Episode 21: Transform Anxiety Into Excitement Before Public Speaking or Presentations
Hello, friend. If you're feeling anxious or nervous about an upcoming event and you're tired of feeling like your body betrays you every time you step into visibility, this episode is going to change everything.
The tips and perspective in this episode are a combination of techniques that I use in my private one-on-one work with clients and practices that I personally do to help overcome the feeling of anxiety whenever it creeps up.
The visualization at the end is one that I turn to anytime I'm preparing for a big presentation, leading a workshop, and even attending a networking event.
Invitation to work with me
Before we begin, if your voice, your message, and the way that you lead, are becoming a bigger part of your work and you want personalized support to regulate your system, show up powerfully and be seen without shrinking, I'd love to support you. You can apply to work with me using the link in the description.
turning that anxious charge into your personal fuel
Today we're turning that anxious charge. Your body keeps throwing at you into your personal fuel. We're going to talk about what your nervous system does before big moments, how to reframe anxiety into supportive excitement, how to prepare your subconscious with imagery that calms your system, some journaling to help you reveal hidden fears.
And at the end, I'll walk you through two short visualization exercises that you can use anytime you feel the feeling of anxiety creep up before a big eventBy the end of this episode, you'll know how to show up with steadiness, presence, clarity, and power for the big moment that is waiting for you.
What your body is really doing when you feel anxious
When you're preparing for a podcast interview, a talk, or a visibility opportunity, your mind can take that single event and turn it into a worse case storyline. Your body reacts as if you're under threat. That stomach drop, the racing heart, the blank mind. That's not insecurity. That's your subconscious mind protecting you.
Your subconscious mind doesn't operate with uncertainty, so wherever there is uncertainty, it will fill the gaps with worst case scenarios equivalent to preparing you to run, to avoid being eaten by a saber tooth tiger. Historically, this kept you alive. Your biology doesn't know the difference between a saber-tooth tiger chasing you and being interviewed live on TV with thousands of eyes watching you both feel like exposure, and your system thinks exposure equals danger.
When that happens, blood literally rushes away from your rational thinking and into your legs so you can run. It's perfect for sprinting away from a predator, but it's completely useless when what you need is presence, articulation, and access to your brilliance in those moments, your subconscious mind isn't sabotaging you.
It's trying to save you.
Shift anxiety into excitement
Here's something most people don't realize. Anxiety and excitement are physically almost identical. The difference is in the meaning. Your mind attaches to the event. Your mind decides whether the sensation in your body is a threat or a possibility based on the pictures you are imagining.
nervousness, imagines, loss and embarrassment. Excitement imagines impact and purpose.
Nervousness is self-focused. It creates thoughts like, will I mess up? Will I sound inexperienced?
Excitement, on the other hand, is mission-focused. It creates thoughts like, I can't wait to share my message. I can't wait to impact someone with my message. So when the energy rises in your body, don't fight it. Rename it. The next time you feel the feeling of anxiety, tell yourself out loud if you can.
This is excitement. I'm preparing for something meaningful. Of course, there's energy coursing through my body right now. This opportunity feels so exciting.
The moment you shift the meaning your physiology shifts to.
Look at the thoughts that feed the fear
As you're shifting your thoughts to calm your body, it's also helpful to know that the feeling of anxiety could also stem from subconscious fears that you might be holding onto, specifically around what you believe it will mean if you don't perform perfectly.
As someone who is constantly seeking to evolve, I'm always open to exploring any potential hidden fears that are holding me back.
if you are open to exploring this too, here are a few journaling prompts that will help you unearth potential subconscious fears. What am I afraid might happen if the event goes south? What would it mean about me if I stumbled or forgot something?
What if the event went phenomenally? What could that mean for my future? What would happen if I received an influx of opportunities as a result of this event?
If I'm the only person responsible for my results, what would I be doing to ensure that I achieved my desired outcome for this event?
This is how you reveal the story behind the sensation. Anxiety feeds on vagueness. Clarity pulls you back into your inner power.
if you use these prompts, I would love to know what came up for you. Leave your insights in the comments or send me a dm.
somatic practices that show your body you're safe
Let's talk about somatic practices to help you move through the feeling of anxiety.
Your body doesn't believe safety through words. It believes safety through the sensations that it feels.
I recommend adopting a toolkit of somatic exercises like breath work and EFT as part of your prep work for whatever big event is ahead of you.
Both activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which brings your mind and body back to calm, clarity, and focus. Three very useful states to be in when you're preparing for a big event and even to help you regulate after the event is over,
breathwork slows the fight or flight response and signals to the body that you are okay.
