• Ask yourself if you're genuinely hearing someone before responding, and be sincere in your response.
• Just because you’re feeling anxious, it doesn’t mean that you’re performing poorly. We often need some anxiety in our minds to do things at our best.
• You don’t have to perform perfectly in every conversation – no one can achieve such high standards.
• Focus on the situation itself and concentrate less on how you’re feeling.
• You might confront a situation that doesn’t go as well as you hoped. Try not to give up. If you keep going, it’ll get easier.

Challenges to an unhelpful thought

• Is there any evidence against this thought?
• Is there any evidence for this thought (based in fact)?
• Can you identify any patterns of unhelpful thinking?
• What would you say to a friend who had this thought in a similar situation?
• Is there another way of looking at this situation?
• Is there a proactive solution to this unhelpful thought?

Patterns of unhelpful thinking

• Mind reading
• Labelling
• Predicting the future
• Catastrophising
• Personalisation
• Over-generalising
• Focusing on the negatives
• Underestimating ability to cope with fear and anxiety