Control Your Nerves Public Speaking Ep2

ENHave you ever stood outside a closed door, waiting to walk into an English speaking exam and felt your own heart trying to escape from your chest?

ENI know that feeling perfectly, and it is absolutely terrifying.

ENYou look at the clock on the wall, and every second feels incredibly heavy.

ENYour hands start shaking uncontrollably.

ENYour mouth gets completely dry, like you have swallowed sand.

ENAnd the worst part is that your mind goes completely blank.

ENAll the advanced

ENvocabulary you studied for months just disappears into the dark.

ENIt feels like a complete disaster before you even open your mouth to say hello.

ENWelcome to your English Toolbox, your slow English podcast where we train your ears, your mind, and your nervous system.

ENI am Martin.

ENAnd I am Julia.

ENToday is episode two of our public speaking series.

ENAnd today we are focusing on something very different.

ENWe are focusing on the physical body, not the intellectual

ENmind.

ENIf you stay with us for this extended episode, you will learn the famous 90-second rule of human neuroscience.

ENYou will also learn a complete toolkit of actionable, physical techniques to instantly calm your nervous system.

ENThese are the exact tools you need before an IELTS, TOEFL, or Cambridge oral exam.

ENThese are also the tools you need to give a speech in front of an audience.

ENA work presentation, a school theater play, a political speech, etc. Even

ENmaybe you could also use these tools to propose marriage to your loved one.

ENAllow us this little joke, please.

ENYes, a full set of powerful tools.

ENWe will teach you exactly how to survive the most dangerous and critical part of any presentation.

ENLet me take you back to a specific moment a few years ago when I had to give a presentation to a very large intimidating audience.

ENThis was the conference in London, right?

ENExactly, the London

ENconference.

ENI was standing backstage hidden behind a heavy velvet curtain.

ENI could hear the murmur of the crowd finding their seats, and I could hear the previous speaker finishing their conclusion.

ENThat waiting period just before you walk into the light is always the absolute worst part.

ENIt is psychological torture.

ENMentally, I was totally prepared for this day.

ENI knew my presentation perfectly, and I had practiced my transitions, but my body was completely betraying me.

ENWhat was

ENhappening to you physically in that moment?

ENMy breathing became incredibly shallow.

ENI was only taking tiny rapid breaths into the very top of my chest.

ENWhen you use shallow breathing, you are not getting enough oxygen to your brain.

ENAnd when the brain lacks oxygen, it triggers even more panic.

ENExactly.

ENMy hands were sweating so much that I could barely hold my index cards.

ENMy legs felt like they were made of heavy stone.

ENIt sounds like your

ENbody was preparing for a physical fight, not a speech.

ENThat is exactly what was happening.

ENI felt like I was going to lose control, forget all my English vocabulary, and just run out the back door of the theater.

ENFor a very long time, I thought this kind of fear was a sign of mental weakness.

ENI thought I simply did not have the right personality for public speaking.

ENBut Martin, what you were experiencing backstage was not a

ENmental weakness at all.

ENIt was a physiological response.

ENThat is a fantastic C1 vocabulary word for our listeners, Julia.

ENPhysiological.

ENYes, let us define that clearly.

ENPhysiological means relating to the way a living body naturally functions and reacts to its environment.

ENYour fear was physical first and mental second.

ENThis is a huge realization.

ENWhen you feel threatened, your brain does not know the difference between a hungry tiger and a Cambridge-speaking examiner.

ENTo your ancient survival brain,

ENboth of those things are deadly threats.

ENExactly.

ENSo the brain immediately floods your body with survival chemicals.

ENMainly adrenaline.

ENWe call that an adrenaline rush.

ENAn adrenaline rush is an intense, sudden feeling of rapid energy designed to make you fight or run away.

ENYour heart beats faster to pump blood to your muscles.

ENYour mouth goes dry because your digestive system shuts down to save energy.

ENAll of those terrible symptoms are just your body trying to protect

ENyou.

ENBut here is the scientific secret that changed my life as a speaker.

ENNeurologists have studied this chemical reaction extensively.

ENThey found that an adrenaline rush takes exactly 90 seconds to peak and flush out of your bloodstream.

ENWait, let me make sure I understand that.

ENYou are saying the chemical wave only lasts for 90 seconds?

ENYes, just 90 seconds.

ENFrom the moment the deep fear hits you to the moment it naturally leaves your body is just

ENone minute and a half.

ENIf you do not fight it, the chemical reaction simply drops and fades away.

ENThat is incredible.

ENSo why does the fear usually last for the whole exam?

ENBecause we panic about the panic.

