Workplace Wellbeing: Finding your voice - despite feeling nervous  

It’s natural to experience anxiety before making a presentation or giving a performance, but what happens if we get overwhelmed? We ask experts for their advice and top tips.

Singer and TV presenter Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh wrestled for years with debilitating stage fright and nerves.

Singer and TV presenter Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh used to suffer from debilitating stage fright.

“It was crippling,” she says. “I’d be nauseous before shows and the odd time, I’d actually throw up. On stage, my voice would shake, my mouth would go dry, and I’d have to hold on to the mic to stop my knees from buckling. At one point, it affected me so badly that I thought I’d have to stop performing.”

Not everyone makes their living from singing on stage like Nic Amhlaoibh but many of us engage in some form of performance at work. Whether it’s making a presentation, delivering a report or even asking a question in a meeting, it’s normal to feel nervous.

“Performance anxiety is common because most people feel some degree of uncertainty around any number of workplace tasks,” says performance psychologist Dr Rachel Sheehan. 

“We’re likely to feel it before doing a task where we feel vulnerable about the outcome, questioning whether we’ll fail, look stupid or damage our reputation. Even someone who appears outwardly confident can have strong internal symptoms of anxiety.”

This was certainly true of Nic Amhlaoibh. “I may have kept my anxiety hidden most of the time, but I struggled for 10 or 15 years and I know many performers, including big names, who have struggled all their lives,” she says.

Dr John Perry, a lecturer in sport and exercise psychology at the University of Limerick, explains what happens when we experience performance anxiety.

“The brain’s primary function is to predict, so when we are about to undertake an activity, it runs through all conceivable ‘what ifs’,” he says. “Will I interview well enough to get the job? Will I drive well enough to pass the test? There’s normally significant uncertainty over whether we will succeed or fail. It’s that uncertainty that causes anxiety.”

We’re primed to feel this way. “Self-doubt and a gut feeling that we might fail is an important safety mechanism,” says Perry.

Harnessing our stress

The level of anxiety differs from person to person and symptoms can vary too.

“There’s no standard response,” says Sheehan. “But common symptoms include feelings of uncertainty, doubt, fear, dread and panic, poor concentration, increased irritability, nausea, increased heart and breathing rate, a dry throat, shaking and sweating.”

Research carried out at Leiden University in the Netherlands in 2019 shows that if we can manage these symptoms, we can harness our stress to enhance our performance. If we can’t, the stress can derail us. If you’re a singer, it can cause your voice to shake. If you are giving a talk to potential clients, it may make you forget what you were about to say.

Sarah Geraghty, head of careers at the Communications Clinic. Pic: Richie Stokes

Sarah Geraghty is head of careers at the Communications Clinic where she helps clients manage their anxiety symptoms so that they don’t hinder their performance.

“The symptoms of performance anxiety are indicators of adrenaline pumping into our system,” she says. 

“That’s the fight-or-flight hormone that helps us think faster and more clearly and gives urgency to what we have to do. We need it so we can give the performance that’s required, whether that’s a job interview, speech or presentation. But we also need to be able to manage its symptoms.”

Some people try the avoidance technique.

“This could be cognitive avoidance, which is not thinking about the task, or behavioural avoidance, which is removing yourself from the task entirely,” says Perry. “Neither helps you to achieve your goals.”

Sheehan recommends task-focused strategies instead.

“These seek to reduce anxiety by tackling the task directly,” she says. “Maybe you could rehearse and practice the task or speak to someone who has previous experience of the task or make a plan to accomplish the task.”

If your task is a verbal one, Geraghty advises preparing verbally.

“Practice out loud from day one,” she says. “Talk to a friend, the dog or to yourself. Talk until you’re tired of hearing your voice, then do it another 50 times. You’ll need to deliver under pressure on the day, so you’ll need a muscle memory of saying the words out loud. It’s the same reason the Irish rugby team train intensively for months. We don’t learn this by reading, writing or thinking about it. We learn by doing it.”

Perry suggests reframing how we view the task.

“Say I’m anxious about a job interview,” he says. “Telling myself that ‘this is my chance’ backs me into a corner. It feels like now or never, something amazing or terrible. By reframing it as ‘this is a great chance’, it completely changes its significance. I’d love to take this chance and I’ll do my best. But that’s all I can do and there will be other chances.”

Changing her perspective is what finally helped Nic Amhlaoibh. “Life happened and I grew up and gained understanding,” she says. “I realised many things are more important than a forgotten lyric or an out-of-tune note. I had a few disastrous gigs too, and the sky didn’t fall in.”

Someone also told her that stage fright was self-centred.

“Those words hit me like a train,” she says. “I realised I’d been thinking of myself and other people’s opinions of me. Everything changed once I took the self out of it and focussed on the song and the audience. I reached a more vulnerable place where I could really connect.”

Dr Rachel Sheehan, performance psychologist

Practical steps you can take

Perry also recommends reaching out for social support.

“Asking a colleague or mentor for advice or chatting through the issue with your mam or partner can help you to feel better about it,” he says.

Geraghty has tried-and-tested techniques to help in those moments of panic that can strike right before or during a performance.

“If your hands are trembling, clench them as tightly as possible for a minute and then let go,” she says.

“That’s something BBC newscasters used to do. And have a glass of water on hand to prevent a dry mouth.”

If you blank and forget what you were going to say, Geraghty advises admitting it.

“The audience can see it so you might as well admit it,” she says. “If you lose a word or a name, tell the audience and they’ll supply it. If you lose your place, tell them to hold on while you get sorted. An important thing that people need to remember when it comes to performance anxiety is that the audience is never the enemy. They want you to do well.”

Reminding yourself of this from the off can help overcome anxiety.

“By focusing on your audience and helping them to understand what you’ve got to say, you won’t have time to think about yourself and your nerves will reduce considerably,” says Geraghty.

Relaxation and breathing techniques can be helpful too.

“Simply extending your exhales is very effective at dampening the fight-or-flight response,” says Sheehan.

It may have taken her years, but Nic Amhlaoibh is proof positive that it is possible to overcome our nerves and perform at our best.

“I’ll still have a little wobble the odd time, but I know what I’m dealing with now,” she says.

“For those out there who are still struggling, I’d like to tell them that everyone is so busy worrying about themselves that they are barely thinking about you and when it comes to performing before people, the vast majority of the audience is on your side, rooting for you.”