So, you have a *big* public speaking gig, job interview, or audition coming up. The last thing you want to do is stress, feel anxious and for your nerves to take over.

Here are 15 tips that are sure to increase your Calmfidence®️, ease your nerves, decrease stress and help to prepare you for success.

1. Inhale 4 seconds-hold 7 seconds-exhale 8 seconds-pause-repeat. This helps to calm the mind/nervous system, regulate breathing, and balances emotions.
2. Go Bananas! A student of mine who was in Mamma Mia on Broadway used bananas to combat nerves. This fruit is a beta blocker helped her feel calm before a performance.
3. Lay off the perfume & cologne. Smell is the scent of memory…and you may smell like a bad one to someone else.
4. Warm up your voice. The Larynx/voice-box is a muscle. The more tense the muscle the higher pitched your voice will be. Massage & warmth will help it to relax.
5. Make an impression with a  handwritten thank you note.  This carries a lot of weight in a cyber age of emails & texts. I know folks who save them in a file.
6. Know where you’re headed! Visit the location before the big day.
7. Think positive – Be positive.
8. You gotta believe! If you do, the audience will as well. This goes for acting, selling, persuading, educating, inspiring or motivating.
9. Chew some gum.  This has been associated with higher alertness, reduced stress & anxiety, a greater performance on multi-tasking activities. (But before to get rid of it before your speech/interview/audition!)
10. Skip the dairy.  Avoid dairy products before a speech or meeting. Coagulation occurs around vocal chords & makes you want to clear your throat and coats your tongue.
11. Practice & Prepare – these are the magic bullets that can kill fear.
12. Studies have shown that the hormone Oxytocin gives a calming effect…Sex=Oxytocin for up to a week!
13. Limit caffeine.  An interesting NASA study shows spiders can not spin webs while on caffeine.
14. Tension Headache? Rub your earlobes! This acupressure trick clears your head & dulls pain above the neck.
15. Ditch the sunglasses on the way to that interview or audition. Light stimulates neurotransmitters which increase motivation.  This will also prevent the dreaded “Opti-indentus” – those ugly indentations on the sides of your nose.