Tools for Managing Situational Anxiety: Preparation, Warm-Up, Relaxation, and Other Ideas

Tools for Managing Situational Anxiety

Practice, Practice, Practice

One of the biggest concerns people have about having to speak publicly is wondering how they'll sound to others. The easiest way to overcome this is to practice your speech early and often. The more comfortable you become with the wording, the less you have to worry about in terms of delivery. Practice in front of a mirror or better yet, record yourself. Think of all this practice as training camp for the big game. You will want to analyze and make note of things that might be distracting or awkward, often the result of situational anxiety.

Warming Up Before You Present

One of the best ways to help shake off the pre-speech jitters is to fight fire with fire. You may already be feeling an increased heart rate and shortness of breath. Get your endorphins firing by quickly jogging in place or bouncing on your toes or the balls or your feet. This can help you to channel that nervous energy into a knockout performance for your speech.

You will want to make sure you get your muscles loose and limber, particularly those of your face and mouth. Try saying some tongue twisters to loosen up your tongue and test your articulation. Gently massage your cheeks and jaw to loosen up your facial muscles.

Tap into the Relaxation Response

Dr. Herbert Benson described a series of physical responses you can use to calm the body down as the fear response ratchets the body up. The key to triggering the relaxation response involves activating the following elements:

• Comfortable posture,
• Mental device, such as thinking or saying a meaningful word or phrase,
• Quiet environment,
• Deep breathing and passive awareness.

Deep breathing is one of the keys to activating the relaxation response. A simple way to achieve this is to close your eyes and try to quiet your mind. Breathe in slowly and deeply for four heartbeats. Hold for just a heartbeat or two and then slowly exhale for four heartbeats. Continue for twenty breaths until you feel yourself begin to calm down.