Overcoming Speaking Anxiety and Finding Inner Safety
📌 The speaker wrote a song, "It's Already Done," for her younger self to address intense fear of speaking, being seen, and being heard, emphasizing that "you don't have to be afraid."
🎭 The speaker, despite making a living through public speaking, performing in Broadway tours like *The Lion King* and *The Color Purple*, and coaching others, struggled severely with communication anxiety since the fourth grade.
🏫 A major trigger was transitioning from a predominantly Black elementary school to advanced placement classes with few other students of color, leading to feelings of isolation, culture shock, and a lack of psychological safety.
💡 Psychological safety, defined by Dr. Amy Edmondson, is the belief that it is safe to speak up with ideas, concerns, and mistakes, making one's voice feel valued.

The Three-Part Framework for Inner Safety
🧘‍♀️ Deep Breathing: Emphasizes taking slow, deep breaths from the diaphragm as an everyday practice and during high stress to center oneself, ground in the present moment, relax tension, and open the voice.
🧠 Harnessing Imagination: Use visualization to create new, empowering outcomes, as the brain is neuroplastic; visualize communicating desiredly, write down these visions, and start "acting it out" to create new memories and outcomes.
🤝 Seeking Support: Find encouraging people, such as family, friends, mentors, Toastmasters, or speech therapists, to practice communication skills and gain positive, honest feedback.

Key Points & Insights
➡️ Inner safety and belonging are essential for trusting one's voice to speak with confidence and authenticity.
➡️ Fear of speaking is a common human survival instinct (fight, flight, or freeze) triggered by feeling separated or vulnerable, but it is crucial to know when you are physically safe to respond constructively.
➡️ Know that you belong here; be patient, kind to yourself, take steps (baby or giant), and celebrate progress without trying to sound or be like anyone else.
➡️ Home is ultimately "knowing your mind, knowing your heart, knowing your courage"; if you know yourself, you are always home anywhere.

📸 Video summarized with SummaryTube.com on Oct 06, 2025, 04:35 UTC

Overcoming Speaking Anxiety and Finding Inner Safety
📌 The speaker wrote a song, "It's Already Done," for her younger self to address intense fear of speaking, being seen, and being heard, emphasizing that "you don't have to be afraid."
🎭 The speaker, despite making a living through public speaking, performing in Broadway tours like *The Lion King* and *The Color Purple*, and coaching others, struggled severely with communication anxiety since the fourth grade.
🏫 A major trigger was transitioning from a predominantly Black elementary school to advanced placement classes with few other students of color, leading to feelings of isolation, culture shock, and a lack of psychological safety.
💡 Psychological safety, defined by Dr. Amy Edmondson, is the belief that it is safe to speak up with ideas, concerns, and mistakes, making one's voice feel valued.

The Three-Part Framework for Inner Safety
🧘‍♀️ Deep Breathing: Emphasizes taking slow, deep breaths from the diaphragm as an everyday practice and during high stress to center oneself, ground in the present moment, relax tension, and open the voice.
🧠 Harnessing Imagination: Use visualization to create new, empowering outcomes, as the brain is neuroplastic; visualize communicating desiredly, write down these visions, and start "acting it out" to create new memories and outcomes.
🤝 Seeking Support: Find encouraging people, such as family, friends, mentors, Toastmasters, or speech therapists, to practice communication skills and gain positive, honest feedback.

Key Points & Insights
➡️ Inner safety and belonging are essential for trusting one's voice to speak with confidence and authenticity.
➡️ Fear of speaking is a common human survival instinct (fight, flight, or freeze) triggered by feeling separated or vulnerable, but it is crucial to know when you are physically safe to respond constructively.
➡️ Know that you belong here; be patient, kind to yourself, take steps (baby or giant), and celebrate progress without trying to sound or be like anyone else.
➡️ Home is ultimately "knowing your mind, knowing your heart, knowing your courage"; if you know yourself, you are always home anywhere.

📸 Video summarized with SummaryTube.com on Oct 06, 2025, 04:35 UTC