Michele at TriForMS

I gave my 3rd speech at my Toastmaster’s meeting today. (If you are interested in improving your speaking skills and learning from some terrific speakers, join us! (www.pikespeaktoasmasters.com). My speech is titled “What is your Ironman” and the message of the speech was to inspire others to think about a really big goal they have, and challenge themselves to make a plan and then do it. I am a terribly nervous speaker and expended plenty of energy the week before the speech thinking of any excuse I could use to bow out of my speech. I exposed myself to anyone with swine flu, ate rotten foods to see if I could get food poisoning, and wore extra high heels in hopes of spraining my ankle. All to no avail, and I was healthy when I woke up on the morning of my speech. So, despite my fear of looking and sounding like a failure in front of an audience, I did it anyway. I have no idea what I said, because as soon as I start speaking, I go to a place where I detach from my body, go into auto pilot and can hear the words I’m speaking, but once I finish, I can’t remember what I just said. It’s like a black out from drinking without the fun. I know I forgot many of my profound points and my humorous stories and I unintentionally re-organized it as I went along, but I somehow made it to the end and made it back to my chair without assistance. So, why do I put myself through this?? That’s a topic for another day…. What I wanted to share today was what strategies I use to get through a fearful experience. I have been doing a lot of yoga lately and it’s cool how the things you learn in one part of your life flow into another part. I can’t stand in mountain pose at the front of the room and lay down for Shavasana when I finished, but when I sat in the room waiting for my turn and I felt like throwing up, and started hyperventilating, I remembered the breathing. I could hear my yoga teachers “just breathe. Deep cleansing breathes. Be present, focus on your breath” and that got me through the moments leading up to the point in time when I have to stand up and walk to the front of the room. With knees shaking, and hands trembling, I brought to mind the grounding techniques I’ve learned in yoga. Breathe, and feel my feet planted firmly on the floor. Stand tall, drop my shoulders, expand my chest and press my shoulder blades together. Oh, yeah, don’t hold my breath. Breathe again. Now, I’m in the front of the room and I began to talk. My hands are still shaking and I didn’t know what to do with them; my natural stance is to fold my arms in front of me or hold them in the prayer position. But remembering the strong mountain pose, I can let my arms hang naturally at my side as I get going. As the speech starts to flow, I can feel the flow of energy through my body as the tension releases from my body. I finish my speech and sit back in my chair and enjoy that great wash of relief when you work hard at something, feel the fear and do it anyway.