During the writer's strike, I suppose I could have picked up a healthy habit like spa cooking, whatever-came-after-knitting, or old-school Tae Bo. But, instead, I rented entire seasons of series I had missed the first time around. The most addictive of which was the profoundly screwed up Nip Tuck.
In one episode, the more responsible, less hot doc finds his hand shaking and jerking during surgery. Eventually he has to stop operating for the safety of the patients. And, alas, his own doc cannot find a physical cause. They determine it's The Yips.
The Yips: A golfing term that basically means you twitch when putting. Could be medical. Could be all in your head.
Zipping back over to the real world. About 8 months ago, I got a whopper of a case of them. Not in my hands, but in my voice. The woman who has been running rooms and talking off the cuff for 15+ years suddenly couldn't get through a little case study without her voice cracking like Peter Brady (remember THAT episode?) In one memorable new business pitch, my throat shut so tight that my usual casual speech quickly became a caterwaul, spiraling so fast that I basically completely lost the ability to speak for a moment.
The worst part is, The Yips feed on themselves. So, once it happened, I would be even more nervous about it the next time and it would be ever more likely to happen.
Happily the symptoms were limited. Only standing presentations. Only in rooms of people I didn't know.
More happily, it's over.
Not because I have a great story of dealing with it, confronting the office bully, getting my groove back, etc. No, I took the easy way out and just completely changed my environment. But, I have walked away with some advice. Sort of an adrenaline shot to the heart you can give to a speaker losing her cool.
Yips Rx: Interrupt her
All it takes is a friendly question, a smart (or, hey, no judgment, any kind of) comment to give her a minute to get her composure back. In that instant, the panic cycle is broken and The Yips have to start all over again.
Go ahead, do it for a good speaker with a case of the nerves in your life.
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