Taming Your Butterflies

(How to Overcome Nervousness)

I had been on television for more than five years — and radio for several years before that — when I had my first really big experience with speaker’s nerves. I was standing in front of four hundred high school jou
alism students who’d come to a three-day workshop at the University of Washington when it hit. I had long since overcome my beginner’s jitters in front of a television camera. After all, the thousands (local) to millions (network) of people who might be watching any given broadcast weren’t physically present. These people were. I could see their faces and sense their reaction. I was no more than twenty words into my planned twenty minute speech when my mouth went bone dry. My wife, who was seated at the head table next to the lecte
where I was standing, sensed my discomfort and pushed a glass of water toward me. Gratefully, I sipped the water and continued.

With the help of more water and an audience that was generous with both laughter and applause, I made it through my ordeal, actually enjoying myself by the time the question and answer portion of the program came around. Still, I was conce
ed. This was the first of nearly a dozen speeches I was to make on my experiences as a war correspondent in Vietnam over the next couple of months . And, even though organizations were willing to pay what then seemed like a lot of money to hear my musings on the war, I wasn’t at all sure I wanted to put myself through the torture involved. Something had to give.

A New Perspectiven n One important lesso
I learned from my first speech came when I tried to figure out why I felt so much more comfortable during the Q & A. The answer was simple. While the students were asking their question, I took time to breathe. It sounds like a simple thing. Of course, all of us must breathe to stay alive, and yet I’ve found that the single biggest contributor to a loss of control when business and professional people speak or meet the media is shallow breathing. By taking the time to breathe deeply, you not only get rid of excess — adrenaline produced — energy that causes tension, you also gain time to think; a useful practice when answering reporter’s questions. To breathe you must pause, and pausing gives you a feeling of being in control and power.

Speaking Freely (How To Relax)

Years after my first difficult speech, I happened to read an article in a golf magazine about how to reduce stress as you prepare for your round. While reading the article, it occurred to me that many of the steps that work so well on the golf course could be equally effective for the person about to be interviewed or make a presentation. In the past twenty years I have taught this Four Step Process to thousands of business and professional people in my Media Awareness and Speaking Freely workshops.

Step One: Stretch ‘Em Out

Since we store up most of our tension in the shoulders and in the spinal column, begin by standing up straight with your feet spread comfortably apart. Now, pretend you are holding an imaginary golf club across your shoulders behind your neck. Rotate your shoulders as far as you can one way and then back the other, letting your head follow along. By doing this three or four times, you will experience an immediate reduction in tension.

Step Two: Blow It Outn
Now, breathe. Take in a lung full of air, hold it a few seconds, and breathe out forcefully, completely draining your lungs of all air. Repeat the inhale/exhale cycle several times and feel the release of tension.

Step Three: Let It Gonn Sit down in a straight-back chair, preferably one with arm rests. Now, relax as completely as possible. Close your eyes and feel the weight of your body pushing down into the chair. Now, feel the weight of your arms against the arm rests and the weight of your legs pushing down toward the floor. Now, monitor your body parts. If you feel tension in your shoulders, shake it out. Do the same for your arms, legs and feet.

Step Four: Preview Successnn Now that you are perfectly relaxed, breathe deeply and visualize success. Imagine someone who’s opinion you respect coming up to you after your presentation or interview and saying, “You really did a great job.”

The Four Step Process, which takes less than two minutes to complete, can make a world of difference in your success at Taming Your Butterflies.