I can remember during my childhood, there were a few times that I would throw temper tantrums and I would be told to calm down and breathe. I’ve seen those same 4 words be used with kids who really do have anger management issues and it has worked. I don’t know what it is, but sometimes we have to be reminded to do something that regularly comes as second nature in order to collect ourselves. Breathing is what I’m talking about and yes, it is second nature. For the most part, we all come into this world automatically doing it. But when it comes to speaking professionally, the best speakers pay special attention to their breathing. Rather it be to hide nervousness or help make sure a statement is delivered with a powerful impact, being in total control of your breathing is like having a secret weapon. But it can be easy to lose control of it when in the moment.

Breathing is different when giving a keynote in comparison to your casual everyday conversation. Plus, speaking on a microphone can very well make your breathing more apparent. You have all eyes on you, plus the bright lights along with a multitude of other things that will all affect how you breathe and deliver your words. To help put your breath control in perspective, think about how a computer manages to stay cool and running. Think about how much a computer can multitask. When you first start it up, it’s real calm and very quiet. But the more you start to do on it causes even the most expensive and quietest computer’s fans to kick in to maintain a certain temperature and keep up with the demand. It’s really the same premise when speaking.. the more you think. The more you walk around...the more you interact with your audience.. will have a direct effect on your breathing. The more you are doing with your body will require you to be conscious of how you are breathing in the moment. You can sound out of shape or you can sound cool calm and collected. It all depends.

Last thing that you need to realize with this tip is that anxiousness and breathing go hand-in-hand. Whenever any of us talk fast, we often forget to take breaths. What was once second nature, becomes and after-thought. Eventually your voice will run-out and then you’ll have a bigger problem. This is another reason why controlling your breathing is so crucial. You want to sound put together. You want to sound confident. You don’t want to sound like you are trying to cram a whole bunch of words into one quick sentence. That doesn’t translate well for either party. So if you ever need a reminder of what it may be like for your audience when you get real anxious and lose breathe control, think.. (inaudible). What did that just sound like to you? A bunch of gibberish right? Well, if you didn’t like it, chances are your audience wouldn’t like it as well.

Make your next presentation, your best presentation!

Sincerely,

Julian A. Leonard
(Founder of The JLeonard Group LLC)

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