Recently, a client came to a coaching session with a request: "I'm afraid of public speaking. I want to calm down before an upcoming presentation."
After exploring what exactly she was afraid of, I asked another question:
"If you weren't afraid, what would you like to be?"
The answer was "Bold."

We could have spent a long time analyzing the fear, looking for causes, and fighting them. But I noticed how the client perked up when imagining that state.

— What are you like when you're bold?
— I'm confident, in a good mood, I see that I can ignite people, captivate them with what I know.

And here's the key. Sometimes the shift comes not from analyzing the causes of fear, but from the image of the result.
When you imagine yourself in the desired state, see what energy lives there, what it gives you — a resource appears. Not "what am I running from," but "what do I want to come to."

I asked:
— What can make you bold and give you that state?
— Looking good, and understanding that I'm the expert here. I came to teach them something new.
Why should I be afraid of that? I want to enjoy my level and the fact that I'm being useful.

At that moment, I saw her facial expression change — more confidence, a smile.

— What can support that state in you?
— When I enter the room, I can imagine that they've been waiting a long time to meet me, that they themselves decided to come to my presentation. Or that everyone in the room is my friend.

Sometimes one session is enough to reduce anxiety by shifting focus from fixating on failure to a positive outcome.

How would you like to feel if you weren't afraid?

*this is a small part of the questions from a full session. Publication approved by the client