You can't cry for help.

你甚至不能大聲呼救。

Not only is your throat too tight to breathe, but it'd be so embarrassing.

因為你喉嚨緊得無法呼吸，更何況這真是太丟人了。

No, you aren't being stalked by a monster.

並不是鬼怪在後頭追趕你。

You're speaking in public, a fate some deem worse than death.

你面臨的東西比死亡更糟，你正在公開演講。

See, when you're dead, you feel nothing.

至少死了，你便毫無感覺。

At a podium, you feel stage fright.

但在講台前，怯場則讓你如臨大敵。

But at some point we've all had to communicate in front of people, so you have to try and overcome it.

可是總有一天我們都得在眾人面前演說，所以你必須嘗試去克服它。

To start, understand what stage fright is.

從了解什麼是怯場開始。

Humans, social animals that we are, are wired to worry about reputation.

人類，身為群居動物的我們，時常會擔心自己的聲譽。

Public speaking can threaten it.

而公開演講可能會威脅到我們的聲譽。

Before a speech, you fret, "What if people think I'm awful and I'm an idiot?"

於是，在演講前你開始煩惱「如果大家覺得我又糟又笨怎麼辦？」

That fear of being seen as an awful idiot is a threat reaction from a primitive part of your brain that's very hard to control.

害怕被當作糟糕的笨蛋是種受到威脅的反應， 這反應源自腦中一個難以控制的原始區塊。

It's the fight or flight response, a self-protective process seen in a range of animals, most of which don't give speeches.

這是「戰鬥或逃跑反應」，一種在許多動物身上可見的自我保護反應， 雖然牠們大部分都不需要演說。

But we have a wise partner in the study of freaking out.

在恐懼行為的研究中，我們有個聰明的合作夥伴 ──

Charles Darwin tested fight or flight at the London Zoo snake exhibit.

查爾斯．達爾文，他在倫敦動物園蛇類生態館中測試了戰鬥或逃跑反應。

He wrote in his diary, "My will and reason were powerless against the imagination of a danger which had never been experienced."

他在日記裡寫道：「面對未經歷過危險的想像，意志和理智毫無用武之地。」

He concluded that his response was an ancient reaction unaffected by the nuances of modern civilization.

他下了這樣的結論，他的反應是一種古老反應，不受現代文明些微差異影響。

So, to your conscious modern mind, it's a speech.

所以，對你有意識的現代化頭腦來說，這只是一場演說。

To the rest of your brain, built up to code with the law of the jungle, when you perceive the possible consequences of blowing a speech, it's time to run for your life or fight to the death.

但對大腦其餘的部分來說，按照弱肉強食的叢林法，當你意識到演說失敗可能的後果時，是時候「戰鬥或逃跑」，至死方休了。

Your hypothalamus, common to all vertebrates, triggers your pituitary gland to secrete the hormone ACTH, making your adrenal gland shoot adrenaline into your blood.

跟所有的脊椎動物都一樣，你的下視丘刺激腦下垂體去分泌名叫 ACTH 的荷爾蒙， 促使腎上腺釋出腎上腺素進入你的血液。

Your neck and back tense up, you slouch.

你的脖子及背部變得緊蹦，頭部低垂，

Your legs and hand shake as your muscles prepare for attack.

你的手腳顫抖著，因為你的肌肉正做好準備攻擊。

You sweat.

你不停地流汗。

Your blood pressure jumps.

血壓飆高。

Your digestion shuts down to maximize the delivery of nutrients and oxygen to muscles and vital organs, so you get dry mouth, butterflies.

消化系統停工，使養分及氧氣大量的傳送到肌肉及主要器官，所以你感到口乾舌燥，非常焦慮。

Your pupils dilate, it's hard to read anything up close, like your notes, but long range is easy.

你的瞳孔擴張，看不清任何近距離的東西，像是你的小抄，但看遠距離卻很輕鬆。

That's how stage fright works.

這就是怯場產生的過程。

How do we fight it?

那我們該如何對抗它呢？

First, perspective.

首先，正視它。

This isn't all in your head.

這不全然都是你的想像。

It's a natural, hormonal, full body reaction by an autonomic nervous system on autopilot.

那是種自然、受荷爾蒙影響，由自主神經系統自動產生的全身反應。

And genetics play a huge role in social anxiety.

遺傳也在社交焦慮中扮演了很重要的角色。

John Lennon played live thousands of times.

約翰藍儂現場演出了上千場次，

Each time he vomited beforehand.

但每次演出前他還是緊張地嘔吐。

Some people are just wired to feel more scared performing in public.

有些人在大眾前表演，就是會比較驚慌。

Since stage fright is natural and inevitable, focus on what you can control.

既然怯場是自然且無法避免的反應，專注在你可以控制的事物上。

Practice a lot.

多多練習。

Starting long before in an environment similar to the real performance.

提前找個類似真實演出環境的地方練習。

Practicing any task increases your familiarity and reduces anxiety, so when it's time to speak in public, you're confident in yourself and the task at hand.

練習可以同時增加你的熟練度並減少焦慮，等到實際公開演說時，你對自已及手上的任務就會充滿自信。

Steve Jobs rehearsed his epic speeches for hundreds of hours, starting weeks in advance.

史帝夫．賈伯斯會提前好幾週，花幾百個小時排練他深具魄力的演講。

If you know what you're saying, you'll feed off the crowd's energy instead of letting your hypothalamus convince your body it's about to be lunch for a pack of predators.

如果你知道你正在說什麼，你將從群眾中得到能量來源，而不會讓你的下視丘欺騙你的身體，讓你有即將成為獵食者午餐的錯覺。

But hey, the vertebrate hypothalamus has had millions of years more practice than you.

不過，脊椎動物的下視丘可比你多練習了幾百萬年。

Just before you go on stage, it's time to fight dirty and trick your brain.

所以在上台前，玩一點小把戲，哄騙你的大腦吧。

Stretch your arms up and breath deeply.

高舉伸展你的手臂，深呼吸。

This makes your hypothalamus trigger a relaxation response.

這會刺激你的下視丘，產生一種放鬆反應。

Stage fright usually hits hardest right before a presentation, so take that last minute to stretch and breathe.

怯場通常在演講前發作得最嚴重， 所以把握最後一分鐘時間，伸展你的手臂及深呼吸。

You approach the mic, voice clear, body relaxed.

靠近麥克風，帶著清晰的嗓音及放鬆的肢體，

Your well-prepared speech convinces the wild crowd you're a charismatic genius.

你早已做好萬全準備，用演說說服大眾，你是一個極具魅力的天才。

How?

怎麼辦到的？

You didn't overcome stage fright, you adapted to it.

你不是克服了怯場，而是適應了它。

And to the fact that no matter how civilized you may seem, in part of your brain, you're still a wild animal, a profound, well-spoken wild animal.

事實上，無論你看起來多進化，你腦中一部份仍舊是個野生動物，一個知識淵博、 能言善道的野生動物。