How to not get nervous when speaking in public?
Jerry Seinfeld quipped: "According to most studies, the number one fear of human beings is speaking in public, and the second fear is death. Death is only second. How does it feel? This shows that for normal people, if You go to a funeral and you're better off lying in a coffin than a eulogy."
How to not get nervous when speaking in public?
How not to get nervous when speaking in public
The fear of speaking in public is indeed very common. When we stand in front of an audience, at least one-third of us feel very anxious, and one in 10 finds that anxiety significantly affects their work.
The situation in the movie "The King's Speech" when King George VI of England gave a speech is almost a common psychological feature of all people who are afraid of speeches: nervousness, fear, dry mouth, and unable to speak a complete sentence. And the more you try to avoid your inner nervousness and fear, the stronger your inner nervousness and fear.
Why is this?
The problem is that when you're battling tension, your nervous system goes into a "fight or flight" mode, creating a vicious circle: the more you try to clear the tension, the more you force the body to become more tense. We need to break the cycle by giving up the "fight".
What is the "fight or flight" mode?
As we all know, thousands of years ago, people had to face the attacks of various beasts in order to survive. In front of tigers, people had only two choices: either fight or escape.
Fighting can drive away the tiger and make yourself survive; running can also escape from the tiger's mouth. Of these two options, whichever one chooses, requires our nervous system to fire up, mobilizing the whole body to deal with the threat. Therefore, as long as people's consciousness inputs a confrontation command to the body, the body will immediately enter the "fight or flight" mode, which makes every nerve in the body tense.
How to not get nervous when speaking in public?
How not to get nervous when speaking in public
The "fight or flight" mode is the most effective human response to external threats, but unfortunately, it does not apply to one's own emotions and emotions. If we perceive our emotions and emotions as an external threat, adopt a "fight or flight" mode: either fight it, or desperately run away. Then, in a state of high nerve tension, we will undoubtedly sink deeper and deeper, even crazy.
Therefore, when dealing with inner pain, sadness, tension and anxiety, we should not treat them as tigers, fight them, but accept them. Any act of confrontation with oneself will bring people into boundless misery.
Under the threat of tigers, if we neither fight nor run away, we will die. But the negative emotion in your heart is not a tiger, you can never overcome it, you can never escape it, you can only live in peace with it. It's like speaking in public, the more you try to control yourself, the less you can control yourself. Confront tension and you'll only get more nervous.
In fact, behind fearful speeches is a desire to be popular: a desire to appear smarter, more charismatic, and not bore the audience.
But public speaking has another important purpose: to convey valuable information to others.
One strategy for overcoming the anxiety of speaking in public is to turn your attention to the reality of the message you wish to convey.
Sadly, though, trying to appear less nervous in front of an audience with a deep-seated hope in mind, as a result, this technique only partially solves the problem.
How to not get nervous when speaking in public?
How not to get nervous when speaking in public
When the motivation is not to be nervous, there's a little monitor in the brain that keeps asking, "Are you nervous? Are you nervous now?" This nagging question evokes feelings of anxiety that you've been trying to suppress.