Public Speaking Training:  Great Exercises for Coping With Stress

Here  are some of my favorite “coping with stress” exercises.

For some people, anxiety is a problem whenever they do presentations.  Are you like many people and also feel stressed out during your daily work or academic life?   These exercises are good training in your daily life and for using before a presentation.

Taking an active relaxation break  is simple.  Find a comfortable, quiet place to sit where you will not be disturbed.  Close your eyes and think of the word “relax.”  Think “re” as you inhale and “lax” as you exhale.  Be sure you are breathing deeply into the abdominal-diaphragmatic area.  It’s simple– inhale “re” and exhale “lax.”  Do this for at least a minute.  Let any thoughts gently float away.  Aim to increase this  exercise to five minutes or more.  Doing it several times a day can break the stress cycle you experience in your life.

Visualization can be very effective in reducing anticipatory stress.  Anticipatory stress is what you feel before you do a presentation.  So, if you want to improve your presentations, whether impromptu with little warning, or formal presentations,  imagine yourself doing the best communication or presentation you have ever done.  Create the scene in your mind and let your body relax.  Take a deep breath and feel the sense of well being in your body.  Visualization is very effective to reduce tension and improve your performance.

Another stress releaser is this:  Have objects on your desk that are pleasant to look at.  You can use one  for a brief visualization exercise.  You might use a shell, for example.  Looking at the details of this shell for a few seconds and concentrating your thoughts on the shell will give you a break from your work or academic day.  If you brought the shell from the ocean, you can let your mind go back and feel the sun and the warm sand beneath your feet.  Hear the ocean and really return to the seaside for a few moments.  This short, mental vacation will relax your body and mind.

You can use any object – a flower, picture, something that has meaning to you.

Next time: Did you ever wonder why English has such a strange spelling system?

Click here: www.cleartalkmastery.com/scheduler to sign up for a Free Sample Lesson with us! 

 Be sure to watch our English Speech Tips videos and Accent Reduction Tip videos  for more English pronunciation and accent reduction exercise.

Breath Pauses

One of my favorite strategies is to mark breath pauses in your narrative for a presentation.  Many people, especially nonnative speakers of English, polish their presentation by writing it out their script or narrative.  Many people forget to include pauses.  Listeners need the pauses to process what you are saying.

• Marking your copy for breath pauses will make it easier to avoid inappropriate pauses and especially to remind yourself to do pauses.
• Use a double slash mark to indicate a pause with fairly deep inhalation.
• The single slash marks mean a quick intake of air or a pause with no breath intake.
• Most double slash marks are found at periods, and single slashes are a commas, ellipses, dashes or to distinguish meaning.

Public Speaking: How to Relax Before You Present

The beginning of a presentation is often a difficult time to maintain your focus.  Try taking a slight pause at the beginning and thinking of a word to help you focus.  That word might be “focus” or for me it is “twinkle” to remind me to enjoy!

It is important to  prepare for your presentation by relaxing prior to it when possible.  If you are at the site of your presentation, and it is not coming up for a few minutes, you can do this: Create your own “mental green room.”  Find a place away from everyone and take a few deep abdominal-diaphragmatic breaths.  Think about your audience as being one person, a dear friend, and what this presentation will mean to him or her.  Let your mind catch up with your body.  Your mind may have been running all day.  Calm your mind. 

If you can’t remove yourself from the site, then make a dwelling within your mind and space.  Breathe and concentrate on your dear friend whom you will be talking to in a few minutes.

Next time are my favorite tips for coping with anxiety or stress.

 Be sure to watch our English Speech Tips videos and Accent Reduction Tip videos  for more English pronunciation and accent reduction exercise.

Easy Tips to a Better Voice During Presentations

Here are some easy to do tips to get you a better voice during presentations:

• Avoid the restriction of tight clothing that might keep the abdominal area from expanding.
• Tight clothing is especially restrictive if you have just eaten a heavy meal.
• Better yet, do not eat a heavy meal before doing a presentation!