How do you improve your speaking performance? APPLY PRESSURE.

Public speaking is nerve-wracking, whether you’re a student or a CEO. There are many methods to combat the feeling of anxiety (which I’ll go into in a later post), but for a really great performance—butterflies notwithstanding—the key is to practice.

And not just any kind of practice. Practice under pressure.

Can your third draft make this guy smile?

It’s one thing to go over and over your speech by yourself in your dorm room or your office. With no one staring at you, it’s relatively easy to stay on track and perfect every phrase and nuance of delivery.

But then comes presentation day. And suddenly there are eyeballs and expectations and feedback of all kinds. And all that practice suddenly seems not quite so useful.

Below is a great article by Noa Kageyama, Ph.D. that outlines a study into the relationship between practice and putting (as in golf). It turns out that an effective way to improve performance under pressure is to practice under pressure, from the very beginning.

That way, you get used to the stress of performing before the big day arrives. Your nervousness may not go away entirely, but you learn how to control it, manage it, perhaps even turn the butterflies to your advantage (I promise, it is possible).

So, before your next speech or presentation, write yourself a first draft and then perform it immediately, in front of someone generous and loving. A friend, maybe, or your spouse. Or even your dog. Give yourself just enough stress that you feel the flutters, but in a safe, supportive environment with minimal real-life consequences.

Do this a few times, and you’ll be surprised how well you do when it’s time to present for real.

Is It Helpful or Harmful to Perform a Piece Before It's "Performance-Ready"?

Engagement with Purpose

This is a wonderful (and awful) example of engagement to a purpose.

The creators set you up by making you laugh at people. People who are just like you, doing something you probably do every day. Then your stomach drops with a couple seconds of suspenseful "Oh, no, I know where this is going," before they hit you with a shockingly graphic ending.

Humor to grab your attention and connect the story to your daily experience. A sudden tonal shift to jolt you. Final images you can't look away from, that evoke horror and terror at once. It's an incredibly powerful emotional journey.

And just to make sure it's as effective as possible, the PSA also pings on the factors that influence how we remember messages. It's repetitive, dramatic, useful to your life, and the last thing it tells you is the most important.