Taking the Fear Out of Presentations

The Power of Loving-Kindness to Transform Public Speaking

I regularly practice loving-kindness meditation, also known as metta meditation. Metta is the word in the original Pali language, and it doesn’t have an exact translation in English. It means something like universal goodwill or friendliness, but most often it’s translated as “loving-kindness.” Metta meditation has transformed my life in many ways, but there is one concrete benefit I get from it that others may benefit from as well. It has significantly improved my ability to speak in public, give presentations, and lead meetings, both in person and on Zoom or other video conferencing services.

What is Loving-Kindness Meditation?

Loving-Kindness or Metta meditation is a form of Buddhist meditation focused on cultivating benevolence towards others and yourself. In loving-kindness meditation, the meditator silently repeats phrases such as:

May you be happy May you be free from suffering May you be well May you be healthy May you live with ease May you be safe

The meditator usually directs these phrases toward him or herself, then toward someone they have a positive and uncomplicated relationship with, then toward someone they are neutral about — perhaps a co-worker or clerk they see in a store or neighbor, then toward someone they have a negative relationship with, and finally toward all beings on earth.

“Buddha ﬁrst taught metta meditation as an antidote: as a way of surmounting terrible fear when it arises.” ― Sharon Salzberg, Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness

Science-Backed Benefits

The scientific study of loving-kindness meditation is just beginning, but research is already indicating that it can have positive benefits.

Reduces self-criticism A 2015 study by Shahar et. al. assigned 38 participants with high levels of self-criticism to either do a loving-kindness meditation once a week for seven weeks or to a wait list. They found that those who did loving-kindness meditation had significantly lower levels of self-criticism and higher levels of self-compassion. Reducing self-criticism and increasing self-compassion before presenting to a group or speaking in public can help us reduce our anxiety and focus on the audience’s experiences rather than our fears.

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Generates positive emotions Studies conducted by Barbara Fredrickson have shown that regular practice of loving-kindness meditation led to shifts in people’s daily experiences of a wide range of positive emotions, including love, joy, gratitude, contentment, hope, pride, interest, amusement, and awe. Positive emotions in front of a group you a presenting to reduces the levels of fear or anxiety you can feel at the same time.

Increases empathy Several studies (Hoffmann, Grossman & Hinton, 2011 & Hutcherson, Seppala & Gross, 2014) have shown that loving-kindness meditation increases empathy. Empathy means you are more aware of your audience’s needs and experiences, and it means you aren’t focused so fully on your own fears.

Relaxes our body Researcher Rita Law found that only 10 minutes of loving-kindness meditation had a relaxing effect on the body. This was shown by increased respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a way of measuring your ability to enter a relaxing and restorative state, as well as slowed and relaxed respiration.

I’ve focused on the studies of loving-kindness meditation that I think shed light on why it improves our ability and experience while public speaking. In addition these study results, other studies show benefits from loving-kindness in the following areas: More social connection, more pro-social behavior, increased compassion, reduced pain symptoms, reduced PTSD symptoms, improved motivation, reduced symptoms of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, longer telomere length (associated with slower aging), and decreased bias against minorities.

Applying this Technique to Public Speaking, Presentations, and Leading Meetings

I used to have significant anxiety and fear when I had to speak in public. I would get shaky, turn red in the face, and sweat. I fumbled over my words, looked down, spoke too fast. At some point, I decided I needed to find a solution for my anxiety, because my career goals would require me to be able to speak in front of both small groups and large crowds at times. I joined Toastmasters, I accepted opportunities to present in front of small and medium-sized groups, and developed the confidence to know that even if I did start the presentation with a feeling of anxiety, I could trust that I knew my subject and would make it through.

In the last few years, I’ve started accepting speaking assignments in front of bigger groups, including presenting in front of crowds of up to 100 strangers at conferences. The first time I spoke in front of a group of that size full of people I didn’t know, I was terrified. But, in addition to the confidence from the successes I’d had in the past in front of smaller groups, I had another tool I knew could help me: Loving-kindness. Here is how I use this powerful technique:

When I’m in front of a group — leading a meeting, presenting to a group, giving a speech, whether in person or using video conference — I spend a few seconds before the meeting begins looking around the room and connecting with the gaze of a few individual people.
I pick out one person in the audience and silently wish him or her well. I briefly think about all this person might have gone through recently — maybe they were running late this morning, maybe they had an argument with their spouse, maybe their child is sick and they are worried about him or her. There are so many small and large things that inevitably go wrong in every human life. I think about how I know that this person has at least some of those difficulties in life, and I think to myself: “May you be happy and avoid the worst suffering in this life. May you feel safe and contented. May you be healthy.” Thinking about this person and wishing them well humanizes them, and by association everyone else in the audience. When you are wishing someone else well, it is difficult to feel the same level of anxiety and fear about speaking in front of them at the same time. If I have time, I pick out another person and repeat the exercise.
Next, I direct loving-kindness towards myself. I briefly think about the challenges I’ve faced in getting here, the work I’ve put in, the hopes and fears I have for this presentation. In the same way I might if I were thinking about a good friend, I direct compassion toward myself — “After all the experiences I’ve had, it’s understandable that I’d have these fears.” Then, I turn the energy of loving-kindness that I’ve been directed toward others toward myself. I think: “May I be happy and content. May I feel safe and have steadiness of mind. May I avoid suffering and find joy in this life.”
Finally, I spend a few seconds collecting the energy of loving-kindness from the group I’m presenting to. I know that when I go to a meeting, presentation, or speaking engagement, I’m rooting for the speaker to do an excellent job and feel good about the experience. I assume at least some of the people in the group I’m presenting to also wish me well in the same way, so I imagine them directing that encouragement at me. I imagine them thinking “You’re going to do great! I can’t wait to hear what you have to say. I’ll be rooting for you.”

All of this can take no more than a minute, if that’s all you have. The experience of generating positive goodwill toward the audience and imagining receiving it from myself and the audience encourages me to be more present, to empathize with the audience’s perspective, and not focus on myself as the center of attention. This powerful technique has deeply improved both my enjoyment of presenting to a group, as well as my performance. Although this technique has never been tested scientifically, I don’t believe you need to practice formal loving-kindness meditation regularly to get some benefit from these public speaking techniques. However, regular loving-kindness practice does make it much easier to slip into that mindset when you are feeling anxious in front of an audience, and regular practice undoubtedly has many additional longer-lasting benefits.

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Taking the Fear Out of Presentations

What is Loving-Kindness Meditation?

Science-Backed Benefits

Applying this Technique to Public Speaking, Presentations, and Leading Meetings

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