God's Laughter (Undoing the Damage) | I Believe in Willingness | The Power of A Smile
Catch and Release | Gentle Vigilance | Got Butterflies?

January 2006

Got Butterflies?

When I was in college, I took a few classes in public speaking. As I started my first class, I was nervous, as were most of my classmates. Fortunately, I was blessed with a wonderful professor who really understood the dynamics of public speaking.

Early in the course, the professor told us that it is normal to have butterflies in the stomach when giving a speech. The nervous energy is a natural result of being in a situation where the outcome is important, but uncertain. It’s the same nervous energy you might feel if a family member did not arrive home on time, but you have no way of finding out if they’re safe.

“So,” you’re thinking, “the nervousness is normal, but how do I get rid of it?” The answer is, you don’t! If you paid attention in physics class, you may recall the Law of Conservation of Energy states, ‘energy cannot be created or destroyed, but can only change its form.’ Your nervous energy is there. You cannot force it to go away. Any attempts to do so will just make you more nervous. But there is an alternative.

The solution, according to my professor, is not to get rid of the butterflies, but rather to teach them to fly in formation. In other words, since you are stuck with this energy, put it to work. It takes energy to make hand gestures, to use voice inflections. Use this energy to give a dramatically more powerful speech. Pound the podium! Shout a slogan! Reach out & touch an audience member (gently please)! Dance a jig! Try whatever you think will give your speech more flair, all the while making good use of that energy.

When I went to make my first speech in class, I was nervous. I had been assigned to talk about the tragedies of poverty in the inner city. I had done my research. I had practiced. But I was still nervous.
My knees shook as I began my introduction. But then I remembered what my professor told me and re-channeled the energy into my voice. The impact of the speech was so powerful that a few of my class members were even moved to tears. You, too, can do this.

So if you are nervous as you step up to the lectern, don’t panic! Giving a speech can be fun, if you’re willing to see it that way. If you adequately practice ahead of time, you have the makings of a great speech, which can be made all the more wonderful when you re-channel that nervous energy.
Got butterflies? Then let that energy fly!