How not to choke or tremble during public speaking

Each of us periodically has to speak in public — with a report, a toast, a report. A lump rolls up to the throat, the body is fettered by a nervous numbness, the knees are trembling treacherously, the hands are shaking so that the microphone in them is shaking. You gasp for air, but it’s still not enough. I want to run away, fall through the ground.

Something like this manifests itself one of the most common fears — public speaking. More often, perhaps, there is only the fear of death. The reactions that the body gives out — nervous trembling, a frantic heartbeat, a violation of the rhythm of breathing — seem to be beyond control.

In fact, they can be dealt with or at least minimized. If you are afraid to speak, but you still have to do it in the near future, here are some tips to help you calm down.

1. Nervous trembling: a wedge is kicked out with a wedge

I worked as a psychologist at the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and when working with victims, we used a technique that relieves severe nervous trembling. Trembling is the body’s response to stress.

The technique must be performed in pairs. Ask a colleague with whom you communicate well to stand in front of you face to face, grab your shoulders and shake hard. The task is to interrupt the rhythm of your trembling due to intense shaking from the outside. Gradually, the partner should reduce the intensity of movements and smoothly reduce them to nothing. As a result, your nervous trembling should pass at least for a while.

2. See through

Those who teach the art of public speaking say that it is imperative to establish contact with the audience. If you know how to hold an audience and do not get nervous during a speech, this is definitely the case.

But if you are afraid, it becomes a major mistake. As soon as you start looking into the eyes of others, you immediately go astray, your attention dissipates, you lose the thread, you start making mistakes, pronouncing words incorrectly, and this makes you even more nervous.

Do not look at others, direct your gaze, as it were, through them, into the distance, into open space. Try to concentrate on the information you are talking about, the words you are saying, and do not think about how it looks from the outside. Your job is to get the message across. Everything else should not worry you.

3. Breathe like a dolphin

When we worry, there is not enough breath. Why? We breathe shallowly and shallowly, without exhaling. We swallow air, hold it, blurting out the text, and forget to exhale. Stop the story for a moment, but do not freeze, but exhale and inhale again.

Imagine that you are a dolphin that has to rise to the surface in order to exhale, inhale fresh air and again dive deep into the ocean. This image, firstly, will allow you to relax, and secondly, it will help to even out your breathing.

4. Take a breather

Remember the situation: in the midst of a speech, the leader suddenly says: “Wait a minute, your words prompted me to ask a question, but how are we doing with …” — and asks a colleague with a question. He begins to answer, and you are relieved. Take a moment to rest, recover and relax, even if only for a few seconds.

Think about how to give yourself a break during the speech. After the introductory words, you can show a short video, turn on an audio recording, show a series of pictures, make a riddle — anything to switch the audience’s attention from yourself to something else.

Arrange with a colleague to ask you a clarifying question, the answer to which you know in advance and which requires a short “yes” or “no”. Any moment of respite will serve you well. The main thing is not to miss it and really use it.

Learning to speak confidently and calmly will help the habit. The more often and regularly you perform in front of others, the faster you will adapt to a stressful situation and begin to enjoy it.