How do you handle stage fright before a motivational speech?

Although I enjoy and have success speaking from the heart it’s important for me to prepare a list of subjects I’d like to speak on.

Absolutely important to be extremely prepared. One other way I have learnt is to not overthink too much. I often get motivation from people who happen to be in an under-privileged situation than I am, yet are able to fight nerves and sometime even speak freely on TV. If they can do it, why not me?

I remember vividly my recent experience of career counseling speech in a university. I practiced visualization and visualized a supportive audience, a great presentation delivery and all but few mins before the presentation, my mind had started racing through all the negative possible outcomes and I just couldn't imagine starting normally. I even started doubting the value that would be delivered. This presentation included my years of experience, understanding and efforts. The only thing that helped me in such a crazy situation was prepping through the whole thing in my mind. I just went through the slides and the points I would be covering and the story that my presentation talks about. This actually did work for me !!

To mitigate stage fright, I advise immersing yourself in your material until it becomes second nature. Rehearse your speech in various environments to solidify your confidence in its delivery. Pay extra attention to mastering the opening and closing segments, which tend to be most vulnerable to nerves. By thoroughly internalizing your content, you equip yourself to stay focused and unshaken by any unforeseen distractions or events during your presentation.

Visualize yourself after successfully completing the speech celebrating Visualize a bunch of people with milky mouse ears 😃

What I find to be massively helpful is to visualize the speech from start to finish. It helps me lean into any nervousness & explore it. This is incredibly insightful because when I see where I feel the most nervous, I can dig into it & if need be, rework that portion of the speech to where I feel more confident—lastly, detaching from particular outcomes of it & holding pure intention that my words reach the right person -even if it's only one.

My first big sale i did completely utilising only the breath. Just taking one breath, feeling the nerves/unknown, giving it space, then watching what showed up next. The space between the breath guided my words, my movements and the possibilities opened up from there.

In my experience visualizing technique and breath work based on the shamanic Hawaiian tradition that I learned and teach, makes a huge difference in how peaceful person can be before

Things not to do: "fake it 'til you make it", repress the nerves, or 'mental gymnastics around calling the nerves 'excitement.' The nerves aren't excitement. They are heightened energy - and that energy can be channelled through you into your message instead of trying to manage it with techniques. If you got fuel, throw it into the fire. Let it become passion. The tricky thing here is it also means throwing your identity into the fire. The real thing is that we are scared of letting all our passion out on stage - but calling it nerves and playing small makes us feel safe (and belong with everyone else playing small). Stand out. Be you. Let it burn.

What you resist persists. You can’t control your physical symptoms, but you can control your reaction to them. By accepting the fact that you’re nervous, the physical symptoms won’t feel so scary.

Embracing nervousness gives you permission to be human. In my opinion, nervousness isn't the problem but what you make it mean. Most people make it mean that they aren't ready or good enough. I challenge you to reframe the meaning of your nervousness to something that supports you vs weighs you down.

Everyone in your audience desires deep connection just as you standing on the stage. Cultivate an experience of deep connection by making eye contact, slowing down your speech & sharing stories that help them to feel a sense of connection during your speech/talk. That's what makes it memorable.

Try to remove yourself from the pedestal of the “speaker.” What you’re really doing is talking with some people about something you care about. Think “fireside chat,” not “speech.”

This is a lot simpler than what anyone wants to here - but try smiling. Just genuine smiling. Smile before you say anything. And smile genuinley at any point throughout your presentation. This is one of the most common tips I give my students/speakers. So many people get stuck with thinking about what they need to do/say next that the tension comes through their face. The more relax and natural you are the more you will connect with your audience. A simple guidelines for connection: If you wouldn't do it while having coffee with a freind, don't do it on stage with an audience.

Can we stop referring to it as mindfulness? It creates is a mental-driven approach at presence - it's like people trying to be mindful instead of just relaxing into their natural presence. Presence in the #1 asset in speaking from stage, I even give my students a pre-stage grounding meditation for this purpose - to get into their natural presence before they go on stage. But we have to remember if we are 'doing' mindfulness, we are 'doing' it wrong - presence is a state of being not a performative function.

It's important to get as much experience as you can in as many vast public speaking opportunities as possible. Try different audiences, different stages, different rooms and even different topics. I tell my students to push their comfort zone. Try standup comedy, or an open mic night. All of this gets you more comfortable in your own skin when you have to come back and present at work. Yes it is scary, and you have to face your fears - but the kind of impression you will create in the workplace is second to none. One of my clients who started in a new company is being told by everyone how remarkable it is whenever she speaks - you can hear a pin-drop in the room the way she commands silence. It even got her noticed by the CEO. Lean in.

Just do it scared. Get it over with, even if you suck. Then, your body will accept that it didn’t die, and so maybe public speaking isn’t so terrifying!

This is what worked for me: 1. Visualize the worst that can happen (even people throwing rotten eggs & tomatoes, or booing) 2. Be ready to face the worst 3. Prepare for the best, & learn continuously 4. Telling myself, in advance, that my speech went well and had the desired impact! Visualizing success, internally, in advance.