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Have you ever stood outside a closed door,
waiting to walk into an English speaking exam andfelt your own heart trying to escape from your
chest? I know that feeling perfectly, and it isabsolutely terrifying. You look at the clock on
the wall, and every second feels incredibly heavy.Your hands start shaking uncontrollably.
Your mouth gets completely dry, like you haveswallowed sand.
And the worst part is that your mind goescompletely blank.
All the advanced vocabulary you studied for monthsjust disappears into the dark.
It feels like a complete disaster before you evenopen your mouth to say hello.
Welcome to your English Toolbox, your slow Englishpodcast where we train your ears,
your mind, and your nervous system. I am Martin.
And I am Julia.
Today is Episode 2 of our public speaking series.
And today, we are focusing on something verydifferent.
We are focusing on the physical body, not theintellectual mind.
If you stay with us for this extended episode, youwill learn the famous 90-second rule of
human neuroscience.
You will also learn a complete toolkit ofactionable physical techniques to instantly
calm your nervous system.
These are the exact tools you need before anIELTS, TOEFL, or Cambridge oral exam.
These are also the tools you need to give a speechin front of an audience,
a work presentation, a school theater play, apolitical speech, etc.
Even maybe you could also use these tools topropose marriage to your loved one.
Allow us this little joke, please.
Yes, a full set of powerful tools.
We will teach you exactly how to survive the mostdangerous and critical part of any presentation.
03:04
Let me take you back to a specific moment a fewyears ago when I had to give a presentation
to a very large, intimidating audience.
This was the conference in London, right?
Exactly, the London conference.
I was standing backstage hidden behind a heavyvelvet curtain.
I could hear the murmur of the crowd finding theirseats,
and I could hear the previous speaker finishingtheir conclusion.
That waiting period just before you walk into thelight is always the absolute worst part.
It is psychological torture.
Mentally, I was totally prepared for this day.
I knew my presentation perfectly, and I hadpracticed my transitions,
but my body was completely betraying me.
What was happening to you physically in thatmoment?
My breathing became incredibly shallow.
I was only taking tiny, rapid breaths into thevery top of my chest.
When you use shallow breathing, you are notgetting enough oxygen to your brain.
And when the brain lacks oxygen, it triggers evenmore panic.
Exactly.
My hands were sweating so much that I could barelyhold my index cards.
My legs felt like they were made of heavy stone.
It sounds like your body was preparing for aphysical fight, not a speech.
That is exactly what was happening.
I felt like I was going to lose control,
forget all my English vocabulary, and just run outthe back door of the theater.
For a very long time, I thought this kind of fearwas a sign of mental weakness.
I thought I simply did not have the rightpersonality for public speaking.
But Martin, what you were experiencing backstagewas not a mental weakness at all.
It was a physiological response.
That is a fantastic C1 vocabulary word for ourlisteners, Julia.
Physiological.
Yes, let us define that clearly.
Physiological means relating to the way a livingbody naturally functions and reacts to its
environment.
Your fear was physical first and mental second.
This is a huge realization.
When you feel threatened, your brain does not knowthe difference between a hungry tiger
and a Cambridge-speaking examiner.
To your ancient survival brain, both of thosethings are deadly threats.
06:05
Exactly.
So the brain immediately floods your body withsurvival chemicals, mainly adrenaline.
We call that an adrenaline rush.
An adrenaline rush is an intense, sudden feelingof rapid energy
designed to make you fight or run away.
Your heart beats faster to pump blood to yourmuscles.
Your mouth goes dry because your digestive systemshuts down to save energy.
All of those terrible symptoms are just your bodytrying to protect you.
But here is the scientific secret that changed mylife as a speaker.
Neurologists have studied this chemical reactionextensively.
They found that an adrenaline rush takes exactly90 seconds to peak and flush out of
your bloodstream.
Wait, let me make sure I understand that.
You are saying the chemical wave only lasts for 90seconds?
Yes, just 90 seconds.
From the moment the deep fear hits you to themoment it naturally leaves your body is
just one minute and a half.
If you do not fight it, the chemical reactionsimply drops and fades away.
That is incredible.
So why does the fear usually last for the wholeexam?
