Many people suffer from nervousness and anxiety at the thought of public speaking or giving a presentation in front of their peers.
There are a few things you can do to get over your fears and prepare for the big moment, both ahead of time and right before you hit center stage.
By Carmine Gallo, for Inc
photo: There are ways to calm down and build your confidence. AP
If you’re like most people, you feel a spike in pre-speech jitters in the last 60 seconds before you take the stage to deliver a presentation or when it’s approaching your turn to speak up in a meeting.
Fortunately, there are specific steps you can take to calm down and build confidence. I walk through these steps myself in about 60 seconds just before I take the stage.
1. Take five deep breaths
Let’s start by examining what’s happening in your brain when you do any type of public speaking. Our brains are pretty clever. They evolved with systems to quickly detect threats in our environment. Often referred to as our “reptilian” brain, these systems go into action even before the more evolved part of our brains — the prefrontal cortex — can make a logical assessment of the threat.
That means stress hormones are being pumped through your bloodstream to prepare for fight or flight. While the reptilian response served our cave-dwelling ancestors, it doesn’t help us much today when we face an audience. It’s not a life or death situation, but our brain doesn’t know it. Your heart race speeds up, your palms sweat, and your breathing becomes shorter and quicker.
The fix? Slow down your breathing on purpose. Take five deep, slow breaths. Breathe in from your nose and fill your entire chest. Then, slowly exhale through your mouth. Do it again. And again. The process sends a signal to your brain that your audience is not a threat. It tells your brain that your presentation is something to enjoy, not fear.
