Remember to Breathe!

By: Copie Harris & Carla ávila

Presenting your authentic self: how practicing breathing before and during your talk can help you.

We’ve discovered over the years that most people don’t know how to breathe consciously.  Funny, isn’t it?! Breathing is something that is automatic--we do it without thinking at all.  Yet breathing consciously has many benefits when you’re presenting, which include helping you to feel more focused and centered, relaxing you and clearing your mind, and helping you to project your voice so that you feel and come across as more confident.  

Tip #1: Breathe consciously in advance of your presentation  

Carla and Copie practice two complementary and equally useful methods of conscious breathing that you can try in advance of your presentation.  Carla’s approach, which she practices daily in her morning routine and before she will give a presentation, is that recommended by Dr. Andrew Weil.  It’s called the 4/7/8 (or relaxing breath) method: breathe in for a count of four, hold that breath for a count of seven, and exhale slowly for a count of eight. Repeat this three more times.  It is best to place the tip of your tongue behind your upper front teeth as you do the entire exercise. If you’re nervous in advance of your talk, this can help calm your nerves.  It will also help you to feel more focused, present and centered.  

Copie’s approach is to focus on your diaphragm.  Put the fingers of both your hands just under your rib cage.  As you breathe in, your rib cage will expand. If it doesn’t, try to consciously push out your belly as you breathe in. Breathe in for a count of four or five, and then breathe out for a count of eight or ten--aiming to breathe out for twice as long as you’ve breathed in.  With your fingers still placed just under your rib cage, feel how your diaphragm moves in as you breathe out.  

Remember that your diaphragm operates the way a bellows does: it expands as you breathe in, and it contracts as you breathe out.  When we’re tense, we tend to breathe shallowly, and our chest rises and falls. Our throats tighten up, and when we speak, our volume becomes low.  If you practice diaphragmatic breathing, your throat will relax, your pitch will lower and your volume will rise. Try it and see what happens to your volume after you’ve practiced two or three diaphragm based breaths!

Research has shown that conscious breathing can lower your blood pressure, slow your pulse, and even lower your blood sugar.  

Tip #2: Write "breathe" in your notes, in a large font!

We find that having a breathing reminder is extremely helpful.  We suggest not only to include breathing as part of your preparation, but also as a note to your bullets or note cards. Even if you have forgotten to do your breathing exercises by the time you are ready to present, when you see the word “breathe” on your note cards or bullet reminders, you will become aware of your breathing.  In this way, seeing the word “breathe” acts as a trigger: you will take a deep breath, and you will feel a little more relaxed. Seeing the word in your notes might also trigger the positive feelings that you experience after doing your conscious breathing exercises.  

Tip #3: Breathe consciously during your presentation

We’ve discussed pausing in other webcasts, and we’ll come back to this skill again: remember that pausing lends you poise during your talk, and it gives your listeners time to mentally digest your message.  Take the time to pause, and breathe with Copie’s suggested diaphragmatic method during that pause. When you speak again, after the pause, you’ll find that your thinking is clearer and your voice is stronger. 

True story 

During Copie’s first experience speaking in front of a group, she noticed that the room was getting darker.  She wondered who was lowering the lights so rudely while she was speaking. It wasn’t until she could see only a pinpoint of light that she realized that she had actually forgotten to breathe, and the darkening room was really a prelude to fainting!  She took in a big breath, and thankfully didn’t pass out. However, years later, when she became a presentation skills coach, she met a client who DID pass out in front of his entire high school. That experience had embarrassed him so acutely that he had avoided presenting for his entire career.  The fact that he wouldn’t present eventually hampered his ability to progress within his firm, and he came to a presentation skills class to get over his fear.  

Summary: though breathing is usually an unconscious act, breathing consciously before and during your presentation has many benefits.  Practice conscious breathing to relax, focus, center yourself and to help raise your volume. You’ll reap long-term health benefits as well!

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