A client I trained nearly a year ago emailed me last week after giving a presentation at a huge industry event:

“I finally managed to feel better in my body.”

She still hates public speaking. Which is ridiculous, given she’s a total badass professionally — and much better at it than she thinks. Her breath was all over the place. Her voice felt shaky. But she remembered one small thing from our coaching session:

Trainers over heels. Consciously plant your feet on the ground. Pay attention to your body before and while you speak.

And it helped. Not dramatically. But enough to steady herself. Enough to get through it.

Sometimes that’s all you need when your nervous system is on fire.

What I didn’t share at the time

Public speaking doesn’t stress me out. Never has.

But anxiety? That I know well.

I have a brain that, on a good day, feels like the first 40 minutes of Everything Everywhere All at Once. Loud. Fast. Unhinged. Constant mental jump-cuts. (You don’t want to know what a bad day feels like.)

I’m ADHD, dyspraxic and prone to sensory overload. And when the system tips into panic, I can’t logic my way back. I have to physically reset. Or at least try.

What helps me — and sometimes helps clients

• 4–4–6 breathing — in for 4, hold for 4, out for 6.
• Head below heart — forward bend, downward dog, anything to flip the system.
• Tactile grounding — feet flat, pressure on thighs, hands on something solid. You can do the grounding of the feed on stage too.

I’ve done these at home. In meeting rooms. Even in the bathrooms at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence last week. (Yes, really.)

They’re not magic. They won’t make you love public speaking. But they land in the body faster than any mindset trick ever could.

More importantly, they’re realistic. No one has time to do 20 minutes of meditation before a keynote.

Why I share this

Because performance advice is useless if your nervous system is in revolt and your pre-frontal cortex has officially left the building.

Because people often expect confidence to feel calm — and it often doesn’t.

Because one small thing, remembered at the right moment, can help more than you think.

If you’re panicking before a presentation, try something physical.

Bend over in the bathroom until your head is below your heart. Breathe slower. Touch the floor.

Presence first. Then speak.

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