Everyone's looking at me; what are they thinking?
Do I have spinach in my teeth?
Am I going to sound like I know what I'm talking about?
What if they get bored?
What if?????????????

Welcome to your brain, your brain on stress. You probably have your own list of what ifs. We all do. And you probably have your own ways of dealing with the anxiety.

Yes, public speaking can be a stressful and traumatic experience. There are many different ways and approaches to calming the fear. What's important to know is that the more you do it, the better you become, and the more comfortable you feel.

Does the anxiety ever go completely away? I don't think so. What many of us do is transform the fear to excitement. We learn to see the presentation as an opportunity, not as a threat.

This month, my East Coast colleague, Carla Kimball, looks at how the brain handles the stress and has some helpful recommendations. I hope that you enjoy Carla's article below.

Recently I attended a conference on Yoga and Trauma. Why? Because I have been working with a group of inner city teenagers who wanted to speak out about reducing gang violence. I was interested in developing more adequate techniques for helping them speak with presence while living with the trauma of the threat of violence in their daily lives.

What I found most interesting was the unexpected similarities between trauma and the fear of public speaking. It seems that when traumatized, different parts of the brain don't work together, so that the person:

• Feels scattered, confused and unable to focus attention
• Finds it difficult to take in new information
• Is unable to experience what's happening in the present moment

Is everyone who interacts with your customers a polished presenter?

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• know how to look their best to give the most favorable impression
• give business presentations with confidence and credibility
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The Results
Your people will look and sound their best in front of your customers!

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Have you heard about Matt the YouTube sensation? Matt is a 31-year-old deadbeat from Connecticut who used to think that all he ever wanted to do in life was make and play videogames. Matt achieved this goal pretty early and enjoyed it for a while, but eventually realized there might be other stuff he was missing out on.

In February of 2003, he quit his job in Brisbane, Australia and used the money he'd saved to wander around Asia until it ran out. He made a website so he could keep his family and friends updated about where he is.

A few months into his trip, a travel buddy gave Matt an idea. They were standing around taking pictures in Hanoi, and his friend said "Hey, why don't you stand over there and do that dance. I'll record it." He was referring to a particular dance Matt does. It's actually the only dance Matt does. He does it badly. Anyway, this turned out to be a very good idea.

A couple years later, someone found the video online and passed it to someone else, who passed it to someone else, and so on. Now Matt is quasi-famous as "That guy who dances on the internet. No, not that guy. The other one. No, not him either. I'll send you the link. It's funny."

Watch the video, it will bring a smile to your face!