It is difficult to imagine a person whose knees would not have trembled before going on stage. Especially if 100 (200) people are waiting for TAM, and behind you is only a performance at a school matinee.

But there are some proven tips on how to deal with the fear of performances, which I want to share in the article.

I have been training in public speaking for more than five years. During this time, dozens of my charges have taken the first steps in the world of conferences, sales and tehtolkov . But there was not a single group in which they would not be asked how to stop worrying and start confidently speaking to an audience. In general, you understand: in your excitement you are not alone.

Is it so bad that you worry?

The excitement gives expression, makes your speech natural, and speech alive. Your emotions are transmitted to the public, cause reciprocal excitement - a more benevolent atmosphere is created in the hall, listeners empathize with you.

The edge beyond which excitement begins to work against you still exists. A voice breaks down, loud pauses are replaced by parasitic words — you cannot get the message across to the audience. Listeners also suffer, and your “I'm very worried, I'm sorry” plays against you. Symptoms may be different, but inside is almost always the same thing - a terrible psychological and sometimes physical discomfort.

Why does everything happen the way it does

Training participants say they are afraid to make a mistake, to look ridiculous, not to cope with a difficult situation in front of others - and this is only the first line of a giant list.

Psychologists say that fear of public speaking is the result of education. For example, parents once told a child that they should not talk loudly on the street and attract attention to themselves. Scientists believe that this is a genetic problem. In primitive society, man tried not to separate himself from the herd, so as not to die. And although modern speakers are quite fit for survival in proud loneliness, subconscious instincts and fears can play a cruel joke with them.

According to some studies, the fear of public speaking ranks second after the fear of death .

In general, the fear of speaking is quite understandable. What to do with it? I want to offer you a few tricks that once helped me cope with the fear of the scene. They are simple and work: tested on dozens of my charges. So, my TOP-5 ways to deal with excitement

# 1 Understand that no one knows about your mistake.

In my experience, every second novice speaker is afraid of mistakes during a speech. I forgot to introduce myself, or forgot to give an example, which we have rehearsed, or, even worse, moved away from a previously written text, was confused and could not continue speaking. And now, perhaps, the most important advice that gives great freedom: no one knows about your mistake. This is the first thing I tell my wards when they begin to give negative feedback about their performances, mentioning the mistakes and shortcomings that they made.

As a listener, I don’t know how the speaker planned his speech: what words he wants to use, what examples to cite, what structure of the speech to follow. For me, the version of the speech that I see will be the only correct one. And I hardly notice that he broke the rules - I just do not know them.

And here lies another little secret that needs to be realized: if your listeners are already in the hall, they are ready to positively accept you. No one deliberately goes for a bad and boring performance. People go to speak, because they are sure that you are an expert and will give them relevant and useful information. No one in the hall is worried about the structure and minor issues.

A couple of months ago I talked about my own project in front of a large audience. There was little time to prepare. In the end, I stumbled, pondered, spoke a little slower than I wanted. It seemed to me that everyone sees and understands how I am not ready. But in the end I threw a deafening applause, and my colleague congratulated me with success: “Listen, it was so interesting! And how do you know how to pause! Everything in the right places is perfect! ”

In general, do not worry. Do you know about your mistake? Ok, correct next time.

# 2 Always prepare and rehearse

Often we experience before a performance, because we are afraid of unforeseen situations. Everyone has their own "boyalki": the computer will shut up, the video will not start, the fonts will not load properly ...

Try to keep such situations to a minimum: come in advance and check everything. Evaluate the scene and think about how you will move along it, check the light and sound, whether the microphone and the projector work, and whether the latest version of the slides is with you.

To feel more confident before an audience, do not regret time for preparation: think over the text, write down the main theses, speak everything several times, issue an introduction and a final.

These are not just words. In Yandex.Money, the speaker’s preparation for a speech usually looks something like this: a couple of meetings to create a text, a run, a text revision, a run, a run with technical experts, perhaps another revision of the text.

Of course, everything is individual and depends on the experience of the speaker and his immersion in the topic, but I would like you to understand: for a classy and memorable presentation, it is not enough to jot the text a day before the event, read it and think "oh, I know the topic."

When you stand on the stage, feel your knees trembling, and think "probably everyone sees this," you will need to say something. With excitement, a well-rehearsed text will help you, which you pronounce without thinking.

This advice also applies to experienced speakers. Please get ready. When a person gets used to public speaking, does not perceive them as a challenge, he begins to treat them as ordinary. Who will be interested in the speaker, whose eyes do not burn?

