0:00:06.909,0:00:08.058
Palms sweaty,

0:00:08.382,0:00:09.532
heart racing,

0:00:09.556,0:00:11.005
stomach in knots.

0:00:11.528,0:00:12.879
You can't cry for help.

0:00:12.903,0:00:15.046
Not only is your throat[br]too tight to breathe,

0:00:15.070,0:00:16.900
but it'd be so embarrassing.

0:00:16.924,0:00:19.093
No, you aren't being stalked by a monster,

0:00:20.616,0:00:22.309
you're speaking in public,

0:00:22.333,0:00:25.075
a fate some deem worse than death.

0:00:25.099,0:00:27.004
See, when you're dead, you feel nothing;

0:00:27.028,0:00:29.401
at a podium, you feel stage fright.

0:00:32.308,0:00:34.477
But at some point[br]we've all had to communicate

0:00:34.501,0:00:35.679
in front of people,

0:00:35.703,0:00:37.464
so you have to try and overcome it.

0:00:37.488,0:00:40.685
To start, understand what stage fright is.

0:00:40.709,0:00:42.854
Humans, social animals that we are,

0:00:42.878,0:00:44.953
are wired to worry about reputation.

0:00:44.977,0:00:46.695
Public speaking can threaten it.

0:00:46.719,0:00:48.841
Before a speech, you fret,

0:00:48.865,0:00:51.667
"What if people think I'm[br]awful and I'm an idiot?"

0:00:51.691,0:00:53.644
That fear of being seen as an awful idiot

0:00:53.668,0:00:54.877
is a threat reaction

0:00:54.901,0:00:56.568
from a primitive part of your brain

0:00:56.592,0:00:58.187
that's very hard to control.

0:00:58.211,0:00:59.831
It's the fight or flight response,

0:00:59.855,0:01:02.348
a self-protective process[br]seen in a range of animals,

0:01:02.372,0:01:04.946
most of which don't give speeches.

0:01:04.970,0:01:06.435
But we have a wise partner

0:01:06.459,0:01:07.852
in the study of freaking out.

0:01:07.876,0:01:09.945
Charles Darwin tested fight or flight

0:01:09.969,0:01:12.333
at the London Zoo snake exhibit.

0:01:12.357,0:01:13.843
He wrote in his diary,

0:01:13.867,0:01:17.239
"My will and reason were powerless[br]against the imagination of a danger

0:01:17.263,0:01:18.973
which had never been experienced."

0:01:18.997,0:01:20.426
He concluded that his response

0:01:20.450,0:01:22.128
was an ancient reaction unaffected

0:01:22.152,0:01:24.259
by the nuances of modern civilization.

0:01:24.283,0:01:25.903
So, to your conscious modern mind,

0:01:25.927,0:01:27.139
it's a speech.

0:01:27.163,0:01:28.476
To the rest of your brain,

0:01:28.500,0:01:30.613
built up to code[br]with the law of the jungle,

0:01:30.637,0:01:32.640
when you perceive[br]the possible consequences

0:01:32.664,0:01:33.860
of blowing a speech,

0:01:33.884,0:01:35.313
it's time to run for your life

0:01:35.337,0:01:36.487
or fight to the death.

0:01:49.951,0:01:52.764
Your hypothalamus, common[br]to all vertebrates,

0:01:52.788,0:01:54.708
triggers your pituitary gland to secrete

0:01:54.732,0:01:56.504
the hormone ACTH,

0:01:56.528,0:01:57.750
making your adrenal gland

0:01:57.774,0:01:59.704
shoot adrenaline into your blood.

0:01:59.728,0:02:01.749
Your neck and back tense up, you slouch.

0:02:01.773,0:02:03.092
Your legs and hand shake

0:02:03.116,0:02:04.919
as your muscles prepare for attack.

0:02:04.943,0:02:06.085
You sweat.

0:02:06.109,0:02:07.348
Your blood pressure jumps.

