“There are two types of speakers: Those who get nervous and those who are liars.”
– Mark Twain
This semester I am taking a course in Public Speaking at WestConn. It partially satisfies the requirement of courses outside of my music major. The upside is that I’m already quite comfortable with the idea of speaking in public. I’ve been doing it for almost as long as I’ve been a musician, often being called on to handle the between-song patter.
During the first class, our professor shared this Jerry Seinfeld quote, “According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.” I’m a fan of Seinfeld's “third eye” take on universal topics. But the fear of public speaking doesn’t apply to me.
I Think Therefore I Am… Nervous
We were assigned to prepare an excerpt from a favorite movie and present it in front of the entire class. The use of notes was discouraged so we had to memorize the text. Also, we were encouraged to deliver it “in character”. Wait. What?
Bueller? Anyone?
I chose the opening speech by the title character in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (dir. John Hughes, 1986). I copied the script text and created an mp3 file of the portion I would be sharing.
When it comes to memorization, repetition is a great help. I listened to the audio. And then I spoke. Listen. Speak. Listen. Speak. I never nailed it exactly, word-for-word, so I decided I would mentally transcribe Ferris’s speech idea-for-idea. That seemed to work.
Remember To Breathe
I felt pretty prepared when it was time to deliver the speech. I began, “The key to faking out the parents is the clammy hands. It's a good, non-specific symptom.” Then I forgot how to breathe. I wasn’t fully exhaling. Like you, I’ve been taking 20,000 breaths per day, every day for my whole life. But there I was, in the deep end of the pool, gasping for breath. Strangely enough, my professor and fellow students didn’t seem to notice. But I sure did.
Composer, Compose Thyself
I often tell my private music students, “The musician must first be composed before s/he performs the composition.” The idea is to take a moment and be fully there. Take a couple of cleansing breaths. Alas. I forgot to follow my advice. Next Time
Noa Kageyama is a performance psychologist and is on the faculty of The Juilliard School where he also earned a master's in violin performance. Kageyama offers some great resources to help effectively prepare for performances and manage stage fright at https://bulletproofmusician.com. He’s even written an in-depth article on breathing here https://bulletproofmusician.com/does-just-breathe-really-help-us-lower-anxiety-or-is-it-just-a-total-cliche/ This excellent advice applies to public speaking.
Next time I deliver a speech I’m going to try the breathing route. Please comment below about a notable public speaking experience of yours, glorious or painful.
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