The science of stage fright (and how to overcome it) - Mikael Cho

了解怯場背後的科學（以及如何克服它）- Mikael Cho

譯者: Bernice Huang 審譯者: Marssi Draw

Palms sweaty,

手心不停出汗，

heart racing,

心怦怦跳個不停，

stomach in knots.

胃像打了結一樣，

You can't cry for help.

甚至不能搬救兵。

Not only is your throat too tight to breathe,

不只你的喉嚨緊得無法呼吸，

而且這真的太丟人了，

but it'd be so embarrassing.

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

不是因為有鬼怪正在後頭追趕，

you're speaking in public,

而是你正在公開演講！

a fate some deem worse than death.

有時這比死亡更糟，

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

至少死了，你便毫無感覺；

在講台前，怯場則讓你如臨大敵，

at a podium, you feel stage fright.

But at some point we've all had to communicate

但總有一天我們都得

in front of people,

在眾人面前演說。

so you have to try and overcome it.

所以你必須嘗試著去克服它，

To start, understand what stage fright is.

從了解什麼是怯場開始。

Humans, social animals that we are,

人類，身為群居動物的我們，

are wired to worry about reputation.

時常會擔心我們的聲譽，

Public speaking can threaten it.

而公開演講可能會威脅到它。

Before a speech, you fret,

於是，在演講之前你開始煩惱

"What if people think I'm awful and I'm an idiot?"

大家會不會覺得我很糟， 而且還是個笨蛋？

That fear of being seen as an awful idiot

害怕被當作糟糕的笨蛋

is a threat reaction

是種受到威脅的反應，

from a primitive part of your brain

這反應源自 腦中一個原始區塊，

that's very hard to control.

非常難以控制。

It's the fight or flight response,

這是對抗或逃避的反應，

a self-protective process seen in a range of animals,

一種在許多動物身上 可見的自我保護過程，

most of which don't give speeches.

雖然牠們大部分都不需要演說。

But we have a wise partner

在恐懼行為的研究中，

in the study of freaking out.

我們有個聰明的合作夥伴 ──

Charles Darwin tested fight or flight

查爾斯．達爾文， 他在倫敦動物園蛇類生態館中

at the London Zoo snake exhibit.

測試了對抗或逃避反應。

He wrote in his diary,

他在日記裡寫到

"My will and reason were powerless against the imagination of a danger

「對於從未經歷過危險的想像，

我的意志或理智

which had never been experienced."

完全無能為力。」

He concluded that his response

他結論寫到：他的反應

was an ancient reaction unaffected

是一種不受些微現代文明 影響的古老反應。

by the nuances of modern civilization.

So, to your conscious modern mind,

所以，對你有意識的 現代化頭腦來說，

it's a speech.

這只是一場演說，

但對剩下的部分來說，

To the rest of your brain,

當你意識到演說 可能失敗的後果時，

built up to code with the law of the jungle,

when you perceive the possible consequences

則將累積演變成

弱肉強食的叢林法則。

of blowing a speech,

是時候該選擇要趕快逃命去

it's time to run for your life

或是奮力一搏，至死方休。

or fight to the death.

Your hypothalamus, common to all vertebrates,

跟所有的脊椎動物都一樣，

triggers your pituitary gland to secrete

你的下視丘刺激腦下垂體去分泌

the hormone ACTH,

名叫 ACTH 的荷爾蒙，

making your adrenal gland

促使腎上腺

shoot adrenaline into your blood.

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，

Your legs and hand shake

頭部低垂，

你的手腳顫抖著，

as your muscles prepare for attack.

因為你的肌肉正做好準備攻擊。

You sweat.

你不停地流汗，

血壓飆高，

Your blood pressure jumps.

消化系統停工，

Your digestion shuts down

to maximize the delivery of nutrients

使養分及氧氣大量的傳送到

and oxygen to muscles and vital organs,

肌肉及主要的器官。

so you get dry mouth, butterflies.

所以你感到口乾舌燥，非常焦慮，

Your pupils dilate,

你的瞳孔擴張，

it's hard to read anything up close,

看不到任何近距離的東西，

like your notes,

像是你的小抄，

but long range is easy.

看遠距離則容易許多。

That's how stage fright works.

這就是怯場運作的過程。

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

那是種自然、受荷爾蒙影響，

by an autonomic nervous system on autopilot.

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 扮演一個很重要的角色。

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.

但在每次演出前他還是緊張地嘔吐，

Some people are just wired

有些人在大眾前表演

就是感到比較驚慌一點。

to feel more scared performing in public.

Since stage fright is natural and inevitable,

因為怯場是自然且無法避免的，

focus on what you can control.

所以專注在你可以控制的事物上。

Practice a lot,

提前找一個

近似於真實演出環境的地方，

starting long before

in an environment similar to the real performance.

開始大量不停地練習。

Practicing any task increases your familiarity

練習可以同時增加你的純熟度

and reduces anxiety,

並減少你的焦慮，

so when it's time to speak in public,

於是到了實際公開演說的時候，

你對自已及手上的任務

you're confident in yourself and the task at hand.

就會充滿自信。

Steve Jobs rehearsed his epic speeches

在實際上台的前幾週，

史帝夫．賈伯斯就花了幾百個小時

for hundreds of hours,

starting weeks in advance.

排練他深具魄力的演講。

If you know what you're saying,

如果你知道你正在說什麼，

你將從群眾中得到能量來源，

you'll feed off the crowd's energy

而不會讓你的下視丘

instead of letting your hypothalamus convince your body it's about to be lunch

說服你的身體說你即將成為

獵食者的午餐。

for a pack of predators.

不過，脊椎動物的下視丘

But hey, the vertebrate hypothalamus

可比你多練習了幾百萬年，

has had millions of years more practice than you.

所以在你上台前，

Just before you go on stage,

玩一點小把戲

it's time to fight dirty

and trick your brain.

哄騙你的大腦吧。

高舉延伸你的手臂，深呼吸，

Stretch your arms up and breath deeply.

這使你的下視丘刺激產生

This makes your hypothalamus trigger

a relaxation response.

一種放鬆反應。

怯場通常在演講前

Stage fright usually hits hardest right before a presentation,

發作得最嚴重，

所以把握這最後一分鐘 延伸你的手臂及深呼吸，

so take that last minute to stretch and breathe.

You approach the Mic, voice clear,

然後靠近麥克風，帶著清晰的嗓音，

body relaxed.

放鬆的肢體，

Your well-prepared speech convinces the wild crowd

你早已做好萬全準備的 演說會說服大眾，

you're a charismatic genius.

你是一個極具魅力的天才。

How?

怎麼會？

你不是克服了怯場，

You didn't overcome stage fright,

you adapted to it.

而是去適應它。

事實上，無論你

And to the fact that no matter

看起來多進化，

how civilized you may seem,

in part of your brain,

你頭腦中的一部分

仍舊是一個野生動物，

you're still a wild animal,

一個知識淵博、 能言善道的野生動物。

a profound, well-spoken wild animal.