The nerves just won’t stop…
You’ve tried, but no matter what you do, you can’t overcome nervousness when public speaking.
Sound familiar?
Experts advise methods to prevent and stop fear, including visualizing success, reframing negative thoughts, and taking deep breaths. These can sometimes work but often seem more like Band-Aids to cover up the fear pain.
What are you doing wrong?
Is there hope, or are you doomed to NEVER like public speaking?
Perhaps…You and everyone trying to advise you are going about it all wrong.
What if I told you to instead,
STOP TRYING TO CONQUER YOUR FEAR OF PUBLIC SPEAKING?
What if you felt happy when you felt nervous?
Can they co-exist?
Yup – Find out below.
Here's what you'll find here:
FEAR is a Part of You - Be Grateful
The Science Behind It
Your Weekly Quote
When Fear Overwhelms - Try This
01. FEAR is a Part of You - Be Grateful
Instead of focusing on conquering nervousness, try embracing it as a natural response. It’s what we do as a form of protection. You know, the fight or flight response. We are designed to respond swiftly to threats, improving our chances of survival.
If you’ve ever faced real danger, such as a wild animal eyeing you as its next meal, you’ll appreciate your innate ability to become superhuman and hopefully escape the harm unscathed, perhaps by running (faster than your opponent). In that situation, you wouldn't just practice deep breathing and positive mindfulness techniques to get calm, then smile calmly and say, “Nice lion.” If someone was about to attack you, you’re unlikely to stand still, make eye contact with the attacker, and calmly say, “Oh, look at you all branded with a big knife in hand!” Perhaps your comments would work in either case, but I wouldn’t recommend testing them in real-time. At the very least, wouldn’t your heart beat out of your chest?
Instead, let fear do its thing - by managing that energy.
Understand that nervousness is a natural response to all things scary, including public speaking. Rather than aiming to eliminate it, strive to manage and harness it to enhance your performance, as described below (the how).
02. The Science Behind It
Studies have shown that people feel more confident when they focus on being excited instead of being calm when speaking.
Why is that?
Physiologically, we have two systems: the go and stop systems. Your go system revs you up and makes you excited. This happens when your fight or flight response kicks in. It’s a well, dialed-in and pretty amazing behind-the-scenes process. The brain's amygdala, which processes emotions, sends a distress signal to the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus activates the sympathetic nervous system, releasing stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. Adrenaline is released into the bloodstream, causing increased heart rate and blood pressure, the pupils dilate for improved vision, and the blood flow surges, pumping oxygenated blood to the muscles and organs so we can get super strong and fast. And…the brain becomes hyper-focused, enhancing awareness and sensory perception.
And perhaps the best part,
The body's ability to feel pain decreases temporarily.
Ever try to stop a sneeze? Yeah, it’s nearly impossible. And, you’ll feel better if you let it just GO.
Fear works pretty much the same. Try stopping it. You can’t just turn it off.
Attempting to STOP the fight or flight response may lead to restlessness, unease, and increased stress. It can interfere with cognition, poorly affecting decision-making, focus, and problem-solving.
Your stop system slows you down, making you cautious and vigilant. Therefore, turning off the stop system in fight or flight mode is well… hard. Anxiety is an intense emotion, and it’s difficult to make it vanish quickly when uncertain. It’s easier to convert anxiety into another strong emotion, like excitement.
How does this apply to public speaking?
Have a speech looming? Bring on the fight or flight mode! It increases alertness and energy, aiding focus and engagement with the audience. Stress hormone release enhances physical and mental performance, improving awareness, clarity, and responsiveness. The response's effects on blood flow and bodily readiness enhance stage presence, while heightened heart and respiratory rates benefit voice projection. The resulting energy surge combats fatigue and nervousness, allowing enthusiastic delivery. And… heightened alertness aids memory and interaction with the audience.
Sound good?
The bottom line,
When you feel pangs of panic about speaking, don’t try to fight it. Instead, focus on the go – you’ll need to release energy to feel better.
So...just…start...speaking.
You may start a little rusty, but you’ll pick up speed quickly and feel better in the process. Then, before you know it, the body's parasympathetic nervous system is activated, initiating the "rest and digest" response. This helps return the body to a state of relaxation and balance – perhaps leading to speaking Zen. 😉
03. Your Weekly Quote
“There are only two types of speakers: 1. The nervous and 2. Liars.” - Mark Twain