Honey, it’s therapy! The Doctor is In…

I was doing my normal morning perusal of news and bang! – this story jumped out at me. No really. I re-read it 3 times just to ensure I wasn’t dreaming.

Apparently, sex helps calm nerves of people who are going to be speaking in public. They said full-intercourse had the best results. Of course, for purist like Bill Clinton, full-intercourse is the only thing that qualifies as “sex” – as in, "I did not have sex with that woman.” (side note: His answers is particularly interesting. First: No woman can appreciate being referred to as "that" woman. Second: the use of that seems to imply that there could a this woman or another that woman where the answer was different. Finally: Ahh. this is why he was such a good speaker.)

But back to this important study. They used to say that if you were nervous about speaking to a group that you should picture the audience naked. The new paradigm may be to actually get naked with one of them.

I don’t really get nervous before speaking but I am interested in the study’s fuller application. Does sex help calm nerves in general?

My wife gets nervous about things and now I have the answer.

Laura: Our son is taking the car for the night, I’m so nervous.
Me: Honey, the doctor is in.

Laura: Is home-skuling going to prepare our kids? I’m so nervous.
Me: Honey, the doctor is in.

Laura: The terrorist are attacking, the city is in flames and the house is falling down.
Me: Honey, the doctor is in.

In short, I can now say that I am a study-certified, walking, talking stress reducer. And I make house calls.

Of course, she may stick to deep breathing and counting to ten. My argument is that my therapy can incorporate both of the above and take no more time.

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Final thoughts: What will this mean for Toastmasters and the National Speaker's Association? How do you teach this "strategy?" Will Heidi Fliess start offering services to public speakers?