Anxiety
There’s an apartment block close to where I live. Its position in the town centre on the top of the hill must give it outstanding views of the surrounding countryside. I imagine the price of the penthouse flat to be extraordinarily high. But that flat doesn’t stand alone. It’s perched on top of all the flats below, and I imagine the foundations for that tall building must go very deep. It’s success and value are based in its foundations. And that’s what I want to discuss in this article. Creating the foundations of a great speaker start with preparing the ground. Once the foundations are in, you have something to build on. When the structure is solid and the outside is sealed, we can think about the interiors and finishing touches. But if the foundations are wonky (shaky, unsteady, or awry), everything is wonky.
Here are two useful definitions of anxiety, although I prefer the second.
- feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome.
- a perceived lack of control over outcomes.
The symptoms of anxiety are universal. By that I mean, if you’re a human being you will suffer any combination of these at any time, when your mind and body say it’s the right time. No two people experience anxiety in the same way either. Each person has different trigger thresholds.
The anxiety of public speaking hits everybody at one stage or another. We all have egos and nobody wants to screw up in public and feel a sense of humiliation.
The list below are consequences of an activated sympathetic nervous system – fight or flight.
- racing heart – increased heart beat brought about by adrenaline in the bloodstream
- sweating – your body’s desire to cool down. We sweat when we run. Same principle
- shaking – a temporary lack of control over your muscles – multiple triggers (a blog in itself)
- tight-throat – the sympathetic nervous system switches off your saliva gland. Saliva production is not a priority in a fight or flight situation
- breathing changes – your respiratory system creates shallow and gasping breath with lack of oxygen
- blurry-dizzy – nausea – the blood in your essential organs and intestines is evacuated to your arms and legs – fight and flight response
- mind-blank – our brain can freeze when there’s a narrowing of the capillaries distributing oxygen (the fuel for the brain)
- focus on the negative - we have a negativity bias which makes us to focus on catastrophy
- sleeplessness – caused by rumination – a recurring introspection focused on poor performance outcomes
- irritation – if you’re not sleeping well, your mind and body are not balanced. It’s difficult to make good decisions if we’re not functioning properly. It feeds into the other symptoms
- poor concentration – see 1-10 above
The good news is that if you have experienced any of these symptoms, you can with the correct approach overcome it. But you’ll need to make a few changes to your lifestyle.
You’ll have to find time to make things happen, but it’s a worthwhile investment in your future. There is no magic wand or silver bullet treatment, but you can with practice, in time make a huge contribution to improved speaking outcomes and I’ll talk about those in subsequent posts.
For now, take control of your breathing. Find a meditation or yoga class. Secondly, eat a healthy diet with lots of fresh vegetables and fruit. Avoid fast-food where possible, it doesn’t supply the required nutrients. Thirdly, exercise regularly – it’s good for your health and well-being. Finally, avoid coffee and high energy drinks as they narrow the blood vessels. All of these suggestions will reduce your normalised anxiety.
These items will change the balance of your life, so that when you’re ready to tackle the issue of public speaking, the foundations will be in place.