Welcome to this practice.
My name is Ale Garnica.
Speaking in front of a group,
Whether delivering a speech or leading a meeting,
Can be nerve-wracking.
These nerves have nothing to do with your ability to speak.
You have probably noticed that even when you are very well prepared,
Nervousness can make you doubt yourself or hesitate or even forget what you had planned to say.
These nerves come from your thoughts,
From that voice that is telling you that you must do it perfectly or that you didn't prepare enough or that worries about what other people might think if you make a mistake.
With this practice,
We'll shift your focus away from that critical voice to a narrative that grounds you,
Helping you feel calm,
Confident and ready to show up as if you were talking to your family over dinner.
The practice is divided in three steps.
The first step will be to shift your focus to an intention that supports you while you are speaking.
The second will be to use your breath to invite calmness and confidence into the present moment.
And the third step,
Which is actually my favorite,
Will be to break the pattern of your inner critique by doing something unexpected.
I'll guide you through each of them.
Let's begin.
Adopt a comfortable position,
Preferably sitting down.
You can do this with your eyes closed,
But if you prefer to leave them open,
Look down a few inches away from you to block any distractions.
Take one deep breath,
Breathe in and breathe out.
Notice if there are any emotions present.
It could be nervousness,
Anxiety,
Fear.
If you don't notice any emotion or you just can't name it,
It's okay.
Whatever is present,
Let it be.
Moving on to step one.
Let's set the intention by answering the following question.
How do I want to feel as I lead this meeting or give this talk?
And see what comes up.
When you think about the intention,
Can you feel it in every cell of your body?
This intention is a powerful compass to bring you back to center.
When you are speaking,
If you feel nervousness creeping in or you start doubting yourself,
Remember the intention.
Moving on to step two.
Whether your intention is to feel excited,
Peaceful,
Empowered,
Nerves are going to come up and that's totally normal.
Conscious breathing will signal to your brain that you are safe and will calm you down by regulating your nervous system.
We are going to take four deep breaths.
In the first one,
You will breathe in through your nose in the count of four and breathe out through your mouth in the count of four.
In the second,
You will breathe in through your nose in the count of three and breathe out through your mouth in the count of three.
In the third,
You will breathe in through your nose in the count of two and breathe out through your mouth in the count of two.
And in the fourth,
You're just going to breathe in through your nose and breathe out through your mouth.
I'm going to be guiding you through this.
Breathe in one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Breathe out one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Breathe in one,
Two,
Three.
Breathe out one,
Two,
Three.
Breathe in one,
Two.
Breathe out one,
Two.
Now take a deep breath in and out.
Now we're just breathing normally.
We have now set the intention to keep you centered and we have used breathing to calm the nervous system.
Now we'll move on to the last step,
Breaking the pattern of the thoughts that come from that critical voice.
This voice is so used to talking that when you do something different,
Something unexpected,
It will not know what to do and it will go quiet.
And that unexpected thing that we are going to do is clapping.
Let's start.
I'm gonna stop but please continue.
If you want to clap louder or softer,
Feel free to do so.
Maybe you want to flip your hands or clap in a way that you normally don't clap.
Play with it.
Have fun.
And keep clapping,
Keep clapping.
Clap,
Clap,
Clap,
Clap.
Notice if the thoughts from that critical voice are still present.
But keep clapping,
Keep clapping.
Keep going.
Clap,
Clap,
Clap,
Clap,
Clap.
Now stop.
Become aware of how you feel now.
Do you notice any shifts in your energy?
In the body?
Observe what is present.
Let's do a recap so you take this with you.
You now have an intention to bring you back to center.
You have calmed the nervous system through conscious breathing.
And you have lowered the volume of the critical voice through clapping.
I hope you enjoy this practice.
Come back to it whenever you are about to speak in public.
And if you deliver a speech after this,
Let me know how it went by leaving a comment in the reviews or send me a direct message.
I would love to hear from you.
Wishing you great success.
I see you next time.
