Linda Sevilla Workplace Wellness and Training logo: a gold lotus above gentle mind waves inside a circleLinda SevillaWorkplace Wellness & Training

Featured workshop

Confidence Under PressureWhen Being Prepared Isn't Enough

You know your material. You're experienced and capable. Yet when the pressure is on, your confidence can seem to disappear.

Why can we be so capable and well-prepared, yet struggle to feel confident when it matters most?

  • 60 minutes
  • Live on Zoom
  • Group hypnosis, optional

$850 CAD

For a group of up to 100 people. Larger group? Contact me.

Request Information Download Workshop PDF
An empty lectern with a microphone under a warm spotlight before a presentation

Sound familiar?

You have the knowledge. Then something changes.

You've prepared thoroughly. You know your material. You've practiced what you're going to say, taken a few deep breaths, and perhaps even attended public-speaking classes.

Yet the moment you're asked to deliver an important presentation, speak up in a meeting, attend an interview, or demonstrate your abilities under pressure, your heart races. You second-guess yourself. Your mind goes blank, or you struggle to express something you know perfectly well.

You get through it, perhaps even better than you realize. But afterward, you're replaying every word, every hesitation, every perceived mistake.

Understanding what's happening

Anxiety isn't a measure of competence

The question isn't simply “How do I become more confident?” It's “Why does my confidence seem to abandon me when I need it most?”

For some people, making a mistake has become associated with embarrassment or rejection. Others may have learned that drawing attention to themselves invites criticism, or that remaining unnoticed feels safer. Sometimes the challenge involves beliefs about personal worth, fear of failure, or even concerns about what success might demand.

Someone may consciously recognize their abilities while continuing to respond automatically to associations developed through earlier experiences. And sometimes the explanation is more immediate: unfamiliar circumstances, workplace dynamics, inadequate support, or lack of experience.

What someone experiences

What might be operating underneath

Fear of presenting to a group

A previous experience of embarrassment or criticism

Freezing when put on the spot

An association between being watched and being judged

Avoiding speaking up in meetings

A learned belief that remaining unnoticed is safer

Feeling inadequate despite considerable experience

Earlier messages about not being good enough

Fear of making mistakes

An association between mistakes and rejection, humiliation, or failure

Anxiety about promotions or increased visibility

Concerns about greater expectations, responsibility, or sacrifices

We don't try to identify or resolve anyone's history in a group. Linda explains the possibilities, and participants recognize their own patterns privately.

What participants will learn

Understanding, then something to practice.

01

A new perspective on performance anxiety

Explore why confidence can disappear in situations involving evaluation, visibility, or pressure, even when someone is competent and prepared.

02

Insight into possible underlying associations

Consider how previous experiences and learned beliefs may influence reactions to presentations, interviews, meetings, and other high-pressure moments.

03

An opportunity to rehearse a different response

Experience guided group hypnosis and mentally practice approaching a personally relevant situation with greater ease and composure.

04

A practical confidence cue

Explore how posture, imagery, and a personally meaningful signal can support a more resourceful response in everyday professional situations.

What happens during the workshop

An hour that's experienced, not just heard.

Accessible education

Clear, engaging explanations of the patterns behind the experience, grounded in research and decades of clinical work.

Private reflection

Thoughtful questions to consider quietly. Nobody is asked to share personal answers.

Practical techniques

Tools participants can use the same evening and keep practicing on their own.

Optional group hypnosis

A guided experience participants can join or simply listen to. Taking part is always voluntary.

Discussion and application

Time for questions and for thinking about how the ideas apply to everyday working life.

Hypnosis is always voluntary. Participants remain aware and in control, can stop at any time, and are never required to disclose personal experiences, either during the session or afterward.

The group hypnosis experience

The Confidence Rehearsal

Everyone takes part in the same hypnosis experience, but the application is personal. One person rehearses an important presentation, another speaking up in a team meeting, a third staying composed in an interview or professional exam.

The cue is theirs to keep practicing long after the session ends.

  1. 1

    Choose a situation

    Each participant privately identifies a workplace situation in which they'd like to respond with greater confidence.

  2. 2

    Mentally rehearse a different response

    During hypnosis, they imagine navigating that situation with greater composure, clarity, and access to their knowledge and abilities.

  3. 3

    Explore confident posture

    They notice how they might naturally hold themselves when feeling capable and at ease, and find a comfortable physical position that supports it.

  4. 4

    Create a personal confidence cue

    They choose a small gesture, posture adjustment, or phrase to associate with the state they're rehearsing.

  5. 5

    Practice using the cue

    They imagine approaching a future situation and using their cue to reconnect with that more resourceful response.

Who is this workshop for?

