Why You Should Embrace The “Butterflies” In Your Stomach During Public Speaking

By recognizing the moment when you did swallow them.

Michel Kana, Ph.D
Mind Cafe

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Photo by __ drz __ on Unsplash

Have you ever had butterflies in your stomach when speaking in public? Do your nerves act up so terribly you cannot stay straight in front of a crowd? What if we have metaphorically swallowed those butterflies at some point in time and they are a part of us, helping us? We just have to learn how to make them fly in formation.

Recently I had the experience of walking into a feeling I had not felt in some time.

How I Swallowed A Butterfly

“2000”, written in golden letters, with the word “capacity” above it. I am standing in front of the conference room where I am about to give a speech.

Two thousand people to see me! Wow, I must be awesome. My ego jumps out of my head and starts dancing hip-hop in front of me.

I enter the room to see the conference organizer putting the last chairs. I have arrived too early on spot. I have to wait.

Twenty, fifteen, ten minutes to go. I spend all that time, … staring at, … empty chairs.

I have never seen so many empty chairs in one place in my whole life.

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Michel Kana, Ph.D
Mind Cafe

Husband & Dad. Mental health advocate. Top Medium Writer. 20 years in IT. AI Expert @Harvard. Empowering human-centered organizations with high-tech.