Part 5: How to Deal with Mental Anxiety

When getting anxious about speaking, many people experience mental

symptoms such as not being able to focus on anything or myopically
focusing only on one thing, but by far, the most prevalent mental
symptom related to speaking anxiety is the fear of blanking out. The
number one question I get asked is what do I do if I forget what I'm
saying? The first step to managing this is not to admit that you've
blanked out rather invoke one of a few techniques to help get yourself
back on track.

The first thing to do is to remember what happens when you lose your
keys. When you lose your keys, you retrace your steps. The same thing
is true when speaking. If you lose your place, simply go back to go
forward. Restate what you just said and it should get you back on track.
Most of us can remember what just came before even if we can't
remember what comes next, and the audience actually enjoys the
repetition.

Second, have what I call a back pocket question. This is a question that
you've thought of in advance, so that if you blank out, you can ask your
audience a question, and while they're thinking of their answer, it gives
you time to collect your thoughts. I'm going to let you in on a little
secret. When I'm lecturing, there'll be times where I might forget what I
need to say next, so I'll invoke my back pocket question. I'll simply look
at my students and say, I'd like to pause for a moment and have you
reflect on how what we've just covered applies to you in your life, and
while my students are thinking about their answer, I have time to
collect my thoughts, and you know what? My students actually like that
pause. It helps them to digest the material. So there's no problem
invoking a back pocket question. Simply think about something you
could ask in the midst of your presentation or meeting that can help
your audience digest your material and give you that little break. The
final thing to do, if you blank out, is to simply restate the purpose or
goal of your presenting. If you've structured your presentation
properly, it should all be focused on a particular goal or purpose. So
stating that goal or purpose should make sense, and again, it buys you
time to figure out what you need to say next. So taken together, these
techniques can help you in a time where you might blank out, and the
nice thing is, simply by knowing about these techniques reduces the
likelihood that you'll blank out in the first place.