Public Speaking: Drink your way to success

They say you are what you eat, but how often have you considered the impact your choice of beverage is having on your professional life?

Things like the usual coffee in the morning or the cold beer on a hot summer day can have a greater impact than you might think. Your concentration, your memory, your speech, or your general physical state can be influenced by what you drink.

When you have to give a speech, you probably want to be the best version of yourself. Choosing the right drink can help you.

If you’re preparing a presentation, consider the following information.

Caffeine to stimulate, alcohol to relax

Alcohol and caffeine are frequently part of daily life. Most of us drink at least one coffee a day, and alcohol is often related to social moments and relaxation. We often don’t consider the effects even moderate consumption may have on our bodies and how those can interfere in the different activities we have to do.

Let’s start with caffeine. For most of us, drinking a coffee is the usual start of the day. It helps us to “wake up” and get us ready for the day to come. Caffeine is a stimulant, and it helps us to get rid of our endless sleepiness. Yes, you probably promised yourself you would go to bed early. However, you didn’t do it. So… coffee.

When you drink coffee, it increases your heart rate (and anxiety), your blood pressure, acid reflux, and dehydration. Have you noticed? Some of those are the same effects of Public Speaking. Caffeine effectively simulates bodily changes under stress. This means that by drinking a coffee, you increase the physical reactions of your body.

The connection between the physical and psychological is stronger than you might think. Your brain will interpret the effects of coffee as a physical reaction to a stressful situation. This way, you’re making yourself believe you’re worse than you are, which increases stress!

If coffee increases your stress, could alcohol get the opposite reaction from your body? Maybe a shot would help you to relax? Think it’s a good idea? Think again.

Everybody says that a glass of wine can calm your nerves down. True, but it also makes you slower and not as good at making decisions. It also harms your memory. Weren’t you afraid of forgetting something?

A cold beer under a burning summer sun can sound amazingly good, but the truth is that alcohol leads to dry mouth and halitosis (bad breath). Imagine giving a good speech, and in the end, someone comes to greet you only to be confronted with your bad breath.

Alcohol for endless agony

Let’s forget that part when you embarrassed yourself because of alcohol darkening your judgment, and focus on scientific facts.

Research suggests that alcohol prevents you from overcoming your fears. It stops a particular pathway of processing fear. Instead of getting better with every new experience, you are blocking your brain from processing that exposure and getting over the fear.

So, yes, maybe it can give you the courage to step on the stage, but the next time your fear will still be just as crippling instead of getting better.

Water for a clear mind and hydrated body

How often do you see a glass or bottle of water next to a speaker? I would risk saying always, but let’s stay with most of the time. The question is: why?

For a starter, it is good for your voice, and pretty much everything else. In the case of Public speaking, it fights two big problems: dry mouth and anxiety.

Dry mouth is a two-fold problem when giving a speech. Speaking, itself, can dry your mouth, but your biggest enemy is anxiety. Anxiety triggers dry mouth and all its problems. Water is the only way to avoid that.

Besides, you can use the action of taking a sip as a ritual to calm yourself down. It works similarly to deep breaths and breaks the cycle of growing anxiety. It will help you to pace your speech and add valuable breaks to it.

Train with coffee, speak with water, celebrate with alcohol

Every kind of drink has a specific role and knowing that, helps you to make the most out of it. Coffee can be a good ally while training because it simulates the alterations of the body under stress. On the other hand, water is the best friend to have by your side during the actual speech. To avoid embarrassing yourself, leave the alcohol for later, to celebrate your success.