Public Speaking for the Introvert - Final - Kaitlyn Francel

Public Speaking for the Introvert 

How to channel NERVES into ENERGY for an amazing performance, with no previous experience!

Shallow breaths, nervous sweats, jitters. Your coffee threatens to slip above the brim of your cup as your nerves spill over. Deep breaths, your presentation is starting, and all eyes are on you.

We all know the nervous feeling you get before you step up in front of a large crowd of people to present or perform. Public speaking, performance, or presentation is a critical skill to learn whether you’re entering the business world or trying to breakout on
Broadway. Whether you like it or not, you’ll likely have to do it at some point in your lifetime.
For me, it was on the theatrical stage, for you it may be in a class, in a career setting, etc. I would
like to help you prepare for this situation!

Why listen to me?

Let me give you my background. I’ve been standing in front of critical eyes since I was the age of 5. I have been in over 50 performances in my lifetime, whether it has been in the theatre, in choir, in a solo vocal concert, in class, or in a dance showcase. I have gradually trained my body to react positively in public speaking/performing situations by using techniques, and practicing over time. I have used the techniques below to teach myself to be energetic instead of nervous in all of these performance experiences. And now, I am here to help you do the same!

Trick Your Brain - Weeks Before the Presentation/Performance

Practice, Practice, Practice – your brain is classically conditioned to react to situations in a specific way. However, scientific evidence has proven that the best way to get over an undesired reaction to a situation is to counter-condition it into a positive experience. Let me explain what this means:

Classical Conditioning is a way that the body unconsciously learns that specific stimuli will trigger a response. Counter-Conditioning is taking the conditioned response and altering it by re-teaching the body through numerous exposures, and thus creating a more pleasant, or desired, response..

In this case, public speaking is the stimulus, and the conditioned response is fear, anxiety, and all the other general symptoms of nervousness. But what we want to do, is train your body with a new conditioned response to public speaking. As a result, instead of being afraid, you channel that fear into energy and an exciting performance.

Here’s where the energy comes in. Every time you start to present, rather than defaulting to the conditioned response of fear, tell yourself to instead be energetic! That way, you’re re-training your brain and setting up a new conditioned response. By doing this,  in future presentations you won’t have to work as hard to get rid of nerves, because your body will be conditioned to react instead with an energetic performance!

If you practice – both alone, in front of people, in front of a mirror, or even to your dog – with your desired conditioned response (energy replacing nervousness) your teaching your body that it is okay to do public speaking, and that it’s a normal thing that people do and that you don’t have to be afraid! It may be hard at first, but don't give up because it takes time! Exposure is key!

Here Goes Nothing - Right Before the Presentation/Performance

There are some great relaxation techniques to do before performances. Doing these will slow your heart rate, steady your breathing, and decrease your muscle jitters!

Deep Breathing

By counting, use numbers to represent each in and out breath you take. For example, breathe in “one” breathe out “two.” Do this until you reach about 15 or so. Repeat as necessary.

An elevated heart rate is a result of the body’s autonomic (or automatic) nervous system reacting to a scary situation. In science, this is an adaptive trait that evolved due to a survival tactic, called survival of the fittest. Survival of the fittest is the likelihood that an animal will survive based off of their skills and adaptations. This autonomic system response has been keeping humans alive for centuries. Here’s an example of it’s correct response:

You are hiking in the woods and stumble upon a bear. What happens?

-pupils dilate

-blood flow goes to crucial organs such as heart, lungs, and muscles

-you take off in a sprint, able to save yourself from the bear

This is the ideal situation, because your body’s automatic response kept you alive. However, sometimes this system is hyperactive, specifically in the case of public speaking. In order to attempt to decrease this overactive automatic response during an unthreatening event, doing deep breathing exercises decreases your heart rate, which in turn decreases anxiety as a whole.

Muscle Tension Release

There are multiple techniques to release tension and the body and lead to relaxation. This is one I like the best:

Tense the muscles in your entire body, and then slowly release that tension from each muscle, starting from your toes and working your way up to your arms and neck and back. Then shake out your whole body. Repeat as desired.

By doing this, you are becoming actively aware of the tenseness in your muscles. Once you can be aware of this tenseness, you can work on getting rid of it. By seeing the two extremes in your super tense and super lax muscles, you can begin to recognize it. Thus, every time you are in a public speaking situation, you can remember to let go of this tenseness, and focus on a better presentation.

Now, Step Onstage

You’ve got this. You’re prepared, and calm and relaxed, and you’re conditioned for success. You can do this! Also, cut yourself some slack. It's a skill that takes time to learn, and even longer to master. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!

References
BarCharts, I., & Jacobs, R. (2014). Public speaking. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com.

Kirchner, J. (2004). Managing Musical Performance Anxiety. The American Music Teacher, 53(3), 31-33.Retrieved February 2, 2019.

Mladenka, J. D., Sawyer, C. R., & Behnke, R. R. (1998). Anxiety sensitivity and speech trait anxiety as predictors of state anxiety during public speaking. Communication Quarterly, 46(4), 417-429. 

Werner, N. S., Duschek, S., Mattern, M., & Schaundry, R. (2009). Interoceptive sensitivity modulates anxiety during public speaking. Journal of Psychophysiology, 23(2), 85-94. Retrieved February 2,  2019.