5 breathing techniques to use before a big presentation

Words by Lizzie Slowe

How is it that some people are great at presenting? What gives people the ability to command the room, to speak directly to each member of an audience, to get their point across, to be convincing beyond doubt?

When we fully present in ourselves, and fully connected with our listeners, when we’re not forcing but are naturally resonating, our ideas or our work become heard and understood. We embody confidence, certainty, reason and plausibility in an authentic and grounded way. It’s not something we can pretend – we have feel it.

This may come easily to some lucky individuals, but there is so much you can do to create this experience for yourself.

Practise makes perfect, but even just doing this routine once will supercharge your delivery. It will get you grounded, expansive, focused, centred and connected, – all at the same time! Well worth investing 10 minutes of your life before an important moment, allowing you to reap the rewards in the long term.

Step 1: Getting grounded

Sitting down, use loose fists to bang on the outside of your lower legs, between (and not on) your shin bone and the outside seam of your trousers (or where it would be). Go as hard as you are comfortable with, working from your knee down to just above your ankle.

Then with your hands over your shins and thumbs on the inside of the shin bone, squeeze and release, your thumbs going into the gap between the bone and the muscle, working back up from ankle to knee. Repeat this, down and then up, three to six times.

Step 2: Becoming Expansive

Standing up with your feet hip-width and parallel, tuck your tail underneath you, relax your shoulders and have strength in your lower belly and pelvic floor. Have your hands as if holding a large beach ball against your belly.

Inhale: arms and hands rise up to chest height, then uncurl – first at the shoulders, then elbows, wrists, hands and fingers – until your arms are open out to the sides at the end of the breath.

Exhale: arms curl back in as if holding a beach ball against your chest, and then sink down to lower belly height by the end of the out breath.

Move smoothly, taking the whole inbreath to rise and uncurl, and the whole outbreath to move in and down. Breathe deeply but don’t strain or force. Repeat three to six times.

Step 3: Focus

Standing up with your feet hip-width and parallel, tuck your tail underneath you, relax your shoulders and have strength in your lower belly and pelvic floor. Take the palm of one hand to your Dan Tien (about three fingers below your belly button).

Take the palm of the other hand to your heart centre (centre of your chest). Imagine a flame in each location – in the centre of your body. Energy from your palm is radiating to each flame, nurturing its light and warmth. As you inhale, the flames both expand, fanned by the breath. As you exhale, they shrink, becoming smaller, more defined and still bright. 

Inhale – expanding warm flames. Exhale – shrinking bright flames.

Repeat six times.

Step 4: Be in your centre

Standing up with your feet wider – about hip-width-and-a-half, have a bend in your knees, without tipping your upper body forwards. Tuck your tail underneath you, relax your shoulders and have strength in your lower belly and pelvic floor.

Take the palm of one hand to your Dan Tien, and the flat of the back of the other hand opposite on your back. Take your awareness from your head to below your belly button, making this your centre of balance.

As you inhale and without tipping or changing your upper body posture, slowly take your weight over your right leg. Stay balanced in your Dan Tien. As you exhale, move over your left leg. Repeat two more times, then stop in the middle. Swap your hands around – and repeat three more times but breathing in to the left this time, and out to the right.

Step 5: Connection

Standing up with your feet hip-width and parallel, tuck your tail underneath you and have strength in your lower belly and pelvic floor. Arms by your sides limp and relaxed, shoulder blades moving down your back and your head balanced easily on top of your spine. 

Imagine your feet are able to sense the Earth (even if it’s beneath the building you’re in). the soles of your feet alive and feeling the earth. Imagine the crown of your head is also alive and communicating with the sun and the stars.

Take your awareness to your Dan Tien, your centre. This is where you are connected to yourself, and able to connect to others. Energy can flow thick and fast from your belly to your heart, your head and out to other people. Imagine this energy flow in whatever colour and form that works for you.

Inhale, imagine energy flowing into you from the heavens and the earth.

Exhale, imagine the energy flowing to those you want to connect with.

Inhale – taking energy from heaven and earth: Exhale – channelling that energy to your audience

Repeat this breath six times.