No Freaking Speaking: 3 Techniques for Managing Speaking Anxiety
Summary
TLDRThis script addresses the common fear of public speaking, with 85% of people reportedly feeling nervous. It suggests that anxiety can be managed rather than overcome, as it serves a purpose in focusing our energy. The speaker introduces techniques such as greeting anxiety, reframing the speaking situation as a conversation, and becoming present-oriented to reduce nervousness. These strategies are supported by academic research and aim to make the audience comfortable, which is essential for effective communication.
Takeaways
- 🗣️ Most people are nervous about public speaking, with 85% admitting to it and the remaining 15% likely understating their anxiety.
- 🔄 Anxiety is a universal fear, often ranked among the top fears alongside more extreme scenarios like terrorist attacks or identity theft.
- 👍 Anxiety can be beneficial, providing energy and focus, but it's important to learn to manage it rather than trying to eliminate it completely.
- 🤗 Audiences can feel uncomfortable when watching a nervous speaker, which can create an awkward atmosphere and hinder message delivery.
- 📢 As a communicator, the goal should be to make the audience feel comfortable, which is essential for them to effectively receive the message.
- 🧘 Mindful attention can help manage anxiety by acknowledging it as a normal response to doing something of consequence, thus preventing it from escalating.
- 🔄 Reframing the speaking situation from a performance to a conversation can reduce anxiety and make the interaction feel more natural and less pressured.
- ❓ Using questions in presentations can create a more dialogic and engaging experience, making the audience feel more involved in the conversation.
- 💬 Adopting conversational language and avoiding formal, distancing language can help in making the presentation feel more like a discussion rather than a lecture.
- ⏱ Being present-oriented, rather than worrying about future consequences, can reduce nervousness by focusing on the current moment and the task at hand.
- 🏋️♂️ Techniques such as physical activity, listening to music, or saying tongue twisters can help bring oneself into the present moment and warm up the voice.
Q & A
What percentage of people feel nervous when speaking in public according to the speaker?
-According to the speaker, 85% of people feel nervous when speaking in public.
What is the speaker's view on the fear of public speaking compared to other fears?
-The speaker believes that fear of public speaking is a ubiquitous fear and is among the top fears that people have, even comparing it to being caught in a surprise terrorist attack or having one's identity stolen.
Why does the speaker use the word 'manage' instead of 'overcome' when talking about anxiety?
-The speaker uses the word 'manage' because they believe that anxiety is not something to be completely overcome, but rather something that can be helpful by providing energy and focus, and it indicates the importance of the task at hand.
How does the speaker describe the typical audience's reaction to a nervous speaker?
-The speaker describes the audience's reaction as feeling uncomfortable and awkward when watching a nervous speaker, with some nodding and smiling or others disengaging.
What is the role of a communicator according to the speaker?
-According to the speaker, the role of a communicator is to make the audience comfortable so they can receive the message, regardless of whether the message is harsh or pleasant.
What is the first technique the speaker suggests to manage anxiety when speaking?
-The first technique suggested by the speaker is to greet the anxiety when the symptoms begin to appear, acknowledging it as normal and natural to prevent the anxiety from spiraling out of control.
What does the speaker mean by reframing the speaking situation?
-Reframing the speaking situation means changing the perspective from performing to having a conversation, which can help reduce anxiety and make the interaction more natural.
How can questions be used to create a conversational mode during a presentation?
-Questions can be used to involve the audience and create a two-way interaction. They can be rhetorical or polling, and they can be used to structure the presentation by listing questions to be answered instead of bullet points.
What is the purpose of using conversational language when speaking?
-Using conversational language helps to reduce the distance between the speaker and the audience, making the presentation more inclusive and less formal, which can help manage anxiety.
What is the significance of being present-oriented when speaking to manage anxiety?
-Being present-oriented helps to reduce worries about future consequences and allows the speaker to focus on the current moment, which can decrease nervousness.
Can you provide an example of how to become present-oriented as suggested by the speaker?
-The speaker suggests several ways to become present-oriented, such as doing physical activity like push-ups, listening to music, counting backward, or saying tongue twisters to focus on the present moment.
Outlines
😨 Managing Public Speaking Anxiety
This paragraph addresses the common fear of public speaking, with 85% of people reportedly feeling nervous about it. The speaker suggests that anxiety can be beneficial, providing energy and focus, but it needs to be managed. The audience's comfort is emphasized as crucial for effective communication. The speaker proposes techniques based on academic research to manage anxiety, starting with acknowledging it when it arises, which can prevent it from escalating. The paragraph also discusses the audience's reaction to a nervous speaker, noting that it's uncomfortable and unhelpful for the speaker.
🗣️ Techniques for Conversational Presentation
The second paragraph delves into specific techniques to transform a presentation into a conversation, making it more engaging and less anxiety-inducing. The speaker highlights the use of questions to involve the audience and create a dialogic atmosphere. Conversational language is encouraged to make the speaker appear less distant and more relatable. The paragraph also touches on the importance of being present-oriented to reduce nervousness, suggesting methods like physical activity, listening to music, or saying tongue twisters to focus on the moment and warm up the voice.
