The Upside of Your Public Speaking Jitters

 

The secret of public speaking is not about overcoming anxiety. It is to reframe this anxiety as excitement. A certain amount of nervousness is very helpful. It keeps one focussed and prepare well and completely and not procrastinate. 

There are a few tried and tested physical and mental techniques that help one to perform better in front of big audiences. It includes breath control, visualisations to calm the nerves and get into the right mindset to deliver a presentation with confidence and authenticity.

The book Psyched up: How the science of mental preparation can help you succeed by Daniel McGinn gives an account of the rituals followed by athletes, speaker, stage performers. In the same book, Harvard professor Alison Brooks says "The argument is that anxiety and excitement are very, very close ....... but anxiety and excitement are far too apart.

According to Brooks Focusing on excitement improves performance. So asking a person to calm down before a performance only draws attention to it and may inhibit performance. Instead, focus on the excitement.

• Pause & breathe:  pause and focus on yourself. Take deep breaths and exhale through the mouth slowly.
• Remind oneself why you care:  Remind oneself why this performance is important. Think of the opportunity and the impact it would have on the audience.
• Visualise the complete performance: Imagine the entire performance from beginning to the end in your mind and imagine it going well.
• Listen to some music that generates positive energy:  This help in shifting the focus to something that is enjoyed and brings a smile, at least temporarily, and come back to the performance with more confidence. 

Practising these rituals before a presentation will help in channelising your nervous energy instead of feeling threatened by it. This in turn can be used to focus on delivering a powerful and strong performance. 

See the writer's latest book, Speak with Impact: How to Command the Room and Influence others 

The Upside of Your Public Speaking Jitters

by Allison Shapira HBR 2020/11