# 3 Know that the autonomic nervous system takes care of you

The autonomic nervous system is fully responsible for any adaptation process of the body: pupil dilation in the dark, narrowing in bright light, it provides withdrawal of the hand from the hot pan, in general, protects us.

Anxiety - the first reaction of the body to any impact. The state of anxiety triggers the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system, that is, that portion of the nervous system that we cannot control. The more the environment changes, the stronger and more complex the reaction of the sympathetic division.

Having received the signal, the vegetative system, not yet knowing the details, prepares the resources for the reaction. For any reaction, positive or negative, energy is needed. Accordingly, the metabolism accelerates: the supply of oxygen to vital organs increases, including the brain. That is why we begin to breathe often, we feel heart palpitations and all other signs of excitement. How to get out of this state?

There are many ways, but the simplest thing you can do is take control of your breath. At different points in our lives, we breathe differently. Under stress, breathing is shallow: frequent, shallow. People's intuitive understanding of this pattern is reflected in the language: "take a breath", "breathe deeply" and so on.

It is useful to know that inhaling excites, mobilizes, strengthens muscle tension. Exhale, on the contrary, calms and helps the muscles to relax. That is, depending on the goal, you can control your psycho-emotional state with the help of breathing, concentrating on the depth of inhalation or exhalation.

Relaxation Exercise:

1. Inhale as usual and mentally consider on which figure the inhalation ends, exhale.
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2. Now you need to inhale so that the inhalation time is as in item 1, and exhale ** twice ** longer. That is, if your inhalation ends on account 3, then you need to exhale before counting 6.

3. Repeat step 2 for about a minute for quick relaxation, or longer for a more noticeable effect.

The main thing is not to overdo it and not to catch up on sleep before going on stage.

Once you understand the physiological side of what is happening to you, it will be easier to cope with stress. Before the performance, you should start with one very deep slow exhalation, then take a few more deep breaths and exhalations. Breathing calms down, the body receives a signal that everything is in order and so it is not necessary to actively saturate the brain with oxygen now - the state will return to normal.

# 4 Come up with a ritual setting for performance

What I do and what always helps me. For me, these are special gestures that are associated with the situation, help to feel more confident, to join a new business. Artists do so before going on stage.

All such gestures are individual . What are they with me? I arrive at the audience in advance, carefully go around it, take poses that give me confidence — forcing up, for example.

By the way, TED.com has a great video on this topic: Your body language may shape who you are , in which social psychologist Amy Cuddy talks about research in this area. Revealed that with certain gestures, our body releases hormones that make us feel more confident. Perhaps this is true, and perhaps just psychology: I occupy space, behave like this, and I feel confident. But the way is uniquely effective - you are involved in the work.

Come up with a “ruling” rituals that will be associated with the performance and set you up to work. Although, perhaps, it is not enough just to think up - it is also important to believe in them.

# 5 Make friends with anxiety

This fact - the excitement only enhances the showiness of your performance. Listeners like to see a living person with emotions, not a talking car. When you are worried, intonations are heard in your voice, speech becomes more natural, your interest or concern is passed on to listeners - you and your idea are easier to perceive.

Therefore, it seems to me that a healthy share of excitement is even needed. It makes you feel the taste of life and convey this feeling to the audience. This can be compared to a musical instrument. If the strings are stretched correctly, then this instrument can be played. If the strings are too tight, they may break. Without a drive and a reasonable voltage, there will be no enthusiasm, everything that happens will quickly become boring.

Sammari

Worry about health: moderate excitement makes your performance more vivid and emotional, and this is just for you. In order not to go over this face of “excitement” and not turn into another speaker, who forgets the text and just reads from the slides, remember that there is no silver bullet. To feel freer and more confident before and during a speech, you need to speak.

As often as possible, whenever possible: tell a story or an anecdote to a group of friends, give a message at the meeting, conduct a technical discussion on the topic that interests you, speak at an external conference, first with a short and then with a lengthy report. Remember, initially your listeners always support you, they will only be happy about an exciting story or useful report.

Practice and practice! To quickly feel that it is natural. Do not allow the body to perceive public speaking negatively. It is believed that people are divided into those who can speak and those who do not. But, in fact, successful performance and comfortably feeling like a speaker are a set of techniques and techniques. All of them can definitely be mastered if you constantly train.

If you have your own proven recipes for successful performances - be sure to share in the comments.

At the end of each training, I usually advise what else you can read on the topic. I recommend three authors:

• Nina Zvereva “I say, they listen to me” (and all her other books on performances).

  
  

• Carmine Gallo "Presentation in the style of TED" and "iPresentation."

  
  
• And, of course, Radislav Gandapas : “Kama Sutra for the orator”.