ENWhen we feel our hands shaking, we think, oh no, I am ruining my exam.

ENThat terrible thought creates a second adrenaline rush.

ENAnd then a third and a fourth, creating a continuous loop of anxiety.

ENThe shift and application precisely.

ENSo the major mindset shift for today is this.

ENYou do not need to fight your fear and you do not need to feel bad about it.

ENYou just need to manage your physical body for these 90 seconds until the wave passes.

ENHow exactly do we do that?

ENEspecially if an examiner is sitting across the table looking right at us.

ENWe use a series of highly actionable micro rituals to survive that window.

ENThe first tool is the

ENbreathing reset.

ENWhen you sit down, breathe in slowly through your nose for four seconds.

ENHold that breath in your lungs for four seconds.

ENAnd then exhale completely and slowly through your mouth for six seconds.

ENThat long exhale is the most important part.

ENAn extended exhale physically massages the vagus nerve, which tells your nervous system that you are completely safe.

ENThe second tool is a physical grounding technique.

ENGrounding means using your physical senses to connect with reality,

ENpulling your attention away from your spinning thoughts.

ENExactly.

ENWhile you are breathing, push your feet hard into the floor.

ENFeel the solid ground supporting your shoes.

ENFeel the wooden chair supporting your back.

ENYou are sending your brain physical evidence of stability.

ENThe third tool is building what I call your security system.

ENWhat is a security system in the context of public speaking?

ENIt means you must memorize your very first sentence perfectly.

ENThe adrenaline protocol in your

ENbody is at its absolute highest right when you are about to start speaking.

ENThat is when your brain goes blank.

ENIf you have that first sentence memorized like a song, you have a safe ground to start from.

ENYou do not have to think about grammar, you just have to press play.

ENIt acts as a bridge over that initial 90-second wave of nervousness.

ENBut to build this system properly, you must practice at home like a professional actor.

ENActors rehearse their lines endlessly so they can rely on muscle memory when the stage lights hit them.

ENRehearse your first sentence in your bedroom with your eyes open.

ENThen rehearse it with your eyes closed.

ENVisualize the exam venue.

ENVisualize the white walls, visualize the harsh lights, and visualize the serious examiner.

ENYou have to make your brain feel like you have already been in that scary room a hundred times before.

ENYes, familiarity destroys fear.

ENAnd when you

ENfinally enter the real room, take a moment to read the room.

ENTo read the room means to observe the emotional mood and connect with the people in the space.

ENDo not look at the floor and do not look at your shoes.

ENLook at the examiner as a human being.

ENIf you can connect with them, maybe with a polite smile, a comment about the rainy weather or a quick greeting, the tension will ease immediately.

ENYou realize they

ENare not tigers trying to eat you.

ENAnd finally, the most powerful and authoritative trick of all, the delayed start.

ENOh, this is so crucial for time to exams like IELTS, TOEFL, or the Cambridge Advanced Tests.

ENWhen the examiner looks at you and says, Please start, do not speak immediately.

ENThe amateur speaker rushes into the first word because silence feels uncomfortable.

ENBut the professional speaker uses the silence.

ENExactly!

ENPause for three slow, deliberate seconds before you deliver

ENyour memorized first sentence.

ENLook at the examiner, smile slightly, take a deep breath in, and then begin.

ENThose three seconds show absolute confidence.

ENThey establish your dominance over the situation, proving that you control the time.

ENSo, let us review our physical strategy for today.

ENFear before speaking a foreign language is highly physiological, not a character flaw.

ENIt is simply a 90-second chemical wave of adrenaline.

ENDo not fight the wave because fighting it makes it bigger.

ENBreathe

ENdeeply with a long exhale.

ENPractice your grounding by feeling the floor.

ENUse your memorized security system to survive the opening moment.

ENRead the room to connect with your audience as human beings.

ENAnd always delay your first words to establish authority.

ENIf you enjoyed this episode, please write a small comment before you go.

ENWhat is your biggest physical symptom when you get nervous before an English conversation?

ENDo your hands shake?

ENDoes your heart race or does your

ENmind just go completely blank?

ENWe need your comments because your voice is more important than ours.

ENYour voice and your comments will show us the right path for future episodes.

ENThank you for listening and we will see you with the next one.

ENAnd if you are going to give a speech tomorrow, remember your uneasiness is normal.

ENYou are human.

ENBreath.

ENUse your memorized sentence.

ENWait a few seconds and go.

ENYou will surprise you really enjoy public

ENspeaking.

ENWe will keep you coaching in the next episode.

ENSee you soon.