Teams who will recognize themselves here

  • Sales teams facing pitches, quotas, and rejection
  • Employees who present to clients, boards, or leadership
  • Staff preparing for interviews, promotions, or professional examinations
  • Capable team members who hold back in meetings
  • New managers adjusting to greater visibility and expectations

Research supporting the topic

What the research says about the subject

Experimental research

When high-powered people fail: Working memory and “choking under pressure” in math

Beilock & Carr, 2005

Researchers investigated why individuals sometimes perform below their abilities in high-pressure situations. Their experiments found that pressure could interfere with working memory during complex mathematical problem-solving, particularly among people with greater working-memory capacity. Performing poorly under pressure doesn't necessarily reflect a lack of knowledge or ability; sometimes the pressure itself interferes with the mental resources needed to perform.

Read the published research

114 studies, 21,616 participants

Self-efficacy and work-related performance: A meta-analysis

Stajkovic & Luthans, 1998

This large meta-analysis examined the relationship between self-efficacy and workplace performance. People's beliefs about their ability to perform specific tasks were significantly and positively associated with their actual work-related performance. The relationship varied depending on task complexity and whether performance was measured in laboratory or real workplace settings. These findings highlight the importance of perceived capability in how people approach and perform challenging tasks.

Read the published research

88 studies, 9,779 participants

Dominance and prestige: Meta-analytic review of experimentally induced body position effects on behavioral, self-report, and physiological dependent variables

Körner, Röseler, Schütz & Bushman, 2022

This meta-analysis examined how upright posture and expansive body positions influence people's feelings, behaviour, and physiological responses. Adopting upright or expansive postures was associated with more positive self-perceptions, including greater feelings of confidence and power, compared with slumped or contracted positions. Evidence for changes in actual behaviour was less consistent, and the findings did not support claims that power posing reliably changes hormone levels. Body posture may be one useful element in developing a more confident internal experience.

Read the published research

37 studies, 115 effects

Does mental practice still enhance performance? A 24 year follow-up and meta-analytic replication and extension

Toth, McNeill, Hayes, Moran & Campbell, 2020

This meta-analysis examined whether mentally rehearsing an activity can improve actual performance. Drawing on 37 studies and 115 reported effects, mental practice produced a small but statistically significant improvement in performance. Effectiveness varied depending on the type of activity, the imagery techniques used, and the duration of practice. Mental rehearsal can be a useful tool for preparing for challenging tasks, particularly when practiced consistently.

Read the published research

Controlled study

Hypnotic enhancement of a cognitive behavioral treatment for public speaking anxiety

Schoenberger, Kirsch & Montgomery, 1997

Researchers compared cognitive behavioural treatment for public-speaking anxiety with the same treatment supplemented by hypnosis. Both approaches improved anxiety compared with a wait-list control group, while the hypnosis-enhanced approach showed additional benefits associated with how participants expected to respond to treatment. Hypnosis may be a useful addition to psychological approaches for addressing performance-related anxiety, although further research is needed to establish its specific contribution.

Read the published research

5 randomized trials

A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials evaluating the effect of hypnosis on exam anxiety

Baker, Ainsworth, Torgerson & Torgerson, 2009

Researchers reviewed five randomized controlled trials examining hypnosis for examination anxiety, primarily among university students. Their combined analysis found a statistically significant reduction in test anxiety among participants receiving hypnosis. Hypnosis may help reduce anxiety in situations where individuals are being evaluated or expected to perform. The researchers noted that larger, higher-quality studies were needed to confirm the results.

Read the published research

An important distinction

Research on mental imagery in performance settings is also promising. These studies support parts of the approach in general terms; they did not test this workshop, and posture is explored as something that may influence how confident people feel, not a guaranteed fix.

Want to go further?

Want to Explore This Subject More Deeply?

The one-hour workshop introduces important concepts and practical techniques. An extended six-week program allows participants to explore patterns more thoroughly, develop additional tools, and reinforce learning over time.

A longer series could explore confidence, rejection, visibility, and performance pressure in more depth, with time to rehearse real situations between sessions. A sales organization, for example, might want a series built around pitching and handling rejection. The content would be developed with you.

Ask About the Six-Week Series

Each session could combine education, private reflection, and optional guided group hypnosis, shaped around what your team needs to explore.

Front page of the Confidence Under Pressure workplace wellness workshop PDF

Take it with you

Confidence Under Pressure: The Full Workshop Details

A six-page PDF covering what participants will learn, how the 60 minutes are spent, the optional group hypnosis confidence rehearsal, Linda's professional background, and the research behind the topic.

  • What participants will learn, and the confidence cue they leave with
  • How the 60 minutes are structured, including the optional group hypnosis
  • Who the workshop suits, Linda's background, and the research behind the topic
Download the Workshop PDF6-page PDF

Looking for something different?

Not Quite What Your Organization Needs?

I also design customized workshops and extended programs tailored to your organization's particular needs, industry, and workforce.

Explore Customized Programs

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Begin the conversation

Bring Confidence Under Pressure to your team.

Share a little about your organization and timing, and we'll talk about whether this workshop is the right fit. Inquiries are an invitation to discuss possibilities, never a commitment.

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