Remember that when you are feeling nervous you can do one thing you are already great at:

Breathe.

Breathe in for 4 seconds. Hold for 4 seconds. Breathe out for 4 seconds. Hold for 4 seconds.

🔄 Repeat as many times as you need.

This technique, called box breathing, activates your parasympathetic nervous system, also known as the “rest and digest” response, helping you calm down.

And if you are more of a visual person, you can also imagine drawing a box while doing it.

For instance, start from the top left and go – right – down – left – up.

This can also be super useful if the fear of public speaking starts to creep up before your presentation – it will not make it go away (which is never the point), but it can make the whole experience more pleasant.

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If you are not the biggest fan of this technique, don’t worry – there are other breathing techniques, as well as other ways to activate your vagus nerve (the main nerve of the parasympathetic nervous system), that can have a similar effect.