Giving a presentation is something that doesn’t come naturally to a lot of us. In fact if you’re like most people then you’ll probably come out in a cold sweat prior to having to give a speech and maybe even lose sleep in the weeks and days leading up to it. The problem is of course that you’ll have to speak in front of your colleagues, but also that there will possibly be a lot riding on the outcome – normally if we’re giving a presentation it’s because we’ve just completed a big project or because we’re trying to win a new client.

What this then means is that we will often find ourselves panicking incredibly right before giving the presentation and probably feeling our heats beating in our throats. Of course this is the ‘fight or flight response’ and one that was honed by nature to ensure that we were able to effectively escape from lions in the wild, but it is not useful now and surely not favorable to giving a good speech as it will make us likely to stutter over our words and to lose our place in the speech.

Luckily though, there are a few ways you can calm yourself down prior to a speech which can help you to deliver a better one and so ideally also be tranquil next time. Here we will look at some of those methods.

Breathing

If you panic in any way then often the release of adrenaline will cause your heart rate and pulse to increase, which will in turn make you more likely to breathe easily and even hyperventilate (not good before your presentation). The good news though is that this psychosomatic link works both ways – and so calming your breathing can also help to slow down your heart rate. To do this, just make sure to breathe more slowly and to inhale and exhale fully. Close your eyes for a moment while you do this, and you should find yourself calming down instantly.

Priming

An option method however is to accept this worked up state – rather than try and calm yourself down you can instead ‘ride’ the pleasure but turn it into a positive. Rather than trying to listen to calming music then, listen to rock music and psyche yourself up ready for a challenge. This way you can convince yourself to go in all guns high and turn that fear into enjoyment – an emotion which is much closer and so easier to translate. This is called ‘priming’ your mood, and another great way to do it is to watch an action film.

CBT

CBT stands for ‘cognitive behavioural therapy’ which basically means managing your behavior by changing your thought patterns. Persuade yourself to think more positive things such as ‘what’s the worst that could happen?’ or ‘who cares if I stammer?’ and suddenly you can feel a lot calmer and stop ruminating. Find what works for you then repeat these positive affirmations before any big test.