Sweaty hands, difficult breathing, pounding heart. it’s your turn to take the oral test. If for you this is a real pain, here are our tips to de-stress and stop living this moment as torture.
These “symptoms” related to stress and hyperemotion are common in students of all ages. “Confronted with the gaze of others and the fear of making mistakes, many of them have little control over their emotions orally.” explains Anne, an English teacher in a Nantes high school. Former anxious, she knows this phenomenon very well and gives us her advice so that the sickly timid and chronically anxious finally free their speech. For the anxiety treatment sheffield this is important.
Release stress
With good preparation because, according to Anne, what usually stresses you out the most is the unknown and the fear of making mistakes. So, do yourself index cards. Practice in front of the ice, filming yourself and facing a third party. It will help you to accept your image even in error.
Once you are ready, you have to treat yourself and unwind! A movie, a walk in the forest, shopping … Reread your lessons before dinner, but not just before sleeping or just before a test. And above all, go to bed early to be rested and in full possession of your means.
Don’t worry (too much) about others
Flee the anxious. It is well known that stress is contagious. Do not listen to those who come out of an ordeal. Their often unjustified feeling may destabilize you. Listen to music instead.
When speaking in class, scan the entire room, recommends the teacher, do not focus on a student. Accept to blush, they are beautiful colors, much more touching than ridiculous, as you continue to believe. Have confidence in yourself! Adopt a look that reassures you (nothing too tight for example). And, as a last resort, use humor to shield yourself from muddy reflections you might hear.
Take the time to breathe
It’s when your plexus blocks that your voice starts to shake and your brain, less well supplied, suddenly seems to have erased everything you knew. Good abdominal breathing is fundamental to any public speaking. It is this which allows you to free yourself from tensions, to manage your stage fright and thus to expose your thoughts as clearly as possible. Thus, Anne recommends inhaling through the nose, inflating her stomach and not her torso, and to exhale at least ten seconds with the mouth. You can do this by training at night, before an event, or in everyday life, and force yourself to really take the time to breathe when you express yourself.
Ask yourself
Upright in your chair or well balanced on both legs if you are standing. The head straight, the direct and frank gaze. Don’t look at your feet, they don’t have the answer.
It may seem surprising, but it is your position that determines your breathing and therefore the correct expression of your thoughts. The more time you take, the more attention you will focus on your speech, which in theory should give you confidence.
Also remember to smile, even if you are bubbling inside. Once mastered, your stress will turn into communicative energy. It is the energy that will allow you to surpass yourself.