Even in this age of AI everything that’s supposed to simplify, aggregate and answer all your queries, you still have to present your presentations.
Your goal is to appear comfortable, confident and clear while embracing your fears of public speaking.
Today I offer a science-backed surprise element that can help you get your stomach butterflies to fly in formation.
🎵 The Solution
Sing. If you already sing, sing more.
Why? There are direct ties between singing and stress reduction.
Plus, it’s fun.
🎵 The Science
Studies note that singing lowers cardiovascular stress, increases Heart Rate Variability (HRV), and acts like a physical “brake pedal” for your fight-or-flight response which lowers your baseline cortisol levels,
Singing creates a resonance between your heart rate and your respiratory system.
Jillian Mitchell, a vocal coach, writes that singing strengthens your voice, builds breath support, sharpens your articulation, expands your vocal range, improves pitch control and builds stamina.
Mitchell hums, “If speaking is walking, singing is running, and running makes you a stronger walker.”
🎵 The Anecdotal Science
My walking buddy, Judy, measures her stress levels using her Apple watch. She noticed that on the days she spends with her grandkids her stress levels are lower. What makes those days calmer? She’s singing with them all the time. Judy figured out the correlation between more singing = less stress. Then she did some research for my blog. Thank you Judy! Keep singing with your precious grandchildren.
🎵 Your Strategy
Feeling nervous? Do the following (and you don’t have to be good!):
Sing in the shower on the day of your presentation. You can be off pitch!
Create a playlist and sing along.
Sing with your buddies, kids, grandchildren, parents or pets.
Join a choir. Singing in a group triggers even more of the good stuff, endorphins and dopamine.
🎵 The Big Crescendo Payoff
Singing can build your vocal confidence. It gives your brain and your mood a great workout. And best of all, singing to music you love makes you feel good.
My fabulous trainer, Shay, took this pic. I promise I did the (almost) 2-min plank first thing this morning. 💪🏼
My dear friend, Marvin Blum, J.D., C.P.A., shared in his weekly newsletter that he rolls out of bed every day and does a 2-min plank … for 20 years!
Who knew? (And I’ve known him since college!)
My competitive spirit got engaged, and I said, “I can do this. It’s a great way to work on my core and muscle strength.”
The next morning I rolled out of bed, got in the plank position, and started counting.
Spoiler Alert: I did not make it to 120.
What’s the correlation between the habit of doing a daily 2-min plank and communicating with power and presence?
I work with leaders on how to get heard above the noise.
💪🏼 The Plank Habit ➡
Shows perseverance, uses good breath work, enhances your posture, adds to your strength, and builds energy.
🎤 Great Speaker Habits ➡
Perseverance – Great speakers were bad speakers at first.
Breath Work – Great speakers manage nerves by doing some breath work ahead of show time. Ex: breathing in for 4 seconds, hold for 4, and release using 4 seconds.
Posture – Great speakers exude executive presence by having good posture.
Strength – Great speakers subliminally model a strong mental and physical authority.
Energy – Great speakers are energetic, verbally and nonverbally.
Well, how are my daily 2-min planks going?
Still not easy and two minutes feels like 2 years, but I’m getting better!
It’s a new year. What health habits do you do?(Hint: whatever you’re doing helps you in other areas of your life, like the way you communicate.)
I thought, “I have a lot to cover in this 90-minute class.”
But I was done in 5 minutes!
There I stood, with 28 college students looking at me. I knew I had nothing else to say. Unfortunately they also knew I had nothing else to say. I instantly sported a sheen of sweat.
Had I not signed a contract to teach that class I might not be the Founder of Speak For Yourself® today! I was forced to show up at Richland College every Tuesday and Thursday for 16 weeks. That was 32 class sessions in case you didn’t do the math.
It was a powerful lesson about perseverance and practice.
And now…
I warn all of my fabulous clients that speaker anxiety is part of the game of speaking. You won’t get rid of it. In fact, you want that adrenaline edge. You learn how to dance with that demon and use that extra energy in a positive vs. negative way.
Some of those demon-dance steps include practice, perseverance, time, rinse and repeat.
I taught at Richland College for 10 years. The first class of each semester lasted the full 90 minutes… to their chagrin!
One of my coping mechanisms then and now … I wear cotton. You want to be in control of your potential physical side effects of speaker anxiety.
🎤 The Truth: It’s not hard to give a speech. It’s hard to start and it’s hard to shut up!
