Palms sweaty, heart racing, stomach in knots. You can't cry for help.
手掌出汗、心跳加速、肠胃纠结。你无法大声求救。
Not only is your throat too tight to breathe, but it'd be so embarrassing.
不仅是因为喉咙紧的无法呼吸，而且那也会十分尴尬。
No, you aren't being stalked by a monster, you're speaking in public, a fate some deem worse than death.
不，你并没有被恶魔纠缠，只是你正要准备当众演讲，这在一些人看来，是比死亡还惨的经历。
See, when you're dead, you feel nothing; at a podium, you feel stage fright.
当人死去后，并不会有任何感觉；但身处讲台，你却会感到怯场。
But at some point we've all had to communicate in front of people, so you have to try and overcome it.
然而从某种程度上讲，我们都避免不了在众人面前交谈，因此你必须要尝试去克服它。
To start, understand what stage fright is.
首先，我们要了解什么是怯场。
Humans, social animals that we are, are wired to worry about reputation.
人类是一种社会性动物，奇怪的是，我们十分在意名声。
Public speaking can threaten it.
而公共演讲恰恰能威胁到它。
Before a speech, you fret, 'What if people think I'm awful and I'm an idiot?'
演讲前，你会担心：“人们会不会认为我很愚蠢？”
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.
这样“害怕别人认为自己愚蠢”的恐惧是一种威胁反应，它来自人脑的原始部分，而且难以控制。
It's the fight or flight response, a self-protective process seen in a range of animals, most of which don't give speeches.
这便是“战斗或逃跑反应”，这种自我保护过程在很多动物身上都被发现，但它们可不需要公众演讲。
But we have a wise partner in the study of freaking out.
可我们却拥有一位研究恐惧的智者。
Charles Darwin tested fight or flight at the London Zoo snake exhibit.
查尔斯·达尔文在伦敦动物园的蛇展上验证了“战斗或逃跑反应”。
He wrote in his diary, 'My will and reason were powerless against the imagination of a danger which had never been experienced.'
他曾在日记中写到：“我的意愿和理智在想象中的从未经历过的危险面前都是无力的。”
He concluded that his response was an ancient reaction unaffected by the nuances of modern civilization.
他认为自己的反应是一种古老式的反应，它并不受现代文明差异的影响。
So, to your conscious modern mind, it's a speech.
因此，在人们有意识的现代思维面前，这种危险便是演讲。
To the rest of your brain, built up to code with the law of the jungle,
大脑的其他部分也相应建立起“弱肉强食”的法则，
when you perceive the possible consequences of blowing a speech, it's time to run for your life or fight to the death.
当你意识到由于演讲失败可能产生的结果时，那便是你拔腿逃跑或殊死奋战的时刻。
Your hypothalamus, common to all vertebrates,
与其他脊椎动物一样，
triggers your pituitary gland to secrete the hormone ACTH, making your adrenal gland shoot adrenaline into your blood.
你的下丘脑引起脑下垂体分泌促肾上腺皮质激素，它使肾上腺向血液中射出肾上腺素。

Your neck and back tense up, you slouch.
因此你的脖子和后背开始紧张，显得无精打采。
Your legs and hand shake as your muscles prepare for attack.
你的腿和手开始颤抖，因为你的肌肉已处于备战状态。
You sweat. Your blood pressure jumps.
你会出汗。你的血压会猛增。
Your digestion shuts down to maximize the delivery of nutrients and oxygen to muscles and vital organs,
你的消化系统停止工作，以便最大程度的向肌肉和重要器官输送营养和氧气，
so you get dry mouth, butterflies.
因此你感到口干、心慌。
Your pupils dilate, it's hard to read anything up close, like your notes, but long range is easy.
你的瞳孔扩散，这时阅读眼前的一切都十分困难，比如你的笔记，但你却能看清远处的东西。
That's how stage fright works. How do we fight it?
这就是怯场的原理。我们怎样克服它呢？
First, perspective. This isn't all in your head.
首先是认识。这不完全是由人脑所引起的。
It's a natural, hormonal, full body reaction by an autonomic nervous system on autopilot.
这是一种自然的、生理的全身反应，它是由自主神经系统在无意识状态下产生的。
And genetics play a huge role in social anxiety.
同时遗传因素在社会焦虑中也起重要作用。
John Lennon played live thousands of times. Each time he vomited beforehand.
约翰·列侬有过数千场演出。可每次演出前他都要呕吐。
Some people are just wired to feel more scared performing in public.
有些人只是比别人更能感受到在公共场合表演时的恐惧而已。
Since stage fright is natural and inevitable, focus on what you can control.
既然怯场是正常而难免的，那就集中精力于你能掌控的。
Practice a lot, starting long before in an environment similar to the real performance.
反复的练习，尽早开始在一个与真实表演场景相似的环境中训练。
Practicing any task increases your familiarity and reduces anxiety,
练习每一项任务来增加熟悉度、减少焦虑感，
so when it's time to speak in public, you're confident in yourself and the task at hand.
这样，到演讲时你对自身和手中的任务就会信心十足。
Steve Jobs rehearsed his epic speeches for hundreds of hours, starting weeks in advance.
史蒂夫·乔布斯在准备他那史诗般的演讲时，曾花费数百小时，在数周前就开始练习。
If you know what you're saying, you'll feed off the crowd's energy
如果你清楚自己在说什么，你将会从众人中吸取能量，
instead of letting your hypothalamus convince your body it's about to be lunch for a pack of predators.
这就避免了下丘脑使你的身体认为“你将成为捕食者们的午餐”。
But hey, the vertebrate hypothalamus has had millions of years more practice than you.
但是，脊椎动物下丘脑的这种反应要比你多上数百万年的练习。
Just before you go on stage, it's time to fight dirty and trick your brain.
当你走上讲台前，是时候和你的大脑耍点儿把戏了。
Stretch your arms up and breath deeply.
伸出你的手臂，然后深呼吸。
This makes your hypothalamus trigger a relaxation response.
这会使你的下丘脑产生放松的反应。
Stage fright usually hits hardest right before a presentation, so take that last minute to stretch and breathe.
怯场通常在即将开始演讲时最强烈，因此，用最后的时间来伸展和呼吸。
You approach the Mic, voice clear, body relaxed.
你走向麦克风，音色清晰，身体松弛。
Your well-prepared speech convinces the wild crowd you're a charismatic genius. How?
你成竹在胸的演讲，使广大的听众感到你是个魅力十足的天才。怎么做到的呢？
You didn't overcome stage fright, you adapted to it.
你并没有克服怯场，你只是适应了它。
And to the fact that no matter how civilized you may seem,
事实上，不论你看起来是多么的温文有礼，
in part of your brain, you're still a wild animal, a profound, well-spoken wild animal.
在大脑中的某个部分，你仍是一只野兽，一个博学的、健谈的野兽。