Presentation Skills: Don’t forget to breathe!

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A common problem for anxious presenters, whether you are speaking on a video call or at a meeting, is talking too quickly, shaky voice and running out of breath. You’d think we all know how to breathe, wouldn’t you? But chances are unless we are musicians, singers, athletes or we’ve completed some good presentation skills coaching, we don’t know how to control our breath – and that’s something that makes a huge difference to our presentation skills.

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So, why do so many of us feel short of breath when we present? Well, the answer is because of our Public Speaking Monkeys®. We have written an award-winning book about taming these pesky Monkeys. To find out more about what Monkeys are click here.

What are the Benefits of Regulated Breathing?

During your presentation, regulating your breathing is a great way to:

have a relaxed not strained voice
be able to project more effectively
make your breath last longer
eliminate embarrassing gasping
stop saying “erm and um” when presenting
avoid breathlessness
regulate your talking speed
create a calm state of mind
Control your nerves

Are you thinking YES this all makes sense but how do I do it? Enquire about our 1-1 coaching here

In the short term, if you start to talk too quickly, or feel short of breath when speaking, take a deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth, then a normal breath, and continue. (If you’re wearing a microphone, or near a speaker do it quietly – as you don’t want to sound like Darth Vader!). You can disguise this action if you want to, by taking a moment to check your notes.

In the long term, your breathing plays a huge role in the success of your presentations. Slow and measured breathing is characteristic of control and that’s the characteristic you want. Prepared, ready and in control.

For more information on being confident when presenting click here and to learn more about how to increase your virtual presenting confidence click here

Learning how to breathe through your diaphragm is a sensible starting point

Exercise

1. Stand with your back straight, shoulders back, and feet hip-width apart, place a hand on your chest

Take a deep breath in through your nose
Notice: is your hand remaining still or is it being pushed out and upwards?
Breathe out and repeat

2. Next place a hand on your stomach

Take a deep breath in through your nose
Do you feel your hand remaining still or is it moving out as your stomach goes out?
Breathe out and repeat

If you are breathing correctly when your hand is on your chest you should not experience much movement. When your hand is on your stomach and you breathe in you should feel it expanding. Functional breathing is evidenced by us using our diaphragm (not the chest) to breathe from, meaning that our stomach (side and back) is expanding as we breathe in and fill that area with air that appears to be pushing out.

When we were younger, we were likely to be breathing correctly, but over time we form bad habits and many adults tend to breathe incorrectly. If you watch animals breathing, they are doing it correctly – you’ll see their stomach and sides expand.

But because the diaphragm is an involuntary muscle, we can’t just command ourselves to breathe correctly we need to learn how to access it first. In our presentation skills training, we teach and allow you to experience the Low Relaxed Breath. Then we show you how to access that whenever you need it in the future. Following this, you can practise at home to increase breathing strength and technique; in time, relaxed, functional low breathing will become second nature. Breathing correctly can also help to minimise adrenaline which can reduce the likelihood of you experiencing a pounding heart when presenting. But ultimately, remember “Breathing is essential – DON’T STOP!”

Breathe easy with our Simply Amazing Virtual Presenting

Are you or your team ready to deliver confident, professional and actionable online presentations? Our Virtual Presentations training programme has been tried and tested with online audiences, so we know it works. With our 3-step approach, you will learn how to:

Build instant trust and rapport with your audience
Keep your listeners engaged
Get your audience to take the action you want them to.
Don’t be monotone – Be engaging!

As remote working becomes an option for many professionals, with companies like Facebook, Twitter and Microsoft leading the way, there has never been a more sensible time to adapt to a virtual environment and invest in getting yourself and your teams presenting to the best of your abilities online.

We have helped hundreds of professionals become amazing speakers, is it time to invest in yourself and your teams?

Contact our award winning team today.

If you know you want to improve your presentation skills but aren’t quite sure where to start, visit our page to help you choose the best next steps for you https://simplyamazingtraining.co.uk/choosing-the-right-training