Scared of Public Speaking? Here are 3 Tactics to Ease your Nerves
I’m in the minority of people that loves public speaking.
I love public speaking, but I still get nervous before any speech or presentation. Before I get up in front of a group, no matter how big or small, my heart still flutters, my palms sweat a bit and I get that feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Anyone that tells you they don’t get nervous before public speaking is lying to you. Everyone has some level of nervousness before a speech or presentation, and I feel confident saying this because nerves before public speaking are 100% natural.
It goes back to our reptilian brains and our ever-so-lovely fight or flight instinct. Humans are pack animals; we are most successful when we work together in teams, and throughout history, this has led us to crave acceptance from our peers and community. By stepping in front of a group of people staring at you, you’re innately in a more vulnerable position; you’re singled out, you’re separate. Our reptilian brains light up and think, “I need acceptance! I don’t want to be different!” and our heart starts to flutter, palms sweat a bit, and that pit begins to get heavy in our stomachs.
It’s important to understand where these nerves are coming from because it reminds us that we can’t eliminate the nerves. We will never be able to walk with complete ease and coolness onto a stage or up to a podium and never feel a little flutter in our hearts. That’s OK.
There are several tactics we can use to mitigate our nerves’ power over us.
Don’t Memorize!
I can’t impress this one enough. Memorizing a speech is like sprinting straight into an anxiety soup. When you force yourself to memorize a speech, you hinder yourself in two ways.
First, you put focus on words and not meaning. When we’re memorizing, we learn the order of words and become fixated on saying the right word next. If you’re giving a speech you’ve memorized, and you forget one word or have one tiny moment where your brain skips a beat, you will find yourself lost trying to find the next word you’re meant to say. Focusing on words rather than meaning is a recipe for disaster.
Second, you lose the essence of what makes public speaking engaging for the audience- hearing a human speak. If we wanted memorized, overly polished presentations, we’d have built robots to deliver speeches already. People relate to and enjoy hearing other people speak. If you don’t memorize, you will sound more natural, more human and ultimately will be more engaging.
What to do instead:
Tell a story. As you’re preparing and writing your speech, focus on an outline and the major bullet points or critical pieces of a story. If you know what you’re trying to say rather than how you’re trying to say it, you can easily find your way back to your outline in the event you lose your place during the presentation.
There is a process adapted from sketch comedy writing that can help you disassociate from the script and give you freedom to tell a story in a way that feels right in the moment. Write out your key points in your story. Then record yourself casually talking through these points. Feel free to do it into a mirror or just straight into the camera. The important thing is to focus on telling the story like you would say to it to a friend in a low-pressure situation. Watch the recording and *Focus on what you liked* about what you said it. Do this a few times improvising, changing and adapting each time as much as you’re comfortable and soon you’ll have a solid speech laid out. It will sound natural and will be easy to replicate because you designed it in a way that’s natural for you to speak. From this point, work with friends or colleagues to polish and practice.
*The only exceptions to memorizing are when you’re giving a speech in a foreign language, using direct quotes that can’t be misquoted or talking about something extremely technical*
- Change Your Narrative
Anxiety and excitement come from the same chemical reaction in our brains; what distinguishes them is how we perceive it in the moment. Remember that fight or flight reaction we talked about and how we don’t want to separate from the pack? That leads us to perceive the feeling as anxiety.
However, since it’s all based on our perception, we can change the narrative and decide that it’s excitement. Saying out loud, ‘I’m not afraid of failure, I’m excited to succeed!’ can immediately shift how you perceive the butterflies in your stomach.
You are now excited about the opportunity to share your story, to present your speech, to spread your knowledge. This mindset shift is relatively simple to execute, and for me, has been the game-changer in why I like presenting. It’s an adrenaline rush rather than anxiety-inducing.
- Power Pose
The same way our mind can change the way we feel, how we physically present ourselves can also help calm our nerves and increase our confidence.
I’m not saying step out and strike a superman pose for your entire presentation, but a few simple tweaks in how your standing can signal to your brain that you feel confident and in control of the situation.
Uncross your arms and legs. When we feel insecure, we want to close ourselves off from any threats, in this case, the audience. I tend to twist my legs up, crossing one over the other. Not only does this look bad in a presentation, but it also increases your nerves.
By opening yourself up, standing on both your feet and squaring yourself to the audience, it signals to your brain that you feel confident and in control and you will immediately feel more confident and in control.
If you don’t have a podium, take one giant step forward before you start speaking and you’ll experience the same sensation of increased confidence and sense of control.
That’s it! Three tactics to reduce anxiety before your next presentation:
- Don’t memorize
- Change your narrative
- Power Pose
You’re now ready to tackle any speeches or presentations coming your way! Remember you’re excited for success, not fearful of failure!
