People experience public speaking anxiety at different stages.
In the days or weeks leading up to a presentation, you might notice a low-level dread. On the day itself, that anxiety often builds. For some people, it eases once they start speaking. For others, it comes and goes during the presentation.
This article focuses on a very specific moment.
The minutes right before you speak.
The moment confidence drops
You are prepared.
You know your content.
You have practised.
You may even have told yourself that you will be fine.
And yet, in the final minutes before you are due to speak, confidence seems to fall away. You start questioning your decision to say yes. You hope the meeting will run out of time or that something will intervene so you do not have to speak after all.
Many capable, experienced people describe this as the worst part.
One client told me recently that the ten minutes before she speaks are far harder than the presentation itself. Her heart races and her heart rate climbs above 120 beats per minute. Even though she knows it goes much higher during exercise, the sensation feels intense and unsettling. It makes her wonder whether she is coping at all.
What often makes this moment harder is the belief that it should not be happening.
Why this happens, even to capable people
What surprises many clients is that physiologically, others around them are often experiencing something very similar.
Before you do something important, like speaking to an audience, adrenaline spikes. This is not a problem. It is a normal and useful response. Competitive athletes experience the same surge before an event. They rely on it for focus, energy and presence.
The difficulty comes from how that adrenaline is interpreted.
If you associate adrenaline with anxiety, and if you believe confident people feel calm, then a racing heart can feel like a sign that something is wrong. It is that interpretation, rather than the adrenaline itself, that creates panic.
Many clients tell me their goal is to overcome their nerves so they can feel confident. I explain that confidence is not the same as calm. Confidence is recognising that this response is normal and trusting that it will not interfere with your ability to speak.
Why preparation is not enough
Preparation is essential. It often reduces the low-level dread in the lead-up to a presentation. Knowing you have prepared properly gives you a sense of control.
But preparation alone does not regulate the nervous system.
In fact, the spike in adrenaline often happens after preparation is finished. If that surge is interpreted as danger, it can feel as though control has been lost. Once that belief takes hold, anxiety can escalate very quickly.
This is why people can feel least confident at the exact point they are most ready.
Common mistakes in the final minutes
Earlier in my career, when I experienced intense public speaking anxiety myself, I tried many things that I now know were unhelpful. I see the same patterns in clients today.
- Replaying the presentation repeatedly in my head, worrying I had forgotten something, which only increased panic
- Trying to calm myself completely and assuming the techniques, such as breathing exercises, had failed when I did not feel calm
- Monitoring my heart rate and becoming more anxious when it rose rather than fell
- Telling myself I should feel confident, which only highlighted the gap between how I felt and how I thought a confident person should feel
These responses are understandable, but they tend to amplify the problem rather than solve it.
What actually helps in the last few minutes
What helps most is not more preparation, but a simple, familiar pre-presentation routine.
That routine looks different for everyone. For some people, it includes movement, such as a brisk walk. For others, it might involve quiet time, breathing, or a short meditation. Some people benefit from light conversation and distraction, while others need space. Coffee helps some people and makes things worse for others.
What matters is that the routine is intentional and predictable.
Alongside grounding and relaxation, it includes a few mental resets.
I give clients a short cheat sheet they can read in the final minutes before they speak. It is always tailored, but a typical version looks something like this.
A simple pre-presentation cheat sheet
1. Expect the adrenaline
This is not the wrong feeling.
This is the body preparing to do something that matters.
You are not trying to get rid of it.
You are letting it be there without arguing with it.
2. Shift the spotlight outward
The focus is not on how you sound or look.
Ask one question:
What is useful for this audience right now?
3. Ground the body, not the thoughts
Slow your exhale.
Feel your feet on the floor.
Drop your shoulders.
Do not try to think your way into confidence.
4. Trust the structure you prepared
You do not need to remember everything.
You only need to start.
The structure will carry you once you begin.
5. Let the first minute be imperfect
Confidence often arrives after you start speaking, not before.
You are allowed to warm into it.
Want a more personalised cheat sheet?
I was curious whether ChatGPT could produce a more personalised cheat sheet similar in style to the reminders I give clients, if it was given enough context.
The answer was yes!
The key is not to ask for a generic checklist. It works best when you describe what actually happens to you in the final minutes before you speak, including your physical sensations, your thought patterns and what you tend to do under pressure.
Here is the prompt and structure I suggest:
I am about to speak or present and I want a short pre-presentation cheat sheet in the style and approach of Catherine Syme of Fear-less public speaking.
This approach should:
- Treat nerves and adrenaline as normal and expected
- Focus on practical mindset shifts and skills, not hype or pep talks
- Emphasise value to the audience rather than performance
- Assume confidence often arrives after starting, not before
Here is some context about me and this situation:
1. The speaking situation:
(What I am doing, audience size, in-person or online, how high the stakes feel)
2. What tends to happen right before I speak:
(Physical sensations, thoughts, or behaviours that usually show up in the final minutes)
3. What I am most worried the audience will notice or judge:
4. What has helped me even a little in the past:
5. What I tend to overdo under pressure:
6. What I want the audience to take away:
(One clear sentence)
Please create a short, calm cheat sheet I can read in the final minutes before I speak that:
- Normalises adrenaline rather than trying to eliminate it
- Helps me shift attention away from myself and onto the audience
- Reminds me to trust my preparation and start imperfectly
- Is grounded, supportive and practical
- Is no longer than one page
Final words
Confidence is not the absence of nerves.
It is the ability to proceed even when they are present.
For many people, confidence shows up after the first sentence, not before it.
Each time you get through a presentation reasonably well, your confidence grows a little more. That is how it is built. Quietly, gradually, and through experience.
