As you take the stage, your mind races with thoughts of impressing your audience and delivering a flawless presentation. Then as you begin to speak, the words get jumbled and your breaths become shallow, leaving you feeling like a fish out of water. Don’t let the pressure of the moment leave you gasping for air – instead, take a deep breath and exhale all of your fears and doubts.
When we are under stress, our breathing pattern shifts and we tend to inhale shallowly from our chest rather than taking deep breaths from our abdomen. As a result, there is less air available for our vocal cords to work properly, which can hamper our ability to speak effectively. One common mistake people make is inhaling just before they start speaking. Try this for yourself, inhale and then start talking. As you begin to speak, do you sense a sudden tesion, a feeling of constraint that hinders your flow of words? This can be improved!
Exhale
The solution is quite simple: exhale before you speak. You will immediately notice that you can just keep speaking without much effort. To perfect this technique, practice it before your presentation, taking just a few minutes to breath deeply and exhale before you start speaking. Do not worry, this exercise doesn’t take up much of your valuable time – by dedicating just five 5-minute sessions to this practice, you will begin to see real progress in no time.
Speak with breaks in between
In addition to stress, the eagerness to speak at a rapid pace can also impact your breathing. To counteract this, there is a second exercise that can help you:
- Find a private space where you won’t be observed by others.
- Select three distinct sentences such as “This is a pen”, “This is my pen” and “This pen is fantastic”. Holding a pen during this activity can be helpful.
- Recite each sentence and pause for two seconds between each one, allowing yourself time to catch your breath and maintain a steady pace:
“This is a pen”
*2 second pause*
“This is my pen.”
*2 second pause*
“This pen is fantastic.”
The key focus is not the content of your speech, but rather the intervals of silence you intersperse between your words. Have you ever noticed the impact of those pauses? By practising a deliberate enunciation of each sentence, you develop the ability to convey your message with greater precision, brevity and impact.
