"There is nothing wrong with having butterflies in your stomach, provided you make them fly in formation."
-Jon Jones

First, think about the following statements.

• "My voice gets high pitched."

• "I can feel and hear the shake."

• "I feel a tightness in my chest."

• "I feel tightness in my jaw. I feel stressed in my body."

• "I lose volume and energy in my voice."

• "I have a “brain freeze, I can’t think."

• "I feel sick in the pit of my stomach."

• "I feel my voice can’t be heard."

• "I tend to push my voice to mask my nerves."

• "Sometimes I feel like I’m having an “out of body experience."

• "I don’t even know if I am breathing."

• "I sweat and blush."

What to expect in this lesson

You’ll recognise some of the feelings above I am sure! shared by clients over the years. Our voice and body can really let us down badly in those important and nervous moments  when we want to share our message but nerves have taken control.

We are all required to communicate in challenging arenas — a boardroom, a video call with your manager, a keynote on a large stage. 

In this lesson, we will explore how you can gain control of our bodies and voices  and master your vocal and physical gravitas whatever the arena.

It is important to say from the outset that we will not look at preparation of your words in this lesson (what we call "Message Crafting").

Of course this is critical for your success, but our focus here is on preparing your leadership voice, mastering your gravitas and vocal Presence.

So we are focusing on how we control our nerves from a physical and vocal perspective, and how we prepare ourselves. 

Elements addressed in this lesson

1. Reframing our relationship with nerves

2. How to rehearse for success

3. Why breath control is fundamental to achieving composure

4. Physical preparation

5. Vocal preparation

6. Strategies for the "brain freeze" moment