Matt Eventoff

* Pt I of a 3 part series, as seen on CNBC.com

A random internet search for cures for fear of public speaking produces over 2 million results. That is a shame.

No matter how many books, courses, DVDs, websites or snake oil salesmen promise to “cure” you of your fear of public speaking; it is never that simple, or that easy. And that is ok.

The reality is that every executive has a rush of adrenaline before presenting – the normal “fight or flight” response. Nervous energy, properly channeled, actually enhances a presentation.

So how can you help to alleviate and effectively channel some of the tension and anxiety prior to your next presentation?

Here are 25 Tips that will help:

1. Prepare - The more you prepare and the better handle you have on the material you are presenting, the better it will go.
2. Practice – Once you have prepared, you MUST practice, early and often. Rumor has it that Churchill practiced for one hour per one minute of speech content he was delivering. 5 minute presentation = 5 hours practice. How long are you practicing?
3. Check out the Room – Familiarity breeds comfort. Surprise s the day of a presentation are not fun and ratchet up anxiety tenfold. Is there a podium? What technology are you using and does it work?
4. Read the Room – While not always an option, when you have the opportunity to meet a few audience members beforehand, take it! Arrive ten minutes early and introduce yourself to a few people. If you are presenting mid-day, arrive before a key break to meet a few folks.
5. “Seed” the Audience – Ask friends, associates or colleagues come to your presentation. Talk to the conference organizers when you arrive. Locate them before you take the stage, if possible. Identify where friendly faces are sitting. The purpose – to have friendly faces to focus on if the anxiety starts to build
6. Remember the audience is on your side – 9 times out of 10, the audience is rooting for you to succeed, not waiting for you to fall flat.

Please share this with colleagues as there are a lot of people who suffer from this fear that can benefit from some or all of these tips. Part II will follow shortly.

I was perusing the latest edition of Men’s Journal when I came across an interview with  Anderson Cooper.  I enjoy Anderson’s speaking style – he appears confident, is conversational and has great control and is masterful in his use of paralanguage while reporting. 

Imagine my surprise to read that Anderson Cooper, who presents in front of millions and millions of people (indirectly) everyday, prime-time, has struggled with…. a fear of public speaking?  The same anxiety-inducing phobia that millions of people (including me) have had to, or currently, deal with every day? 

MJ: Have you tried conquering other fears that way?

AC: On a more ridiculous level, public speaking. Being on camera is easy for me, but speaking in front of several thousands of people, it’s a different skill set. Making speeches gave me a nervous pit in my stomach, so I forced myself to do it: I gave the commencement address at Tulane in front of 12,000 people. And it was fine.

I give Anderson tremendous credit for a) admitting a phobia publicly and b) for finishing his answer with the truth – and it was fine.  With practice and preparation, it usually is. 

The reality is that 99.9% of the time, all of the nightmare scenarios you envision the night before your presentation will not come true (with practice and preparation).  Additionally, when you present, you almost always feel much more nervous than he or she appears.  You really don’t appear to your audience to be as nervous as you feel inside.

Stay tuned, next post will be a summary of what to do when the fear starts creeping in….

Fear doesn’t just exist for the days and hours prior to an event.

In Pt. III of this series, I am going to address tips and tactics when the nerves kick in within minutes of your presentation actually beginning (although every one of these tactics also work hours and days before as well).

1. Body Movement - A few minutes before “taking the stage” –  “Waggle” (lateral movement) your jaw; bend forward and dangle your arms and let them shake; shake your hands over your head; utilize simple stretches and isometric stretches (more on that later) — all of these movements, when incorporated with proper breathing, warm the body, relax the mind and calm your nerves.

2. Body Movement, Pt II - As a former amateur boxer, nothing prepares me to speak better than light shadow boxing a few minutes before I have to speak.  I know a CEO who (literally) does 20 pushups prior to every earnings call.  Still another prominent political figure actually “swings” a tennis racket prior to giving a major address.*  The point is, focused movement helps even more than just for generic movement because…

3. Visualization – …it works.  Professional boxers, when shadow boxing, do not throw random punches — they are visualizing an opponent and quite literally sparring with that visualization.  Ballplayers do the same thing before approaching the plate.  Elite athletes, musicians, actors and dancers utilize visualization regularly — Todd Hargrove has an excellent article on visualization in athletics here.  Visualization, if done properly, works for speakers and presenters as well.

