Do you get butterflies in your stomach before making a big pitch or presentation? To end our current podcast season, we invited Lucia Cesaroni, world renowned opera singer and voice consultant, to share with us how to find our own voice and project it with confidence and ease.
Myths that Lucia wants us to walk away from
- “I get nervous before presenting because I am not good at it.” Everyone gets nervous. We’re biologically wired to get nerves before a big presentation. Our brain perceives the presentation as a threat. Our nerves are a signal that our brain is trying to protect us from danger.
- “I am not an extrovert and so I am not good at presenting.” Despite the fact that we often assume extroverted people are better at public speaking, finding your own voice and projecting your voice is not related to introversion or extroversion.
Lucia’s tips on preparing the body and mind for presenting
- Do some breathing exercises to find your own voice modulation. We often subconsciously model our voice after our role models or what society projects as our role models, without realizing that we have a tonal range and voice modulation that we can explore and leverage according to different situations. Tune into the breathing exercises that Lucia shares on the podcast to explore the different possibilities of your own voice.
- Stretch to take up more space. When you stretch, you will find that your body naturally sits up a little straighter and taller. When you take up more space, your voice will project with more confidence and the receiver of your voice will feel your presence.
- Take time before responding. Whether you are making a big speech or responding to comments in an intense meeting, make sure you take pauses. Take a second to bring back awareness to your body and breathing. Take a second to feel your grounding, whether you’re sitting or standing.
Favourite quotes from this episode
Post your favourite quote on social to share with us!
“When our brain, mostly incorrectly, perceives a high pressure situation as a threat, adrenaline rises, certain chemicals are released. What we need to do is to learn to reroute that process, and that requires body awareness, vocal awareness and mental focus, mindful preparedness, and coping strategies.”
“When we are confronted with a challenging situation, we have to focus on body first and brain second.”
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