🧘♂️ Present-Oriented Anxiety Management
The final paragraph wraps up the discussion on managing anxiety by emphasizing the importance of being present. It suggests that worrying about future consequences can increase nervousness, and by focusing on the present, one can alleviate this anxiety. The speaker shares personal research and anecdotes, including the example of a professional speaker who does push-ups to ensure he is in the present moment before speaking. The paragraph concludes with an interactive element, inviting the audience to say a tongue twister to practice being present and warm up their voices.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Anxiety
💡Public Speaking
💡Mindful Attention
💡Reframe
💡Conversation
💡Present Moment
💡Techniques
💡Audience
💡Participation
💡Tongue Twister
Highlights
85% of people report feeling nervous when speaking in public, suggesting that anxiety is a common and normal experience.
Anxiety can be beneficial, providing energy and focus, but it's important to learn how to manage it effectively.
Audience members often feel uncomfortable when watching a nervous speaker, which can negatively impact the communication.
As a communicator, it's crucial to make your audience feel comfortable so they can effectively receive your message.
Greeting your anxiety and acknowledging it can help prevent the anxiety from spiraling out of control.
Reframing public speaking as a conversation rather than a performance can reduce anxiety and create a more engaging experience.
Using questions in your presentation can create a dialogic, two-way interaction that makes the audience feel more involved.
Incorporating conversational language can help you connect with your audience and make your presentation feel more inclusive and less formal.
Focusing on the present moment rather than worrying about future consequences can help reduce nervousness and improve performance.
Engaging in physical activity, such as push-ups, can help ground you in the present and alleviate pre-speech anxiety.
Listening to music or focusing on a specific song can help athletes and speakers get into the zone and be present before their performance.
Counting backward by tough numbers or saying tongue twisters are simple techniques to help you focus on the present moment and reduce anxiety.
Warming up your voice with tongue twisters can help you feel more present and confident before speaking in public.
Participation and audience engagement, such as repeating tongue twisters, can help alleviate anxiety by focusing your attention on the task at hand.
Managing anxiety effectively is crucial for communicators to deliver their message successfully and connect with their audience.
Transcripts
so let's get started with anxiety
management 85% of people tell us that
they're nervous when speaking in public
and I think the other 15% are lying okay
we could create a situation where we
could make them nervous too in fact just
this past week a study from Chapman
University asked Americans what are the
things you fear most and among being
caught in a surprise terrorist attack
having identity your identity stolen was
public speaking among the top five was
speaking in front of others this is a
ubiquitous fear and one that I believe
we can learn to manage and I use that
word manage very
carefully because I don't think we ever
want to overcome it anxiety actually
helps us it gives us energy helps us
Focus tells us what we're doing is
important but we want to learn to manage
it so I'd like to introduce you to a few
techniques that can work and these
techniques are based on academic
research but before we get there I'd
love to ask you what does it feel like
when you're sitting in the audience
watching a nervous speaker present how
do you feel just shout out a few things
how do you feel uncomfortable
uncomfortable I heard many of you going
yes uncomfortable it feels very awkward
doesn't it so what do we do now a couple
of you probably like watching somebody
suffer okay but most of us don't so what
do we do we sit there and we nod and we
smile or we
disengage and to the nervous speaker
looking out at his or her audience
seeing a bunch of people nodding or
disengage that does not help okay so we
need to learn to manage our anxiety
because fundamentally your job as a
communicator rather regardless of if
it's planned or spontaneous is to make
your audience comfortable because if
they're comfortable they can receive
your message and when I say comfortable
I am not referring to the fact that that
your message has to be sugarcoated and
nice and for them to hear it can be a
harsh message but they have to be in a
place where they can receive it so it's
incumbent on you as a communicator to
help your audience feel comfortable and
we do that by managing our anxiety so
let me introduce you to a few techniques
that I think you can use right away to
help you feel more
comfortable the first has to do with
when you begin to feel those anxiety
symptoms for most people this happens in
the initial minutes prior to
speaking in this situation what happens
is of us begin to feel whatever it is
that happens to you maybe your stomach
gets a little gurgly maybe your legs
begin to shake maybe you begin to
perspire and then we start to say to
ourselves oh my goodness I'm nervous
uhoh they're going to tell I'm nervous
this is not going to go well and we
start spiring out of
control so research on mindful attention
tells us that if when we begin to feel
those anxiety symptoms we simply greet
our anxiety and say hey this is me
feeling nervous I'm about to do
something of
consequence and simply by greeting your
anxiety and acknowledging it that it's
normal and natural heck 85% of people
tell us they have it you actually can
stem the tide of that anxiety spiraling
out of control it's not necessarily
going to reduce the anxiety but it will
stop it from spinning up so the next
time you begin to feel those anx anxiety
signs take a deep breath and say this is
me feeling
anxious I know notice a few of you
taking some notes there's a handout that
will come at the end that has everything
that I'm supposed to say okay can't
guarantee I'm going to say it but I
you'll have it there in addition to this
approach a technique that works very
well and this is a technique that I help
do some research on way back when I was
in graduate school has to do with
reframing how you see the speaking
situation most of us when we are up