Because we panic about the panic.
When we feel our hands shaking, we think, oh no, Iam ruining my exam.
That terrible thought creates a second adrenalinerush.
And then a third and a fourth, creating acontinuous loop of anxiety.
The shift and application.
Precisely.
So the major mindset shift for today is this.
You do not need to fight your fear and you do notneed to feel bad about it.
You just need to manage your physical body forthese 90 seconds until the wave passes.
How exactly do we do that?
09:02
Especially if an examiner is sitting across thetable looking right at us.
We use a series of highly actionable micro ritualsto survive that window.
The first tool is the breathing reset.
When you sit down, breathe in slowly through yournose for four seconds.
Hold that breath in your lungs for four seconds.
And then exhale completely and slowly through yourmouth for six seconds.
That long exhale is the most important part.
An extended exhale physically massages the vagusnerve, which tells your nervous system
that you are completely safe.
The second tool is a physical grounding technique.
Grounding means using your physical senses toconnect with reality,
pulling your attention away from your spinningthoughts.
Exactly.
While you are breathing, push your feet hard intothe floor.
Feel the solid ground supporting your shoes.
Feel the wooden chair supporting your back.
You are sending your brain physical evidence ofstability.
The third tool is building what I call yoursecurity system.
What is a security system in the context of publicspeaking?
It means you must memorize your very firstsentence perfectly.
The adrenaline protocol in your body is at itsabsolute highest right
when you are about to start speaking.
That is when your brain goes blank.
If you have that first sentence memorized like asong, you have a safe ground to start from.
You do not have to think about grammar, you justhave to press play.
It acts as a bridge over that initial 90-secondwave of nervousness.
But to build this system properly, you mustpractice at home like a professional actor.
Actors rehearse their lines endlessly,
so they can rely on muscle memory when the stagelights hit them.
Rehearse your first sentence in your bedroom withyour eyes open.
Then, rehearse it with your eyes closed.
Visualize the exam venue.
Visualize the white walls, visualize the harshlights, and visualize the serious examiner.
You have to make your brain feel like you have
already been in that scary room a hundred timesbefore.
Yes, familiarity destroys fear.
And when you finally enter the real room, take amoment to read the room.
12:01
To read the room means to observe the emotionalmood and connect with the people in the space.
Do not look at the floor and do not look at yourshoes.
Look at the examiner as a human being.
If you can connect with them, maybe with a politesmile,
a comment about the rainy weather, or a quickgreeting, the tension will ease immediately.
You realize they are not tigers trying to eat you.
And finally, the most powerful and authoritativetrick of all, the delayed start.
Oh, this is so crucial for timed exams like IELTS,TOEFL, or the Cambridge Advanced Tests.
When the examiner looks at you and says,
Please start. Do not speak immediately.
The amateur speaker rushes into the first wordbecause silence feels uncomfortable.
But the professional speaker uses the silence.
Exactly. Pause for three slow, deliberate secondsbefore you deliver your memorized first sentence.
Look at the examiner, smile slightly, take a deepbreath in, and then begin.
Those three seconds show absolute confidence.
They establish your dominance over the situation,proving that you control the time.
So, let us review our physical strategy for today.
Fear before speaking a foreign language is highlyphysiological, not a character flaw.
It is simply a 90-second chemical wave ofadrenaline.
Do not fight the wave because fighting it makes itbigger.
Breathe deeply with a long exhale.
Practice your grounding by feeling the floor.
Use your memorized security system to survive theopening moment.
Read the room to connect with your audience ashuman beings.
And always delay your first words to establishauthority.
If you enjoyed this episode, please write a smallcomment before you go.
What is your biggest physical symptom when you getnervous before an English conversation?
Do your hands shake? Does your heart race? Or doesyour mind just go completely blank?
We need your comments because your voice is moreimportant than ours.
Your voice and your comments will show us theright path for future episodes.
Thank you for listening, and we will see you atthe next one.
15:01
And if you are going to give a speech tomorrow,remember your uneasiness is normal.
You are human. Breath. Use your memorizedsentence, wait a few seconds, and go.
You will surprise you really enjoy publicspeaking.
We will keep you coaching in the next episode.
See you soon.