Breathe Your Way to a Better Presentation

Did you know that breathing exercises can help you manage stress and boost your performance on stage? Practicing specific breathing techniques before your next conference presentation can calm your nerves and elevate the quality of your delivery.

Which exercises help manage stress?

Symmetric

Symmetric breathing involves inhaling and exhaling for the same amount of time. This technique helps regulate your nervous system by activating the parasympathetic "rest and digest" response, which counters the stress-induced "fight or flight" state. The result? A slower heart rate, reduced blood pressure, and an overall sense of calm.

Box breathing is a structured form of symmetric breathing that’s widely used by professionals like athletes and military personnel to enhance mental clarity and emotional control.

Try box breathing:

• Inhale for 4 counts

• Hold for 4 counts

• Exhale for 4 counts

• Hold for 4 counts

• Repeat

Global coherence breath is another type of symmetric breathing that aligns your heart, brain, and emotions to create a state of coherence in your body and mind. It’s simple yet powerful for fostering a sense of balance.

Try global coherence breath:

• Inhale for 5 seconds

• Exhale for 5 seconds

• Repeat

Extended Exhale

Extended exhale breathing focuses on making the exhale longer than the inhale, which helps calm your nervous system and reduce stress levels even further.

Try extended exhale breathing:

• Inhale for 4 counts

• Exhale for 8 counts

• Repeat

When should I do these exercises?

They can be done as often as you want--why not every day leading up to your presentation? They're especially helpful in the time waiting to go on stage, maybe when you're hanging out backstage, and your stress is usually at it's highest level.

Backstage Breathing Exercise

When I’m backstage, I like to use noise-canceling headphones and listen to guided breathing tracks on repeat. My go-to resource on Spotify is the album "Exhale," particularly tracks like "5.5:5.5 Global Coherence Breath" or "4:8 Extended Exhales."

These tracks are great because you don’t need to count. Simply close your eyes, listen, and follow the bells: inhale with one bell and exhale with the other. I set a timer on my watch to ensure I don’t lose track of time, usually practicing for about 5–10 minutes.

Give it a try and see what works for you. I’d love to hear your feedback!

Learn More

For more tips and tricks about stress management before your talk, check out the chapter "Stress" in my latest book: Tech Talks: How to get started speaking at technical conferences which is available for purchase on Payhip: https://payhip.com/b/vxD0b