presenting planned or spontaneous we
feel that we have to do it right and we
feel like we are performing how many of
you have ever acted done singing or
dancing I'm not going to ask for
performances now okay many of you have
we should note that we could do next
year maybe a talent show of alums it
looks like we got the talent there
that's
great so when you perform you know that
there's a right way and a wrong way to
do it if you don't hit your the right
note or your right line at the right
time at the right place you've made a
mistake it messes up the audience it
mess messes up the people on stage but
when you present there is no right way
there's certainly better and worse ways
but there is no one right way so we need
to look at presenting as something other
than performance and what I'd like to
suggest is what we need to see this as
is a
conversation right now I'm having a
conversation with a 100 plus
people rather than saying I'm performing
for you but it's not enough just to say
this is a conversation I want to give
you some concrete things you can do
first start with questions questions by
their very nature are dialogic they're
two-way what was one of the very first
things I did here for you I had you
count the number of fs and raise your
hands I asked you a question that gets
your audience involved it makes it feel
to me as the presenter as if we are in
conversation so use questions they can
be rhetorical they can be polling
perhaps I actually want to hear
information from you in fact I use
questions when I create an outline for
my presentations rather than writing
bullet points I list questions that I'm
going to answer and that puts me in that
conversational mode if you were to look
at my notes for today's talk you'll see
it's just a series of questions right
now I'm answering the question how do we
manage our
anxiety Beyond questions another very
useful technique for making us
conversational is to use conversational
language many nervous nous speakers
distance themselves physically if you've
ever seen a nervous speaker present he
or she will say something like this
welcome I am really excited to be here
with
you they pull as far away from you as
possible because you threaten us
speakers you make us nervous so we want
to get away from you we do the same
thing linguistically we use language
that distances ourselves It's Not
Unusual to hear a nervous speaker say
something like one must consider the
ramifications or today we're going to
cover step one step two step three
that's very distancing language to be
more conversational use conversational
language instead of one must consider
say this is important to you we all need
to be concerned with do you hear that
inclusive conversational language has to
do with the pronouns instead of step one
step two step three first what we need
to do is this the second thing you
should consider is
here use conversational language so
being conversational can also help you
man manage your
anxiety the third technique I'd like to
share is research that I actually
started when I was an undergraduate here
I was very fortunate to study with Phil
zimbardo of the Stanford Prison
Experiment Fame many people don't know
that Zim actually was instrumental in
starting one of the very first shinness
institutes in the world and especially
in the country and I did some research
with him that looked at how your
orientation to time influences how you
react
and what we learned is if you can bring
yourself into the present moment rather
than being worried about the future
consequences you can actually be less
nervous most of us when we present are
worried about the future consequences my
students are worried they're not going
to get the right grade some of you are
worried you might not get the funding
you might not get the support you might
not get the laughs that you want all of
those are future States so if we can
bring ourselves into the present moment
we're not going to be as concerned about
those future States and therefore will
be less nervous there are lots of ways
to become present
oriented I know a professional speaker
he's paid $10,000 an hour to speak it's
a good gig he gets very nervous he's up
in front of crowds of thousands behind
the stage what he does is a 100 push-ups
right before he comes out you can't be
that physically active and not be in the
present moment now I'm not recommending
all of us go to that level of exertion
because he starts out of breath and
sweaty right but a walk around the
building before you speak that can do it
there are other ways if you've ever
watched athletes perform and get ready
to do their event they listen to music
they focus on a song or a playlist that
helps get them in the moment you can do
things as simple as counting backwards
from a 100 by tough numbers like
17 I'm going to pause because I know
people in the room are trying yeah gets
hard after that third or fourth one I
know my favorite way to get present
oriented is to say tongue twisters
saying a tongue twister forces you to be
in the moment otherwise you'll say it
wrong and it has the added benefit of
warming up your voice most nervous
speakers don't warm up their voice they
Retreat inside themselves and start
saying all these bad things to
themselves so saying a tongue twister
can help you be both present oriented
and warm up your
voice remember I said today we're going
to have a lot of participation I'm going
to ask you to repeat after me my
favorite tongue twister and I like this
tongue twister because if you say it
wrong you say a naughty word and I'm
going to be listening to see if I hear
any naughty words this morning okay
repeat after me it's only three phrases
I slit a
sheet a sheet I slit she and on that
slitted sheet I
sit oh very good no shits
excellent very good now in that moment
in that moment you weren't worried about
I'm in front of all these people this is
weird this guy's having me do this you
were so focused on saying it right and
trying to figure out what the naughty
word was that you were in the present
moment that's how easy it is so it's
very possible for us to manage our
anxiety we can do it initially by
greeting the anxiety when we begin to
feel those
signs we can do it when we reframe the
situation as a
conversation and we do it when we become
present oriented those are three of many
tools that exist to help you manage your
anxiety
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