Affirmations for public speaking: a script for the nerves before you present

Your heart is racing, your mouth is dry, and the first slide is still five minutes away. Almost everyone who speaks in front of other people knows this feeling, including people who do it for a living.

Affirmations will not make the nerves disappear. What they can do is change the story you tell yourself about them, so you walk up to speak with a steadier mind. Here is how to use them, and a script you can make your own.

Nerves are not a sign you will fail

The racing heart and shaky hands before a talk are your body getting ready. The same signals show up when you are excited. What usually makes them worse is the commentary on top: "I am going to forget everything", "they will see I am nervous", "I always freeze".

Affirmations work on that commentary. You replace the thought that spirals with one that is true and useful, and you rehearse it until it comes to mind first.

What makes a public speaking affirmation work

• Make it believable. "I am the greatest speaker in the world" will bounce off. "I know this material better than anyone in the room" might be true.
• Accept the nerves instead of fighting them. "My heart is racing because this matters to me" works better than "I am completely calm".
• Focus on the audience, not yourself. Nerves shrink when your attention moves from "how do I look" to "what do they need to hear".
• Keep it short. You want something you can say to yourself in the corridor in a few seconds.

A script you can use

Adapt the wording until it sounds like you.

In the days before:

• I know this material, and I know why it matters.
• I have prepared, and preparation is what I can control.
• Every time I practice, it gets easier to say.
• I do not need to be perfect. I need to be clear.

In the minutes before:

• This feeling is energy. I can use it.
• I breathe slowly, and my voice follows.
• They want me to do well.
• I start with my first sentence. The rest will follow.

If you lose your place:

• I can pause. A pause looks like confidence.
• I look at my notes, find my point, and carry on.

How to practice it

1. Listen in the days before, not only on the day. A thought you have rehearsed is easier to reach under pressure.
2. Pair it with your practice runs. Listen just before you rehearse the talk, so the words and the speaking go together.
3. Use the last few minutes for breathing, slow and steady, with the shortest lines from the script.
4. Keep it private if you like. Headphones in the hallway work just as well as a quiet room.

Many people find affirmations land differently when they hear them in their own voice, because it sounds like their own thinking. We explain why in why your own voice works for affirmations. For more ready-made lines, see our confidence affirmation scripts.

Make it in your own voice

On MindScript you clone your voice once, then build affirmations in your own voice from a script like the one above, layered with binaural beats, solfeggio frequencies and background music. Your tracks live in your library on the web and on iOS, and you can download them to listen offline, in the car on the way or in the hallway before you go on. See the pricing page for details.