Stay tuned, Pt IV will focus on tools and tactics when the presentation or speech actually begins….

*If you are in a crowd or a situation where you are not by yourself immediately prior to presenting, please send an email and I will give you some pointers on how to improvise.

In Pt. I of this series I went over a number of tips and tactics to deal with the fear of public speaking.  One of the tactics was breathing, which sounds so simple, and is often anything but the night before, or the hour before, you are to give a speech or presentation.

Today will focus 0n a few of my favorite breathing techniques to use prior to presenting or giving a speech:

1. Three Deep Belly Breaths – Sounds like what it is.  Slowly inhale through the nose for a count of 5-15 (15 is optimal). Keep one hand on your diaphragm and feel it enlarge as you inhale.  Hold for 5-10 seconds, and then exhale through your mouth slowly, again for a count of 5-15 seconds (15 is optimal).  Repeat three times.  This is awesome for the few minutes before you are actually going to be speaking.  Immediately relaxing.

2. Ujjaiy Breathing - Also known as Oceanic or Victorious Breathing – it is awesome. It is a yogic breathing technique I first learned from struggling through Vinyasa yoga classes with Nicole, and now practice for 5-10 minutes every day. Similar to deep belly breathing, however this time the mouth stays closed the entire time.  The best way to learn how is to watch demonstrations – here, here and here.

3. Alternate Nostril Breathing Technique (my favorite) – All you need for this is your thumb, your pinkie finger, and your nose (sounds like the start of a bad joke!).  To begin, simply cover your left nostril with your left thumb, and slowly and deeply inhale for 5 seconds to start (10 is optimal).  Then immediately cover your right nostril with your left pinkie finger, while keeping your left nostril pressed closed – at all times your mouth is closed as well, so at this point you are essentially holding your breathe.  Again, hold for 5 seconds (10 is optimal). Then remove your left thumb from your left nostril and slowly exhale for a 10 count.  Wait two seconds and repeat the same technique, inhaling through your left nostril as your right nostril is still closed, etc. I usually do 10-15 rounds of this every day, and the feeling is amazing, and very relaxing.

While not “cures”, these techniques all do a good job of reducing  public speaking anxiety and fear associated with public speaking.  Again, while there are no “cures” (and don’t believe anyone who tells you there are!) there are techniques and strategies to alleviate public speaking fear.  Stay tuned for Pt. III…

Man, I wish it was that easy.  I speak publicly often, and I still get nervous prior to every speech or presentation. Every single one.

That being said, I’m in pretty good company — it has been noted that Sir Winston Churchill and President Lincoln also got quite anxious prior to speaking publicly.

Unfortunately, no matter how many books, courses, DVDs, websites or snake oil salesmen promise to “cure” you of your fear of public speaking, it is never that simple, or that easy.  That being said, there are a number of techniques, strategies and tactics to use to alleviate the fear and anxiety that come calling prior to speaking publicly.

Tips and Tactics, Pt.I :

1. Prepare. Prepare. Prepare - Simply put, the more you prepare and the better handle you have on the material you are presenting, the better it will go.
2. Practice. Practice. Practice – Once you have prepared, you MUST practice, early and often.  Rumor has it that Churchill practiced for one hour per one minute of speech content he was delivering.  5 minute presentation = 5 hours practice.  How long are you practicing?
3. Check out/Read the room before – Familiarity breeds comfort; surprise the day of a presentation are no fun and ratchet up anxiety tenfold.
4. Remember – the audience is on your side- 9 times out of 10, the audience is rooting for you to succeed, not waiting for you to fall flat.
5. Breathing - My three favorite breathing techniques – 3 Deep Belly Breathes, Ujaia breathing, and the Alternate Nostril technique – more on each in a later post
6. Listen to Music – Watch a boxing or MMA competition; watch Kobe or LeBron prior to getting on the court – always listening to music, getting in the zone, eliminating outside distraction and chasing away anxiety and negative thoughts — it works prior to public speaking as well (I do this each and every time)
7. Remember – You are always more nervous than you look – ALWAYS!

Stay tuned for Pt. II…