If you are speaking about what you know about and have earned the right to talk about… you will be able to give that speech with ease. At Speak For Yourself® we spend the majority of our time with clients working on the bookends of their presentations – how to begin and how to conclude.
Communication Myth #2: Getting rid of nervousness is your goal.
🎤 The Truth: You will never eradicate your nerves… and you don’t want to. Nervousness equals adrenaline equals energy.
The goal is to channel your nerves in a positive direction. Again, we’ve worked with many leaders, and blogged about how to embrace stage fright. Trying to delete all traces of nervousness creates one more layer of unnecessary aggravation.
Communication Myth #3: Sharing data gets your point across.
🎤 The Truth: A compelling presentation is never just about the data.
Your info comes alive when your data is paired with examples, stories, humor, visuals and metaphors/analogies. Watch football, soccer, basketball? Two announcers “call” the game. One shares the play-by-play and the other gives color commentary. Your challenge is to “call” your game using both of these voices. Data + color = retention of info.
How do we know that you believe these myths?
Given the years of experience working with our clients across many industries these myths persist.
Do you ever think, “I’m so stressed about this speech/panel/meeting, and it’s pivotal to my career, and I know I’m going to forget everything, and I mean EVERYTHING?!”
Sometimes you can’t help it. Your “shoulder devil” takes over and your brain freezes.
Here are some ways to handle brain freeze 🥶 ➜
Notice I didn’t say “overcome” this issue. You can almost add MORE ice to the Freeze Factor by wishing this behavior pattern to simply vanish.
Give yourself a break and work on compensating devices to handle a sudden rush of freezer burn.
🌞 1. Don’t memorize your info, EXCEPT for your first and last sentence.
🌞 2. Use a solid outline that you can refer to at any time. Yes, you can use notes; BUT don’t bring too much info to the lectern, board room, or conference meeting. Use the KISS approach: Keep It Simple Strategy.
🌞 3. Start with what you know. Maybe that’s a story or a favorite quote.
🌞 4. Say your beginning out loud to a trusted colleague ahead of time. Why? The first two minutes are the hardest. You might be really articulate in your own head, but what comes out of your mouth is the only message received by your team, colleagues, or fellow CEOs at your annual think tank meeting. Practice out loud!
🌞 5. BREATHE!
🌞 6. Look at energy givers in your audience. Try NOT to get crazy over people in your group that exhibit a “funeral face.” Maybe that’s their normal facial expression. Plus, how do you know what’s going on in their lives? Maybe they look like that for personal reasons.
Breathe, refer to your fantastic outline, believe in your message and keep going.
Try Haupt’s ideas for taming your qualms – whether you’re at the lectern/board meeting/strategy retreat or 30,000 feet above it.
✈️ Tip One: Do your due diligence
To get calmer, Haupt suggests you “fly best if you understand everything about your trip—including what type of plane, the forecast, and expected turbulence.” There’s even a link to get turbulence info!
🎤 Same strategy for your next speaking or meeting event. Find out all the details up front from logistics to audience analysis to possible contentious topics. Fewer surprises equals more predictability.
✈️ Tip Two: Establish some sense of control over your environment.
On the plane bring your own pillow, blanket and music. Close the window shade, listen to your playlist, breathe deeply and visualize a tranquil space you’ve visited before.
Bonus Tip: Arrive early for your flights AND for your presentations
🎤 Back to earth… before your speaking engagement I recommend that you
listen to your favorite upbeat music
breathe in slowly, hold for 4 seconds and exhale slowly (repeating 3 times)
picture your past positive speaking engagements.
✈️ Tip 3: Journal your positive mantra.
On the plane you might say or write, “I’m ok. I’m safe. Planes aren’t so bad.”
🎤 On your way to the mic, repeat your pre-planned positive mantra. I ask all my clients to design this personal phrase. Some examples, “I got this”; “I know that I know”; “Fake it till you make it”.
✈️ Tip 4: Consider Exposure Therapy.
Haupt says that if you can’t shake the fear of flying than gradually expose yourself to flying. You might visualize the process of boarding a plane up to facing the fear directly by climbing onto a stationary plane.
🎤 Similarly, for speaking anxiety take baby steps. Speak up at the least stressful venues such as dinner with friends, your place of worship or a community project you’re passionate about. Then up your game gradually to business settings.
Bottom line
✈️ 🎤 I hope these strategies make you more comfortable with public speaking rather than less comfortable getting on an airplane! Have safe travels and calmer speaking gigs! 🎤 ✈️
Speaker anxiety is alive and well.
“If your heart takes a nosedive while flying, you’re not alone.”
