You walk into the room and suddenly your imagination is directing a full cinematic production. 

The audience look stern. 

Someone looks worried. 

Someone else looks bored. 

And the worst moment of all…someone checks their phone. 

Cue the inner voice: This is going terribly.

Many people assume catastrophising is the enemy of confident speaking. 

But I see it differently. 

Used wisely, catastrophising is actually one of the most powerful preparation tools you have. 

The trick is knowing when to switch it on and just as importantly when to switch it off. 

In the early stages of preparing a speech, I actively encourage people to catastrophise. Because this is where you do your due diligence. 

Ask:

✔️ What could go wrong? 

✔️ What could go brilliantly right? 

✔️ What do I need to prepare so the risks disappear? 

When you allow yourself to explore these scenarios early on, you become far more prepared. 

You strengthen your structure. 

You sharpen your message. 

You rehearse the tricky moments. 

Catastrophising becomes strategic thinking. 

But here’s the important part. As the presentation approaches, catastrophising stops being useful. 

If you’re still running that disaster movie in your mind right before you speak, your brain believes the prediction. And the brain is a prediction machine. 

Whatever scenario you repeatedly imagine, your mind and body begin to prepare for it. 

So when the moment comes to speak, you need to change the film. 

If you notice the soundtrack of doubt starting up, pause. Then consciously direct a different scene. 

See yourself speaking with calm confidence. 

Notice the audience leaning in. 

See the clarity of your ideas landing. 

Imagine the room feeling engaged and curious. 

You can even adjust the details: 

✔️ Make the image brighter. 

✔️ Push the old fearful picture further away. 

✔️ Give yourself a posture or outfit that signals confidence. 

Your mind is surprisingly responsive to these shifts. 

Athletes do this constantly 

If you want proof that visualisation works, look at elite athletes. 

Before a skier or luge competitor launches down a terrifying slope, they aren’t imagining crashing into the barriers. 

They are seeing the run going perfectly. 

Every turn. 

Every movement. 

Every moment. 

Their brain rehearses success before their body performs it. Public speaking works in much the same way. 

So yes, catastrophise if you must. 

But only at the right stage. Use it early to prepare brilliantly. 

Then switch the film. 

Because when you rehearse the vision of things going well, you give your brain a powerful prediction to work towards.

Do that, and you’ll find yourself not battling your speaking challenges…but gliding through them.