Why You Freeze on Stage (And How to Fix It)

1 Jun 2026 · 1 min

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In this coaching segment, the speaker addresses why many people who are naturally witty and comfortable in casual conversation freeze when they step onto a stage. He explains that the shift to a formal speaking environment triggers the conscious mind to take over, leading to overanalysis of details such as hand placement, speaking speed, and joke timing. Because the conscious mind can only process about 50 bits of information per second, this overload hampers performance. The core advice is to set a clear performance target and then step aside, allowing the subconscious mind to execute the presentation fluidly. By trusting the subconscious and avoiding micromanagement, speakers can reduce anxiety and deliver more natural, confident talks.

Chapters

I help a lot of people, like, with things like, I struggle with public speaking. Most people who struggle with public speaking, they will have a conversation with their friend and not think about it. They, they are naturally funny. They're naturally easy to talk to. They're naturally able to take the ideas out of here and present them out there. But the instant they get on the stage, the instant someone puts a mic in their hand, the instant it's an official event, they say, okay, conscious mind, this is important. Move out the way. I got it. Now they up there saying, well, where do I put my hands? Am I talking too fast? Am I talking too slow? Am I? Should I tell a joke now or should I wait? I got this joke that I want. That's asking for trouble. Let the subconscious mind do its job. Let this. Your job is to set the target and get out of the way. Set the target and get out of the way. Like we was talking about earlier, the conscious mind can only juggle 50 bits of information per second.