A president of a global company asks me, “What do you do just ahead of a big speech?” while working on a keynote presentation he is giving next week in Spain.

Great question. You can be prepared, confident, ready. But what do you “do” to get into the zone the minutes before “D Day” aka Delivery Day?

My answer to my client: “Breathe. Say your beginning and ending out loud. Do the vocal exercises we just practiced.”

Eleni Kelakos offers a great list of pre-show rituals gained from over two decades as a professional actor and an award-winning singer-songwriter in NYC and Hollywood. Eleni provides these suggestions in Speaker Magazine (Oct 2016).

Eleni Kelakos’s Ritualized Pre-show Activities

• Vocal exercises
• Physical warm-up (stretching, running in place, Tai Chi)
• Uttering a mantra (“I know that I know”)
• Sipping room temperature water
• Belly breathing
• Running through your opening or closing
• Wearing or holding a sacred object (a pin from my mentor comes to mind)
• Repeating a prayer
• Be intentional on your specific preferred outcome

Eleni says to pick and choose what works for you.

By doing these rituals you minimize your conversations with your Shoulder Devil and maximize your presence.

Source: Eleni Kelakos, www.TheEleniGroup.com

© 123RF Stock Photo

© Karen Cortell Reisman, M.S., author of 3 books and President of Speak For Yourself®, works with decision makers on how to speak with gravitas. It’s all in how you speak for yourself. Karen also speaks about her cousin, Albert Einstein, in a message about hope, resilience and brassieres.