Sometimes, when we are presenting, our bodies act completely irrationally. Sweating, stuttering, or just shutting down completely are all things I have encountered during public speaking; behaviour that is usually connected to extreme danger and fleeing behaviour. Completely unnecessary, as your teacher wonât kill you (hopefully), but trying to convince your body to be just as rational is a tough task. Turns out that this is exactly what weâre going to do.Â
The basis for this (personal) advice all lies in my musical training, where posture is extremely important. Performance practice lessons have taught me one important thing: you can trick your body into thinking itâs okay, and with that, your audience. disclaimer: I have posted this information before in a slightly different way. Regard this as an updated version. Hopefully one with better spelling.
Stand up and try to follow these instructions. Iâm your only audience right now, so mistakes arenât a problem.Â
Start by relaxing your shoulders. Many people tense their shoulders when theyâre anxious, which is a very natural reaction. However, tension in your shoulder automatically reaches through to your back and arms, and even your neck, tensing up your entire upper body. Itâs confirming to your brain that yes! this is scary! Well, brain is wrong and weâre going to prove it wrong by relaxing our shoulders. Just let them hang down (make sure you donât start leaning forward though, it should be just your shoulders). Doesnât that immediately feel more relaxed?
Keep your feet a little bit apart, firm on the ground. This sends the message to your brain and audience that a single push will not have you fall over. Standing with your legs closely together simply isnât as stable, and you want to radiate stability and confidence. Even if youâre feeling dizzy, this simple way of pretending will keep your feet on the ground. Literally.Â
Chin up, back straight, eyes at the audience. I used to tend to look at the ground, or to lean forward. No, no no! You want to maintain an open posture, and to address the entire audience. When you do this, youâll look more secure, and maybe youâll even notice people will listen to you more closely. Make sure you address the entire room, and not just one spot. if youâre scared to look at faces, look at the back wall. But not just one spot, find some nice different wall spots to look at.Â
What to do with your hands? I know I used to put my hands in my pocket, or fidget with something. Instead, try to talk with your hands more. When youâre using gestures, people will usually pay more attention to what youâre saying, and theyâll sometimes understand more easily (if youâre interested as to why, message me).Â
Do not hide. This is special advice to musicians, too. I used to hide behind my music stand because it was nice and safe. During public speaking itâs easy to hide behind some notes or to stand behind other people of your group, maybe. Donât. Remember, fake the confident posture till you make it.Â
When youâre finished, donât stop pretending just yet. When people ask how it went, always say it went okay. This is so so so important! Because if youâd say âugh it was awful!! So many things went wrong, I suck at presenting!â theyâll start thinking hmm, yeah, there were indeed some mistakes⌠Could have been better. Whereas if you just say it was okay or good, or even decent, theyâll hardly even question it and will most likely remember the positive aspects, as humans tend to do.Â
I promise this works, at least to some extent. It may not help you get rid of anxiety right away, especially in really severe cases, but it can help you feel more at ease in front of a group. After that, you can start working on other things, such as volume, intonation, powerpoint use etc.Â
Just take a few seconds before you start talking to breathe, focus on those muscles, and to follow this with an amazing presentation (and a good grade).Â
You can always send me an ask for advice on public speaking! Even though Iâm not a professional coach or whatever, I have overcome my speaking anxiety and maybe I can be of any help at all <3
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