I just returned from Seattle, where I gave a presentation on persuasive speaking skills to employees and senior executives at Microsoft. When the organizers of the conference asked if I’d like to rehearse the presentation the night before the event, I gladly accepted the opportunity to practice under what I consider ‘good stress.’
Good stress—‘eustress’ in the neuroscience literature—enhances your performance, while bad stress— aka distress—clouds your thinking and increases all the physical symptoms we associate with public speaking anxiety, like sweaty palms and a faster heart rate.
The secret to building your confidence and reducing the anxiety that often comes along with speaking in public is to minimize the distress and increase the good stress…