Palms sweaty, heart racing, stomach in knots. You can't cry for help. Not only is your throat too tight to breathe, but it'd be so embarrassing. No, you aren't being stalked by a monster, you're speaking in public, a fate some deem worse than death.
手心不停出汗, 心怦怦跳個不停, 胃像打了結一樣, 甚至不能搬救兵。 不只你的喉嚨緊得無法呼吸, 而且這真的太丟人了, 不是因為有鬼怪正在後頭追趕, 而是你正在公開演講! 有時這比死亡更糟,
See, when you're dead, you feel nothing; at a podium, you feel stage fright. But at some point we've all had to communicate in front of people, so you have to try and overcome it.
至少死了,你便毫無感覺; 在講台前,怯場則讓你如臨大敵, 但總有一天我們都得 在眾人面前演說。 所以你必須嘗試著去克服它,
To start, understand what stage fright is. Humans, social animals that we are, are wired to worry about reputation. Public speaking can threaten it. Before a speech, you fret, "What if people think I'm awful and I'm an idiot?" That fear of being seen as an awful idiot is a threat reaction from a primitive part of your brain that's very hard to control. It's the fight or flight response, a self-protective process seen in a range of animals, most of which don't give speeches.
從了解什麼是怯場開始。 人類,身為群居動物的我們, 時常會擔心我們的聲譽, 而公開演講可能會威脅到它。 於是,在演講之前你開始煩惱 大家會不會覺得我很糟, 而且還是個笨蛋? 害怕被當作糟糕的笨蛋 是種受到威脅的反應, 這反應源自 腦中一個原始區塊, 非常難以控制。 這是對抗或逃避的反應, 一種在許多動物身上 可見的自我保護過程, 雖然牠們大部分都不需要演說。
But we have a wise partner in the study of freaking out. Charles Darwin tested fight or flight at the London Zoo snake exhibit. He wrote in his diary, "My will and reason were powerless against the imagination of a danger which had never been experienced." He concluded that his response was an ancient reaction unaffected by the nuances of modern civilization. So, to your conscious modern mind, it's a speech. To the rest of your brain, built up to code with the law of the jungle, when you perceive the possible consequences of blowing a speech, it's time to run for your life or fight to the death.
在恐懼行為的研究中, 我們有個聰明的合作夥伴 ── 查爾斯.達爾文, 他在倫敦動物園蛇類生態館中 測試了對抗或逃避反應。 他在日記裡寫到 「對於從未經歷過危險的想像, 我的意志或理智 完全無能為力。」 他結論寫到:他的反應 是一種不受些微現代文明 影響的古老反應。 所以,對你有意識的 現代化頭腦來說, 這只是一場演說, 但對剩下的部分來說, 當你意識到演說 可能失敗的後果時, 則將累積演變成 弱肉強食的叢林法則。 是時候該選擇要趕快逃命去 或是奮力一搏,至死方休。
Your hypothalamus, common to all vertebrates, triggers your pituitary gland to secrete the hormone ACTH, making your adrenal gland shoot adrenaline into your blood. Your neck and back tense up, you slouch. Your legs and hand shake as your muscles prepare for attack. You sweat. Your blood pressure jumps. Your digestion shuts down to maximize the delivery of nutrients and oxygen to muscles and vital organs, so you get dry mouth, butterflies. Your pupils dilate, it's hard to read anything up close, like your notes, but long range is easy. That's how stage fright works.
跟所有的脊椎動物都一樣, 你的下視丘刺激腦下垂體去分泌 名叫 ACTH 的荷爾蒙, 促使腎上腺 釋出腎上腺素進入你的血液。 你的脖子及背部變得緊蹦, 頭部低垂, 你的手腳顫抖著, 因為你的肌肉正做好準備攻擊。 你不停地流汗, 血壓飆高, 消化系統停工, 使養分及氧氣大量的傳送到 肌肉及主要的器官。 所以你感到口乾舌燥,非常焦慮, 你的瞳孔擴張, 看不到任何近距離的東西, 像是你的小抄, 看遠距離則容易許多。 這就是怯場運作的過程。
How do we fight it? First, perspective. This isn't all in your head. It's a natural, hormonal, full body reaction by an autonomic nervous system on autopilot. And genetics play a huge role in social anxiety. John Lennon played live thousands of times. Each time he vomited beforehand. Some people are just wired to feel more scared performing in public.
那我們該如何對抗它呢? 首先,正視它。 這不全然都是你的想像, 那是種自然、受荷爾蒙影響, 由自主神經系統 自動產生的全身反應。 遺傳也在社交焦慮中 扮演一個很重要的角色。 約翰藍儂現場演出了上千場次, 但在每次演出前他還是緊張地嘔吐, 有些人在大眾前表演 就是感到比較驚慌一點。
Since stage fright is natural and inevitable, focus on what you can control. Practice a lot, starting long before in an environment similar to the real performance. Practicing any task increases your familiarity and reduces anxiety, so when it's time to speak in public, you're confident in yourself and the task at hand. Steve Jobs rehearsed his epic speeches for hundreds of hours, starting weeks in advance. If you know what you're saying, you'll feed off the crowd's energy instead of letting your hypothalamus convince your body it's about to be lunch for a pack of predators.
因為怯場是自然且無法避免的, 所以專注在你可以控制的事物上。 提前找一個 近似於真實演出環境的地方, 開始大量不停地練習。 練習可以同時增加你的純熟度 並減少你的焦慮, 於是到了實際公開演說的時候, 你對自已及手上的任務 就會充滿自信。 在實際上台的前幾週, 史帝夫.賈伯斯就花了幾百個小時 排練他深具魄力的演講。 如果你知道你正在說什麼, 你將從群眾中得到能量來源, 而不會讓你的下視丘 說服你的身體說你即將成為 獵食者的午餐。 不過,脊椎動物的下視丘
But hey, the vertebrate hypothalamus has had millions of years more practice than you. Just before you go on stage, it's time to fight dirty and trick your brain. Stretch your arms up and breath deeply. This makes your hypothalamus trigger a relaxation response. Stage fright usually hits hardest right before a presentation, so take that last minute to stretch and breathe.
可比你多練習了幾百萬年, 所以在你上台前, 玩一點小把戲 哄騙你的大腦吧。 高舉延伸你的手臂,深呼吸, 這使你的下視丘刺激產生 一種放鬆反應。 怯場通常在演講前 發作得最嚴重, 所以把握這最後一分鐘 延伸你的手臂及深呼吸,
You approach the Mic, voice clear, body relaxed. Your well-prepared speech convinces the wild crowd you're a charismatic genius. How? You didn't overcome stage fright, you adapted to it. And to the fact that no matter how civilized you may seem, in part of your brain, you're still a wild animal, a profound, well-spoken wild animal.
然後靠近麥克風,帶著清晰的嗓音, 放鬆的肢體, 你早已做好萬全準備的 演說會說服大眾, 你是一個極具魅力的天才。 怎麼會? 你不是克服了怯場, 而是去適應它。 事實上,無論你 看起來多進化, 你頭腦中的一部分 仍舊是一個野生動物, 一個知識淵博、 能言善道的野生動物。