Breathing to Speak with Ease & Energy

The reason you run out of breath when speaking is due to Performance Anxiety. 

Did you know that? Do you get nervous before grabbing the Mic, as well?

We all do, to a certain degree, but the point is to work with that feeling as a driver to actively and consciously clear your mind and prepare your body to rock your presentation.

So, if you’ve noticed that when you join the stage your heart starts pounding, you begin to speed up, you’ve got a shaky voice, and you run out of breath, keep reading friend, this article is for you. 

If only we were trained in presentation skills from very early on, as part of our education, we wouldn’t struggle so much as adults, you say. 

I could agree to that!

However, the good news is that presenting is a skill we can learn and develop, we can all become great presenters with practice and good breath control.

Start by taking a deep breath through your nose and out through your mouth to calm yourself down, elongate your exhalation, while waiting to be called on stage. 

Become aware of the state of mind you’re in and communicate back to your raising mind and nervous body with your breath taking long inhalations through your nose and even longer exhalations out through your mouth. 

Let the countdown before joining the stage become a ritual where, if possible, you can stand up, jump around, shake your body to release any tension your body might be holding that could potentially trip your speech. 

And, if you can’t be on your own because you’ve got to be seated in the audience waiting to be called on stage, then actively release your jaw moving it side to side, roll your tongue up and back, close your eyes to come within with each prolonged exhalation. 

Shake the body discreetly, I mean, don’t cross your legs, instead sit up straight, elongate your spine, place both feet on the ground and perform your breaths in sync with your body, as you release tension.

And, when you’re feeling calmed again, close your mouth and focus on breathing in and out through your nose.

I’m a big fan of positive affirmations so I like to repeat a mantra to myself to remind my subconscious mind that “I’ve got this” and visualise myself rocking the stage, just sharing in case you like this sort of things too.

And, here are 3 tips you can bring with you on to the stage to control your breath and project your voice:

1. Relax your body and center yourself. Grab on the mic, make eye contact with your audience, and stand in your power pose (straight back, shoulders down, feet hip width apart). Exhale and greet.
2. Pause. Acknowledge the audience, engage with them, and then commence. Those first seconds of interaction allow you to take ownership of the scene, and for them to get acquaintance with you.
3. Begin diaphragmatic breathing. Take an inhale through your nose, fill out your belly with air and open up your rib cage, start speaking on the exhalation, and when you run out of air, pause, and repeat from the top. From this point on, pause, inhale, fill your belly, exhale as you speak. And, try not to hold your breath!

Now, here’s the caveat. We tend to take short and shallow breaths into our chest and out through our mouth. This unfortunately needs to be reversed with practice in time in order to be able to sync the cadence of your speech with your breath.

So, way before you know you’ll be grabbing that mic on stage begin optimising your breath with functional breathing. 

And, yes, here’s my recommended exercise, the one you can practice daily for five minutes to reverse any current breathing pattern that might not be serving you today:

• Place one hand over your chest and one over your belly. 
• Close your mouth and focus on inhaling and exhaling in and out through your nose. 
• As you inhale, notice how the breath travels in through your nose all the way down to your belly, and also notice how your belly rises and the intercostal muscles expand. 
• Don’t overdo it. 
• Once you’ve reached the point of air hunger, you’ve gone too far. 
• It’s best to become aware of that point and begin the exhalation right before the air hunger point.
• Exhale, empty all the air out in a slow prolonged manner, and begin the inhale process again. 
• Remember, your hands are there to signal the expansion and contraction of the body, use them as a guide.

Your aim is to inhale slowly and low, elongating the exhalation more and more!

" This practice will not only train your breath to deliver an amazing presentation but could potentially also transform you into a calm inspirational leader" - Coach Andrea. 

It’s simply a win-win in the books, friend!

Bonus tip: if you’re making noises at the end of each sentence when speaking, hydrate your mouth before presenting by drinking water and try to avoid drinking coffee right before your speech because this beautiful cup of coffee most likely dehydrates your body.

And, last bonus tip: if the stage happens to be online, the same principles apply, however, look directly at the camera hole to connect to your people. Online the performance anxiety can be greater because you can’t read the room with the same ease as you could from a stage and that might trigger fear.

You’ve got this!

Practice, present and share your results with me. I look forward to your wins!

And, I'd live to know. I'm thinking about creating a guide you can download with more tips and practices, would that help you? Let's connect or let me know in the comments!