How can I calm myself while public speaking?
There are many strategies that are believed to reduce anxiety, from relaxing massages and blissful meditations to intense workouts and system-shocking ice baths, but what tools can you apply while public speaking? What can you do discreetly in the moment that will have immediate effects? What is scientifically proven to work?
Below are three key tools that are highly effective and can be implemented in the moments leading up to and while public speaking.
1. Getting the air out of your lungs
You may have heard that deep breathing can calm your nerves however, with regard to the most powerful immediate effects, this advice isn't precise enough. Technically, the types of breathing that will calm you the quickest involve prolonged exhalations. Below is a video clip where the mechanism is explained by an expert in this field, Dr Andrew Huberman (Professor of Neurobiology at Stanford University).
One way to implement this could be to factor in exhales to your planning (i.e. during a presentation slide transition, you could make sure to fully exhale; or perhaps while being asked a question in an interview). Slowing your rate of speech slightly, and allowing time for pauses will help with this. In the minutes leading up to public speaking, you could breathe in while counting to four, pause, and then exhale to a count of five. A few rounds of this will quickly slow your heart rate. To improve the effectiveness further, you could do what is know as a 'physiological sigh', explained in the clip below.
2. Getting the words out of your mouth
A common calming technique is to shift from shallow chest breathing to deep belly breathing (diaphragmatic breathing). However, we rarely hear of deep belly speaking which can help you speak with confidence as well as be better understood. To practice this, you can place you hand just above your belly button and speak deeply in a manner that pushes against your hand. Adding to this, you should try and speak more powerfully and slightly louder to further encourage diaphragmatic speaking and the release of CO2. Standing up tall with an open posture facilitates this as well as making you feel more confident in and of itself. In short, stand up tall, speak from your belly, project your voice, and let the words get out of your mouth and hit the back of the wall.
3. Getting your focus out into the room
Self-focus and the associated self-critiquing is a common route to increased anxiety. Instead, guide your focus outwards. Focus on the message you are trying to convey. When speaking to larger audiences, often looking at faces can raise levels of anxiety and so you can look slightly above their heads and towards the back of the room and thus increasing your field of view which can further help to calm the brain. You can add to this calming effect by introducing lateral eye movements, moving your gaze slowly from left to right, as this suppresses brain activity in the amygdala and therefore suppresses our fear response resulting in a profound calming effect.
In summary, the key to reducing anxiety in the moment as quickly as possible involves getting things out: getting the air out of your lungs, getting the words out of your mouth, and getting your focus out into the room.
And reducing anxiety in the long term, involves consistently getting out of your comfort zone so be sure to create and embrace any presenting opportunities.