Why Your Body Freaks Out During Public Speaking and What Actually Helps

In all the previous articles on this blog, I explained how proper preparation reduces the fear of public speaking. Not by magically making it disappear, but by transforming it into something manageable, and eventually even enjoyable. The beating heart before stepping on stage does not vanish. You simply stop fighting it and start using it.

This blog and my trainings were born out of frustration. I used to roll my eyes every time I read the same cliché advice online: “If you want to stop being afraid of public speaking, just take a few deep breaths before going on stage.”

Please.

Breathing is not the solution to fear. It is not a shortcut. And if you have not done the work described in previous articles, it will not save you. That said, now that I have explained what actually reduces fear through preparation and mastery, I am going to do something that may surprise you. I am going to talk about deep breathing.

But with an important caveat. If you have not read this article, go to it first: How to Overcome the Fear of Public Speaking and Start to Crave It

What Is Happening Inside Your Body

Right before you step on stage, your body interprets the situation as a threat. All attention is on you. Your system reads that as danger.

This activates the amygdala. Adrenaline floods your bloodstream. Your heart rate increases. Blood flow is redirected toward survival functions. Resources are pulled away from the parts of your brain responsible for memory and complex thinking.

This is why you might blank. Your breathing becomes shallow. Your body prepares to run. Unfortunately, you cannot run. You have to stay and give a speech.

If you have applied the preparation principles I describe throughout this blog, this threat perception should already be much lower. But it will not disappear entirely. Most performers still feel it. I certainly do.

So the real question becomes: what do you do in the final minutes before stepping on stage?

How Deep Breathing Actually Helps

Despite my criticism of breathing advice, deep breathing does help. Not because it solves fear, but because it sends a contradictory signal to your body.

When you breathe deeply and slowly, you are telling your nervous system: “This might not be as dangerous as we thought.”

Your lungs expand. Oxygen increases. The brain gets a bit more fuel. This helps reduce the intensity of brain freeze. Deep breathing is also essential for a very practical reason: you need breath to speak.

Many inexperienced speakers choke on their words because they are simply out of breath. Shallow breathing cannot support sound. Deep breathing must continue not only before stepping on stage, but during the first sentences as well. Your lungs will naturally contract under stress. It is your job to consciously expand them and give your voice the power it needs.

Accept That Your Brain Is Limited Right Now

At this stage, your thinking capacity is reduced. This is not a failure. It is biology. This is not the moment to think about:

• the structure of your entire speech

• the impact you will have

• the reaction of the audience

You are simply not capable of that level of cognition right now. Instead, you must give your brain very simple problems. No more than two. These become your pre-stage ritual.

Your Pre-Stage Ritual

First, choose a small sequence of physical actions. This can be almost anything:

• brushing your teeth

• fixing your hair

• jumping a few times

• turning around once

The content does not matter much. Simplicity does. This is not a ten-step ceremony. It is a signal to your body that something familiar is happening. Second, and far more important, rehearse the first 20 to 30 seconds of your performance. Your brain can handle that.

Think through:

• how you enter

• how you walk

• where you stop

• where you look

• what the first two sentences are

Nothing more.

This entire sequence should already be prepared long before the event. Two minutes before going on stage is not the moment to invent it. But it is the moment to replay it.

This entrance sequence is so important that it will be the subject of a dedicated article. For now, understand this: once you get through those first 30 seconds, the system stabilizes. Breathing deepens. Thinking returns. Flow begins. That is why the work you do before the event matters so much.

What Actually Helps

Deep breathing, simple rituals and rehearsing the opening helps, but only if the foundation is there.

Breathing will never replace preparation. It only works on top of it. When you combine solid preparation with simple physiological management, fear stops being overwhelming. It becomes energy. And that is when public speaking starts to feel alive.