For professionals who lose their train of thought, ramble, or feel their body take over when the pressure is on. Every week, you'll receive practical strategies using a body-first approach to help you stay steady and communicate clearly and coherently so your expertise is finally recognized and respected.
Where public speaking anxiety actually comes from
|
Hey Reader, Let me tell you about Pheobe. She works in publishing and has to speak in front of others frequently. We're talking pitching to sought-after authors, negotiating deals, presenting targets to the board - all the things. She just had to pitch the company to a well-known author that could bring in some serious revenue. So, you know, no pressure. She knows the material. She prepared properly. She even rehearsed the opening in the hotel bathroom mirror the night before while balancing a Pret sandwich in one hand and mild existential dread in the other. And yet the second all eyes turn toward her in the meeting, everything changes. Her heart rate spikes. The sentence she knew perfectly 30 seconds ago disappears into the abyss. So she starts talking faster. Then over-explaining. Then mentally leaving her body while somehow continuing to present slide 7. I see versions of this all the time. And what’s important to understand is this: Public speaking anxiety usually isn’t a confidence problem. It’s a nervous system response. Your body interprets visibility, scrutiny, pressure, or evaluation as threat - and when that happens, access to language, memory, and clear thinking can get disrupted. Which is why so much traditional speaking advice feels wildly unhelpful in the moment. More scripting. More rehearsing. More “just be confident” trope. None of that works particularly well if your body already feels unsafe being seen. What actually helps is learning how to stay connected to yourself while speaking. Not by becoming the perfect vision of serenity. Just steady enough to keep access to your thinking while attention is on you. I write about this in more depth in this blog post. If you want something a little more actionable: The 5-Day Steady Speaker Challenge is designed to help with exactly this - staying grounded and clear when attention turns toward you. It’s not too late to join. Steady together, |
Ellie Smith | Public Speaking Coach
For professionals who lose their train of thought, ramble, or feel their body take over when the pressure is on. Every week, you'll receive practical strategies using a body-first approach to help you stay steady and communicate clearly and coherently so your expertise is finally recognized and respected.
Hey Reader, Let me introduce you to Phoebe. Phoebe is really good at her job. She works in publishing. She’s excited to go to work every day (and, let’s be honest, just as excited to finish), and she loves the challenge it gives her. It also means a lot of pitches and presentations. She’s been given the chance to lead a pitch to a prospective client who could bring in serious revenue for the company. She’s worked hard on it. Her slides are down to a T, with trigger words placed exactly where...
Hey Reader, Quick behind-the-scenes note. I'm mid-build on something, and I'd rather bring you in on what's going on than wait until it's polished before sharing it with you. You may have heard me talk about the Steady Speaker Power Hour in previous emails. Until now, it's been a general hour of support for dealing with speaking nerves. I'm now rebuilding it around one specific issue: the moment your mind goes blank mid-presentation. One hour can't fix every issue we face when giving a...
Hey Reader, Your inbox is about to get very loud. Halloween, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Thanksgiving, Christmas. Every brand you've ever bought a candle from is about to remember you exist. So before it starts, I want to make you three quick promises. And further down, I get to the good stuff - I'm sharing five hills I'll die on as a nervous system -led speaking coach. Promise 1: No Black Friday discounts from me. Sounds harsh, I know. But here’s my belief: When everything goes on sale, you...