Seven tips to combat public speaking brain freeze!
Imagine this. You’re standing in front of a room of people. You’re speaking so well. You don’t even have notes and then without warning, your brain just turns off.
There is nothing there. You are completely blank. You don’t know what to say, you don’t know what to do.
If this has happened to you, you are not alone! No matter how much experience you have speaking, it’s worth having a game plan for a brain freeze.
Seven things to try if you get a public speaking brain freeze!
Take a deep breath. In through the nose and out through the mouth. Stay still and grounded. A leading cause of brain freeze is a lack of oxygen to your brain because your breathing has gone all out of whack.
Have a drink of water. This buys you time, the swallowing motion relaxes your throat and the hydration recharges your system.
Flick to an emergency slide. I use this a lot in corporate workshops, not just if I lose my place, it’s great to switch up the energy.
Ask the audience a deep rhetorical question. Questions like, how does that sit with you? Or what would you do in that scenario? Something that makes sense to have a big pause.
Make a joke about it. Now I don’t love self-deprecation, yet I am Australian, we like to do it and in the right context it can be just the thing to connect with your audience on a human level.
Go to your notes. I usually speak without notes, yet I always have a print out either at the lectern or on the table near where I am speaking in case I get a total brain freeze! All I need to do is take a short walk and have a look.
Just go with it. Whatever comes to you at that moment is fine.
Stressing about the brain freeze is often worse than the initial brain freeze itself!
It’s only a thing if you decide it’s a thing.
Don’t let perfectionism ruin a good time.
Keen to learn more? Listen to episode 136 of That Voice Podcast called - Public Speaking Brain Freeze! What do I do?!: https://www.sallyprosser.com.au/thatvoicepodcast/136-brain-freeze
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