12-minute letting go meditation for public speaking fear, first thing

About this practice

Nothing to learn and nothing to fix: 12 minutes of letting go for public speaking fear, first thing. A guided session of about 12 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: public speaking fear

Speaking to a group triggers the same response as physical threat: shallow breathing, a dry mouth, and a voice that rises and speeds up.

It tends to show up as:

• Voice wobbling on the first sentence
• Speaking too fast to get it over with
• Shallow breathing high in the chest

Lengthening the exhale slows speech and steadies the voice. Physically, this is a breath practice before it is a confidence practice.

Doing this in the morning

• Do it before checking your phone — the first minutes set the tone for the rest
• Sitting up is better than lying down, or you will drift back to sleep
• Light on your face helps more than any practice

Mornings can become a performance of productive habits. This one does not need to be done well.

How letting go works

Letting go is about loosening grip rather than dropping things. It works on the effort attached to a problem — the holding, rehearsing and bracing — which is separable from the problem itself.

• Pick one thing you are gripping and loosen a single finger
• Release the effort with the exhale, not the issue
• Set down temporarily; you can pick it up again after

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Notice the temperature of the air on the backs of your hands.
2. 0:13With each exhale, let a little of the effort go. Not the problem — just the effort.
3. 0:28If your mind is loud, that's information, not failure.
4. 0:39Nothing here needs to be pleasant. Neutral is fine. Dull is fine.
5. 0:52Let the exhale empty you a little more than usual, but not to the point of strain.
6. 1:07Follow the breath down into your belly and feel it come back up.
7. 1:20Feel your knees. They're just hinges, but they've worked hard.
8. 1:32Let the whole of your left foot be heavy.
9. 1:43Feel your ankles. Let them be loose.
10. 1:53Notice your shoulders, one at a time. The left one first.
11. 2:05the room full of faces may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
12. 2:23Whatever the urge to rush off the stage is doing right now, your breathing can keep going underneath it.
13. 2:39Follow three breaths and let the fourth one go unobserved.
14. 2:51If your body wants to move, let it move, then come back.
15. 3:04Ask yourself what you could stop holding for the next sixty seconds. That one is a good start.
16. 3:20Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
17. 3:31Notice if you're waiting for something to happen. Nothing is scheduled.
18. 3:43Setting something down is not the same as giving up. You can pick it up again after.
19. 3:58A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
20. 4:09If a worry shows up, name it quietly and let it sit beside you.
21. 4:23You have been carrying this competently for a while. A few minutes off will not undo that.
22. 4:38Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
23. 4:50Notice any urge to check something. You can wait two more minutes.
24. 5:03Pick one thing you are gripping — a plan, a worry, a grudge — and loosen a single finger.
25. 5:19A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
26. 5:30Notice the tone of your own inner voice. Is it kind?
27. 5:42Feel the pause at the top of the in-breath. It's shorter than you think.
28. 5:56A few seconds more.
29. 6:05Feel the front of your chest. Notice it rise and fall once.
30. 6:18Notice where you feel the breath most clearly. Nose, chest, or belly — pick one and stay there.
31. 6:34Take the next breath slowly.
32. 6:43Feel the parts of you that have gone quiet.
33. 6:54Breathe in for four, out for six, if you'd like something to count.
34. 7:07Nothing changes for a moment.
35. 7:16Notice your lower back. Let it curve however it curves.
36. 7:28Notice how many breaths you take in a minute. Don't change the number, just check.
37. 7:42Let this one be unhurried.
38. 7:51Feel the middle of your back, the part that never gets attention.
39. 8:04Notice how the wobble in your voice changes shape when you stop resisting it. Usually it gets smaller, not bigger.
40. 8:21Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
41. 8:33Notice the space around the room full of faces. It is there, even if it is small. Put your attention in that space.
42. 8:51Let the breath get soft, the way it goes when someone is reading beside you.
43. 9:05Let the exhale carry a little of the urge to rush off the stage with it. Not all of it. Just a little, one breath at a time.
44. 9:25If the wobble in your voice has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
45. 9:43Let your breathing get quieter rather than deeper.
46. 9:54If nothing much is happening, that's not a problem. Nothing much is often the point.
47. 10:08If you're counting the minutes, that's fine. Count them and come back.
48. 10:21Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
49. 10:33We are not solving anything in the next few minutes. We are setting it down, temporarily.
50. 10:48Remain here for a few more breaths.
51. 10:58Take one more breath at your own pace, then let your attention come back to the room.
52. 11:13If you're going straight back to work, take ten seconds at the doorway first.
53. 11:27Let your body keep settling.

Questions people ask

Meditation is a practice, not a treatment. If you are dealing with ongoing distress, please also reach out to a professional.