Good Public Speaking Is All About Your Breathing
Good nasal breathing is key to effective public speaking. You would think that public speaking is all about content, but in fact it is all about delivery. Even the best and most relevant content, when delivered incorrectly, is quickly dismissed by listeners who didn’t find that the delivery was effective enough to keep them interested. In other words, you became boring. No one wants to be boring, right?
So how do you keep your listeners interested? You manage this by inserting pauses at relevant moments.
And what has this got to do with nasal breathing? Well, with nasal breathing there are more opportunities for pauses, which allow listeners the opportunity to actually focus and digest the information you are presenting.
Nasal breathing also means that your throat never dries out, and this is a big factor in public speaking. Why? Because those little white flecks of spit at the corners of your mouth when you are getting into your subject are really unattractive. And also because the need to not cough unexpectedly or have voice and pitch modulations are vital when you are delivering a punchy talk.
So how do you manage it? Instead of taking a big gulp of air into your mouth when delivering a speech, rather try taking your breath in through your nose. A good way to practice this is by reading out loud. Try first with a kids story, and then follow with something like the Business News. When you actually obey the commas and full stops, (by putting in the appropriate pauses), you will find that your speech slows down slightly. This makes you sound far more in control and knowledgeable, and less like an excited maniac.
Nasal breathing has many more benefits too, like ensuring that the air conditioning units in the conference facility won’t dry out your airways too soon. Nasal breathing also limits infections and helps to boost immunity. Nasal breathing means that the air first circulates through the sinus cavities, which concentrates nitrogen from the air we breathe. Nitrogen is a powerful virus and germ killer, so it means you are less likely to suffer from an immune system failure due to airborne germs circulating in the environment. It’s a good idea to ensure that you are employing only nasal breathing when you are on an airplane or traveling on public transport, ensuring that on arrival you are feeling fresh and ready for the big speech.
Posted by amster88 








