Coaching

When we get called to a podium or in front of a camera, a lot of us experience stress. Fortunately, there’s a way to deal with that. First, let’s understand what stress is. Basically, stress arises from a situation we don’t feel we can cope with. This might be a camera date today, but for hundreds of thousands of years, it was more likely to be coming face to face with a sabre-tooth tiger. This was what nature equipped us to deal with, and so even today, when we feel we can’t cope, the old mechanism kicks in even though sabre-tooth tigers are long gone. The mechanism, once designed to enable fight or flight and nothing else, shuts down all non-essential brain functions.

Unfortunately for us today this includes short-term memory and creative thinking. Too bad these are exactly the functions we need in front of an audience or a camera. This is what makes our mind potentially go blank at a critical moment. The mechanism is here to stay. It’s so old it cannot possibly change, so let’s accept it as it is and see if we can find a way to work with it. If that’s what stress does, might there be a way to avoid stress arising in the first place? Fortunately, there is. A well-rehearsed stock of key messages, for instance, will make you feel in control of the situation. Also, reminding yourself that the audience is here to listen to you, not eat you or tear you to pieces. And finally, deep, relaxed breathing can loosen up your diaphragm and flush your brain with oxygen. Oh, and it also makes sabre-tooth tigers vanish.