EFT taps on the acupressure points that release stored emotional charge in the.
Practicing these before the event tells the nervous system, not just the mind, that the moment ahead is completely safe. And if you are interested in personalized breath work and EFT, I'd love to support you through this as a private client. You can also search on YouTube for some great breathwork and EFT videos.
Send me a DM and I'll send you links to my personal favorites.
Visualization 1 to release anxiety
In this next part of the episode, I'll walk you through two short visualization exercises that you can return to whenever you need them.
Your subconscious speaks in images and emotions. If you feed it pictures of you fumbling, freezing, or forgetting something, it treats those images as rehearsals, so your system prepares for failure, not because it wants failure, but because it prepares for what you picture.
If it feels safe to do so, close your eyes and imagine your upcoming event on a screen. If the picture you see looks like an undesired outcome, that's an indication to update that picture. If it feels good, I'll walk you through a quick visualization to update the picture and inform your subconscious mind of what you actually want.
If it feels safe to do so, close your eyes once more and imagine your upcoming event. If the picture you see is not what you want to occur, I invite you to dim down that image all the way down as if you had a knob below the image, and you can switch the dimness all the way down and now shrink that image.
Make it tiny as tiny as possible. And now push that picture away. Far away from you so far that it fades into the distance moving further away, and it eventually disappears. Now bring up a new scene on the screen of your mind. See yourself walking into the room, into the interview, or onto the stage, whatever your event is.
And in this picture, you see yourself walking in with grace steadiness in your breath. Your shoulders are relaxed, your voice is clear, your eyes are focused, and your purpose is leading you. She looks like a woman who has done this many times, confident, self-assured, knowing that she's ready. See it bright, full of color.
Bring it closer to you. Experience this scene as a movie. Notice the sounds that are present. Fill it with positive emotions like excitement, fun, calm, whatever emotions make you want this more. Let your body feel who you are when you're present and feeling safe. Take a deep breath in and exhale completely longer than your inhale.
And open your eyes. How did that feel?
Now, I recommend that you rehearse this image as many times as you need to from now until the beginning of your event. The more that you rehearse this image, the more you can put into this image To make it more real for you, your mind and body will accept this as your truth and your success is inevitable at your upcoming event.
Your subconscious doesn't know the difference between real or and imagined. It believes what you feed it show your subconscious images of success and it prepares your body for the success that you're aiming for.
Visualization 2 to release anxiety
In the next couple of minutes, I'll walk you through another short visualization to help you reduce the feeling of anxiety around a future event.
You can do this anytime the feeling of anxiety comes up around other events.
If it feels safe to do so, think about the specific event that you're feeling anxiety or excited about
now. Picture 15 minutes past the completion of the event. Your event has ended and it's been 15 minutes since the event ended. Now, think about that event as if it went perfectly. The event unfolded better than you expected. How are you feeling? What are you saying to yourself now picture, it's one week later.
It's been one full week since the event ended. What positive words did the people around you say to you?
You are looking back at how you showed up. You're feeling proud of yourself, you feel expanded. You can feel the positive ripple that event created for you and for others. Take a moment to think back on today. Now that it's been a week since the event, how are you feeling? What are you feeling now? Is the feeling of anxiety gone or has it significantly diminished?
Notice what feels different. And when you're ready, take a deep breath in and exhale longer than your inhale. Open your eyes and tune into how you're feeling.
What we've done here is inform your subconscious mind of a new positive outcome. And if you feel called to do so, you can replay this visualization again if it feels supportive.
How to receive the audio files for the visualization
If you enjoyed these visualizations and would like these as audio files to use at any time, leave a comment below of your biggest takeaway and I'll know to send you the audio MP three file.
Taking your power back
The tips and visualizations in this episode invite you to take your power back. So instead of letting your subconscious and nervous system run old survival patterns on repeat, you're working with them, you're showing yourself possibility and safety. And when you shift anxiety into excitement, when you journal through your fear stories, when you regulate your system with breath work and EFT, and when you future pace your success, your mind and body stop protecting you from your desires and instead makes them your natural way of being.
You are not trying to get rid of anxiety here. What we're doing is redirecting the emotion toward more empowered ways of being. And when your mind says, this is safe, and your body says, this is exciting, your success is inevitable, my friend. I hope this episode served you and it came to you at a perfect time.
I would love to know your biggest takeaways. Send me a comment and a DM and I'll see you in the next one.