!

Here’s a not-so-fun fact about me: I get REAL nervous driving on highways.

And as someone who loves adventure and travel and seeing new places, this is, at best, an annoying hindrance!

But as I’ve been taking some slow steps to address it, I’ve recently learned a technique related to SOOTHING that has helped me a great deal and I’m beginning to see it having some powerful impacts on my public speaking clients, as well (and the idea behind this is thanks to Dr. Russell Kennedy and his book, Anxiety Rx).

Dr. Russell Kennedy talks about the idea of identifying where an “alarm” is located in your body. In other words, when you are feeling nervous, is there a part of your body that signals to you that you are nervous? I find it fascinating to see how each of our bodies has its own ways of signalling the alarm! For me, some of my classic cues are a pulsing in my head and a clenching of my jaw. For people I’ve worked with, they’ve shared that their alarm sounds as a fluttering in their heart, or nausea in their stomach, or shaking in their arms. There isn’t one universal way that our body signals alarm and the journey of identifying your alarms is a worthwhile one in and of itself.

But today, I want to move us one step further– and towards the word SOOTHE. As you become aware of your alarms and as you start to notice them getting activated, I’d love for you to remember the word SOOTHE. When your body’s alarm starts going off, SOOTHE it. Don’t yell at it or pretend it doesn’t exist or run for the hills necessarily, but instead, turn towards SOOTHING the alarm.

For me, that usually means that I take my hands and gently place them on the location of the alarm. For a clenched jaw, I’ll gently place each hand on each side of my face, likely close my eyes and breath deeply, and send my jaw some feelings of comfort and care.

I take a moment to SOOTHE. I take a moment to go right to the place of alarm with gentleness and with love and with physical touch. Soothe. Your body’s alarm deserves it and you deserve it too. Soothe.

Ready for more? Click here to book a free exploratory session with me where we can discuss your questions or concerns about public speaking and if I might be able to support you on your speaking journey. Visit my website to learn more about how to become a more confident, authentic public speaker while boosting your personal flourishing along the way!