Did you know that nervousness in public speaking is beneficial? While many articles are written to help you try to eliminate or stop those nervous jitters, I want the exact opposite. Yes, I want you nervous. However, I want you to learn how to take control of it.
Adrenaline comes into play in the body under duress and places you in the fight, flight, or freeze mode. Unfortunately, many people assume either the flight or freeze mode when addressing an audience.
When in flight, the speaker will talk very fast in order to get it over with as quickly as possible. In the process, the pitch of the voice will rise and breathlessness will ensue. In the freeze mode, speakers do exactly what the word implies: they freeze up and are unable to get their words out of their mouth. Looking petrified is one of the dead giveaways as well as the fact that there is utter silence coming from the stage, aside from the knocking of their knees!
Those who are able to take their adrenaline and actually put it to their advantage assume the fight mode. This is the best position to be in when addressing an audience. Your nervousness is your body’s natural response to stress. When it comes into play, it sharpens your focus and makes you more aware and alert.
I have found that the best means of taking control of nervousness is to breathe with the support of the diaphragm. During this natural type of respiration, the toxins that build up in the blood are able to be eliminated. This process then allows you to take control of your nervousness, allowing it to work for you in the fight mode. In doing so, you will discover that you are sharper and more focused.
Unfortunately, shallow or lazy breathing (typical of 99% of the population) has the exact opposite affect. It increases the toxins which build up in your blood thereby increasing your panic. The result is the freeze or flee mode in which you become unable to concentrate on your message because you are overwhelmed with fear.
Imagine being able to handle your emotional and physical stress simply by breathing. Next time you are scheduled to speak, take a supported breath and embrace that wonderful rush of adrenaline!
The Voice Lady Nancy Daniels offers private, group and corporate training in voice and presentation skills as well as Voicing It!, the only video training program on voice improvement. Visit her website at Voice Dynamic and watch as Nancy describes the best means of controlling nervousness in any form of public speaking.
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