0:02:07.372,0:02:08.568
Your digestion shuts down

0:02:08.592,0:02:10.354
to maximize the delivery of nutrients

0:02:10.377,0:02:12.476
and oxygen to muscles and vital organs,

0:02:12.500,0:02:14.800
so you get dry mouth, butterflies.

0:02:14.824,0:02:16.266
Your pupils dilate,

0:02:16.290,0:02:18.077
it's hard to read anything up close,

0:02:18.101,0:02:19.260
like your notes,

0:02:19.284,0:02:20.761
but long range is easy.

0:02:20.785,0:02:22.480
That's how stage fright works.

0:02:22.504,0:02:23.766
How do we fight it?

0:02:23.790,0:02:25.959
First, perspective.

0:02:25.983,0:02:27.342
This isn't all in your head.

0:02:27.366,0:02:29.539
It's a natural, hormonal,[br]full body reaction

0:02:29.563,0:02:32.233
by an autonomic nervous[br]system on autopilot.

0:02:32.257,0:02:35.197
And genetics play a huge[br]role in social anxiety.

0:02:35.221,0:02:37.599
John Lennon played live[br]thousands of times.

0:02:37.623,0:02:39.759
Each time he vomited beforehand.

0:02:39.783,0:02:41.022
Some people are just wired

0:02:41.046,0:02:43.126
to feel more scared performing in public.

0:02:43.150,0:02:45.685
Since stage fright[br]is natural and inevitable,

0:02:45.709,0:02:47.418
focus on what you can control.

0:02:47.442,0:02:49.454
Practice a lot,

0:02:49.478,0:02:50.636
starting long before

0:02:50.660,0:02:53.286
in an environment similar[br]to the real performance.

0:02:53.310,0:02:55.677
Practicing any task[br]increases your familiarity

0:02:55.701,0:02:57.177
and reduces anxiety,

0:02:57.201,0:02:59.041
so when it's time to speak in public,

0:02:59.065,0:03:01.465
you're confident in yourself[br]and the task at hand.

0:03:01.489,0:03:03.386
Steve Jobs rehearsed his epic speeches

0:03:03.410,0:03:04.611
for hundreds of hours,

0:03:04.635,0:03:05.970
starting weeks in advance.

0:03:05.994,0:03:07.478
If you know what you're saying,

0:03:07.502,0:03:09.197
you'll feed off the crowd's energy

0:03:09.221,0:03:12.959
instead of letting your hypothalamus[br]convince your body it's about to be lunch

0:03:12.983,0:03:14.195
for a pack of predators.

0:03:14.219,0:03:15.959
But hey, the vertebrate hypothalamus

0:03:15.983,0:03:18.351
has had millions of years[br]more practice than you.

0:03:18.375,0:03:19.725
Just before you go on stage,

0:03:19.749,0:03:20.903
it's time to fight dirty

0:03:20.927,0:03:22.087
and trick your brain.

0:03:22.111,0:03:24.033
Stretch your arms up and breath deeply.

0:03:24.057,0:03:25.772
This makes your hypothalamus trigger

0:03:25.796,0:03:26.984
a relaxation response.

0:03:27.008,0:03:29.976
Stage fright usually hits hardest[br]right before a presentation,

0:03:30.000,0:03:32.286
so take that last minute[br]to stretch and breathe.

0:03:32.310,0:03:34.020
You approach the Mic, voice clear,

0:03:34.044,0:03:35.390
body relaxed.

0:03:35.414,0:03:38.015
Your well-prepared speech[br]convinces the wild crowd

0:03:38.039,0:03:40.012
you're a charismatic genius.

0:03:40.036,0:03:41.239
How?

0:03:41.263,0:03:42.835
You didn't overcome stage fright,

0:03:42.859,0:03:44.055
you adapted to it.

0:03:44.079,0:03:45.530
And to the fact that no matter

0:03:45.554,0:03:46.866
how civilized you may seem,

0:03:46.890,0:03:48.065
in part of your brain,

0:03:48.089,0:03:49.375
you're still a wild animal,

0:03:49.399,0:03:52.600
a profound, well-spoken wild animal.