To Jackie, who described a fear of public speaking [Issue 2:10]:
May I suggest that you forget "public speaking" altogether? It is to
communication what "medicalisation" is to birth, which is to say an
unnatural, inefficient way of doing things, with its own equivalent
stress-problem-stress vicious circle, as you've discovered. What you're
really trying to do is something that comes naturally to you: share the
skills you have with others in order to help them become better parents.
Isn't that the sort of thing that makes you want to be a midwife in the
first place? Why not talk *with* (not "to," certainly not "at"!) your group
as an equal member, but one who happens to have a lot of good stuff to
share? In other words, don't lecture--participate. Of course, that means
listening to what others have to say too, and learning from them (tough on
the ego sometimes, admittedly!), but that way perhaps you'll find that
you're all helping answer each other's real concerns and problems, not
telling them what they're *supposed* to need to know, and you won't be
worrying about how you sound, how you look, etc. Hope this helps.
-Dave
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Reprinted from Midwifery Today E-News (Vol 2 Issue 11 March 17, 2000)
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