242  Prepare your mind

242.1 Think power poses

  • Remember Amy Cuddy’s research on power poses.

  • Think about how your posture, even before you get on stage, affects your physiology and confidence.

Even if we accept that later studies did not confirm Cuddy’s original findings, if you feel that power poses boost your confidence, there is not harm done, so go for it!

242.1.1 People want you to succeed

  • Your audience wants you to do good - they’re rooting for you! Nobody wants to see a terrible presentation, so think of them as friendly colleagues who want to be entertained, instead of people out to get you.

  • You are the expert – nobody, not even your supervisor, knows more about your project than you.

242.2 The three steps to positive thinking

  • Destigmatise – There’s nothing strange about stage-freight. You’re not alone - even excellent speakers get nervous. It’s perfectly normal and you’re in good company! It’s likely that you’re going to feel nervous, even after giving lots of talks. That’s to be expected - you’re a scientist, not a professional speaker!

  • Neutralise – Negative thoughts before a presentation will only add to your discomfort. Neutralize them with a positive interpretation.

e.g. Instead of ruminating on how unprepared you are for a critique on weak parts of your project, think about the ways you’ve come up with to deal with them. If this is difficult for you, try thinking about a positive experience/person/thing in your life that offers you comfort. The key here is to not ruminate on negative thoughts!

  • Realise – You are in charge of the situation, so paint your own reality - you are the boss of your own mind.

e.g. Instead of imaging that the audience is full of arrogant professors who want to see you fail, think of them as your friends who you are going to have a conversation with, who are really interested in hearing about your research, and are going to give you good ideas!