What’s the scariest film you’ve ever seen? Without a doubt mine is ‘Halloween.’ What was frightening wasn’t what you saw- it was what you didn’t see and what you couldn’t control. Afterwards, I insisted my rather more level-headed friend check under my bed and in the wardrobe to reassure me there were no monsters lying in wait before I was able to go to bed.
Our imagination creates more monsters than reality. Some of these manifest themselves at work and we can lose sleep worrying about them. Fear and anxiety can overwhelm us and leave us struggling to cope. We may literally ‘freeze’, unable to act or want to run away. So what can we do to face down our fears?
The things most likely to challenge us are often high-stakes activities such as giving important presentations. As fleeing isn’t an option and our demons must be faced, what can we do to get through these scenarios and survive?
Large presentations
While I’m generally pretty confident giving presentations, I can vividly remember one instance where when I stood up, prepared to start- but then struggled to get my words out. I panicked, my breathing shortened and I literally had to pause and take a moment to compose myself. I felt overwhelmed and unable to breathe. What was only a moment for the audience felt interminable to me. Fortunately I recovered but the memory remains all too clear.
I reflected afterwards on what had caused me to freeze and came to the conclusion that the event was a big deal for me; I didn’t know how the audience was going to respond or how it would go. I had prepared, but some things were undeniably beyond my control.
Feedback after the event was really positive, which was a huge relief. Other people didn’t appear to have noticed how I was feeling- so the fear was in my head rather than on display, as I’d imagined.
In order to avoid or at least reduce those feelings which threaten to overwhelm us, there are some steps we can take that will help.
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Breathing exercises
Taking a deep breath and exhaling before you begin to present seems obvious but nerves can mean our breathing can become shallow, meaning oxygen can struggle to get to the brain, where it’s needed.
If you have time a few minutes before your event, the Calm App has a series of short breathing exercises which you can do for between one minute or several with options including Relax, Balance and Focus which I’ve found helpful.
2. Preparation
Effective preparation, including rehearsing what you plan to say and checking timings will at least give you control over your content. See my post on giving effective presentations for specific tips on how to plan well.
3. Body posture
How you stand or sit will make a physical difference to your body’s chemicals. By changing your posture you can literally generate greater feelings of confidence. My post on Power Posing provides tips on how to do this- or go straight to Amy Cuddy’s TED talk on the topic to see how it’s done.
4. Search for evidence of previous success
We can become so focused on what might not go well that we often overlook the majority of times we have delivered, where events have gone well. Rather than projecting forward to anticipate catastrophe, instead gather evidence of your previous successes. There is nothing quite like facts to deflate your fears.
5. Anticipate disaster.
Undertake a risk analysis of everything that could go wrong. This will enable you to plan for a number of eventualities and help you stay calm on the day. What if the technology doesn’t work? What if another speaker is delayed/cancels at the last minute? What if fewer or more people show up than you’d anticipated? How will you handle difficult questions from the audience? What if you’re unwell on the day? If you’ve anticipated how you will need to deal with all eventualities eventualities you will reduce the surprise elements of your event and have a plan to deal with them.
6. Focus on the outcome.
Imagine your presentation going really well. What’s happening? How are people responding to you? How are you coming across to your audience? How are your standing? What is your confident self saying/doing? What have you done beforehand to ensure you are feeling confident? What are you wearing?
By projecting yourself into a successful version of the scenario you are preparing your mind ahead of the event to approach it as something that will go well.
In conclusion:
Back to ‘Halloween.’ Take steps to remove as much of the fear of the unknown from events as you can to reduce your anxiety. This will help increase the degree of control you have. Be well-prepared. It will bolster your confidence and ensure your event goes as well as it can. And you won’t lie awake worrying about monsters.
Control what you can control. I can control my emotions, my attitude, my effort every day.
Mitchell Trubisky
