45. Presentation Advice from Michael Phelps and Dara Torres: How to Control Stress under Pressure

Michael Phelps won eight gold medals at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and Dara Torres won three silver medals. Yet both swimmers had to deal with the inevitable butterflies (pun somewhat intended) that go along with such high-pressure events.

These champions have training resources and regimens far above and beyond the scope of any business presenter, but their stress levels are no different. All human beings experience the same adrenaline rush. Mr. Phelps and Ms. Torres have developed some simple and effective anxiety-controlling techniques that they described to the New York Times—and that every presenter can use.

Ms. Torres, who captured attention of the world by becoming the oldest athlete to qualify for the Olympics at the ripe old age of 41, described her stressful experience in her first Olympics in 1984 when she was just 17: “I freaked out when I walked out on the pool deck and saw 17,000 people.”

One of the veteran members of her team brought Ms. Torres back to the Olympic village and “plopped her in front of a television to watch soap operas to take her mind off her race.” This is known as redirection, and although presenters cannot step away from the podium and watch soap operas, they can redirect their attention from their own stressful feelings to observe their audience’s reactions. In response to what the presenters see, they can adjust their content. If they see that the audience is nodding their heads—reacting positively—presenters can move forward; if not, they can adjust their narrative. This simple mind shift reduces tension.

Mr. Phelps uses two stress-reduction techniques: structured relaxation and visualization. The first is a progressive relaxation of the individual parts of the body to eliminate the tension. The second technique focuses the mind on the endgame—winning. The Times article describes how Mr. Phelps brings the techniques into play. “Once he has cleared his mind and loosened his limbs, Phelps will swim each race over and over in his mind. It is not just the perfect race that Phelps pictures. He sees himself overcoming every conceivable obstacle to achieve his goal time.”^F45.1

Because presenters must remain in the moment and think about their audience instead of their own body parts, structured relaxation has no direct equivalent. But every presenter would do well to pause for a moment before stepping up to the front of the room and take a few deep breaths. Breathing brings oxygen into the body, and oxygen brings relaxation.

The presentation equivalent of Mr. Phelp’s form of visualization occurs during the all-important preparation process. Think about your audience in advance; think about what they know and what they need to know to respond favorably to your pitch; think about their goals, desires, issues, concerns, and hot buttons; and think about the questions they might ask. As Michael Phelps puts it, “I do go through everything from a best-case scenario to the worst-case scenario just so I’m ready for anything that comes my way.” If you do this in your preparation for your presentation, you will find few surprises when the moment of truth arrives.

Redirection, relaxation, and visualization adapted to presentations will help control the butterflies. Butterflies in the stomach are as common at the podium as they are in the swimming pool. Yet the solution in both venues is the same: Make your butterflies fly in formation.