THINK LIKE A RACEHORSE
Are you the type of speaker who loves to get up in front of a group and dazzle them with your knowledge and expertise? You have watched other speakers, good and bad, and seen how they attract and hold an audience. You've noted which ones are comfortable in front of the audience and which ones seem to be white knuckling it all the way. No contest which one you want to be.
Yet, when it comes time for you to give your talk in front of 10 or more people, all that study, research and preparation flies out the window. Your breathing suddenly becomes panicky and erratic, your legs feel wobbly, your brain won't seem to focus, and you contemplate the choice between fight or flight. No contest which one you'd like that to be, either.
Before their presentations, many speakers feel perfectly comfortable. They've created clear and concise slides, they've written and rehearsed a killer speech, and they're convinced they're ready to wow the crowd. But then, at the very last moment, say an hour or less before they actually have to deliver the goods, a wave of insecurity suddenly washes over them. Their legs turn to rubber, their eyesight gets fuzzy, their heart starts to pound and they break out in a sweat. They feel like they're going to collapse mid-speech into a puddle of failure.
Feelings of abnormal physical weakness before giving a speech are astonishingly common. Even experienced speakers get the heebie-jeebies before a speech now and then. There are any number of reasons why irrational fears plague us at the most inconvenient moments. The challenge is what we can do about them now, on the spot, when we have to be brilliant in front of our audience. Here's one solution:
Take several deep breaths. Now, think like a racehorse!
Imagine a sleek, strong, powerful, running machine, at the gate, chomping at the bit, ready to get out there and dominate the pack! All that power and energy is totally focused on one thing, out-running all the other horses to be the first one at the finish line. Does the racehorse think about how nervous he is? Probably not. He knows he’s there to do a job, he's trained and ready to do it, and he's totally focused on winning.
When you get up to speak, you’re there to do a job, you're trained and ready, and all you need now is to focus on winning!
Inside you is the power, the energy and the stamina of a racehorse. You’ve planned your presentation, rehearsed it, and you're ready to drive through to the finish and come out on top!
When that irrational fear appears, take a deep breath and think of all that power pounding down the track to the finish line. That's you, doing your job, leading the pack. You are the racehorse. You'll have all the confidence you need when you harness your powerful energy and let your passion run!