Conquering Stage Fright

Public speaking isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s an important skill for leaders in the business world to cultivate. Whether you have to deliver a presentation before the members of a corporate board, a group of employees in your organization, a charity, a high school, or the Canadian parliament, you’ll make a stronger impression and communicate your message more powerfully if you are a competent and effective speaker. (For more on this topic, see this post from the Corporation Centre blog archives.)

One of the primary causes of discomfort around public speaking is performance anxiety—otherwise known as stage fright. Like other forms of fear, performance anxiety leads to the release of adrenalin into your bloodstream, and produces two kinds of psychosomatic responses: one is a desire to resist or defy the agent of your intimidation (“fight”); the other is the impulse to flee or escape (“flight”). In the context of public speaking, these responses can manifest themselves in distinctly unhelpful ways: a trembling voice, blushing, loss of memory or an inability to maintain focus (“flight”), and muscle tension or tightness (“fight”). An accelerated heart rate and breathing rate, producing speech that is excessively rapid or high-pitched, is also a common problem for inexperienced or nervous public speakers.

Fortunately, the “fight or flight” response is an ill that you can (partly) alleviate by focusing on the symptoms rather than the cause.

Practice in advance.

Speak in front of a mirror, or deliver a rehearsal to a friend or loved one. Time yourself, and in successive attempts, try to maintain a consistent time.

Commit your words—or at least the gist of the speech—to memory.

It’s fine to have notes in front of you and consult them once in a while. But when a speaker is reading from a sheet of paper for an extended period, many people react by tuning out. Nervous speakers frequently resort to reading without even glancing up at the audience, but that’s rarely an effective way to forge an interpersonal connection.

Stay hydrated. Drink water before and during your remarks.

As a consequence of the “fight or flight” response, many people experience a dry throat, or worse, a frog in their throat that inhibits their ability to speak. Although water can’t eliminate the source of the fear in this situation (unless it arrives in the form of a fire sprinkler that forces everyone in the room to evacuate), it can mitigate dryness in the mouth and throat caused by performance anxiety.

Deep breaths and cadence.

Again, the goal here is to partially counteract the “fight or flight” response. A quick surge of adrenalin in your bloodstream can produce short, shallow breathing and accelerated speech. If you know this tends to happen to you, concentrate on taking deep, deliberate breaths, and enunciate your words carefully.

Clear your mind by minding your heart.

The “fight or flight” response entails the redirection of blood away from your brain and toward your major muscles—enabling you to brace for a physical struggle, or run faster in order to successfully escape. However, neither of these abilities is particularly useful if you need to deliver a speech. As I noted earlier, as your brain loses blood flow, you will tend to forget important details and lose concentration.

You may find that the following brief ritual will help you clear your mind and regain poise.

First, focus your attention on the organ responsible for circulating blood through your system—your heart. Next, breathe in and out, imagining that the air that enters you is a purifying elixir, and that your exhalation is exhaust—a mixture of waste products to be discarded. Finally, go to your happy place—i.e. think of a person, place, or thing that warms your heart and brings you comfort.

For a video tutorial, see this presentation by public speaking coach Dave Smith.

Exercise.

Regular exercise is important for maintaining your health and energy level in general. And if the opportunity of a brief walk presents itself right before you’re due to speak, go for it; even low-intensity exertion can increase blood flow to your brain and improve your focus and composure.

Public Speaking: No Joke (Unless You Can Deliver it Well)

Public speaking does not come easy for some people. For others, it's a snap. The more experienced speakers have learned the secrets while many novices will wake up that morning with a major headache.

Making a presentation, or giving a speech, is part of the business world. But, in order for your presentation to achieve its goal, the delivery must be successful. This requires your connecting with the audience. Experience has demonstrated that a common technique, when applied correctly, is opening with a joke.

A joke, when delivered properly, can break the ice with the audience. It sends a message that the speaker is here to speak with us, not to us. Similar to the co-worker that attracts a crowd at the coffee machine by telling a good joke, you can attract the crowd in front of you to listen to you.

Of course, this is not an opening for a standup routine. Neither should you use the podium to tell the latest racist joke that you heard at the bar last night. The motto is KISS – keep it short and simple. It makes good sense to do some research beforehand and try to learn what makes the audience tick. For example, a high tech joke will not work well for an audience of medical practitioners. But, a good doctor joke certainly will. Be careful, though, not to insult anyone in the audience. If you feel that they will appreciate it, try poking fun at the industry, but only if you're part of it. Outsiders are not usually welcome to do this.

Learn to read your audience. If you see that your joke is not going over well, abandon it (with a shrug for a last ditch attempt at a chuckle) and get on with the business at hand. Delivery is everything! You have to go with the flow of the audience. Sometimes, the audience is waiting for what you have to say. Other times, they may be waiting to leave. Do what you can, in a professional manner, to win them over. Telling jokes, like making a powerful, impacting speech, is an art. Learn the craft carefully and you can be quite successful.

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