{
  "title": "Stage fright: calm down or get excited?",
  "url": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/trac-se-calmer-ou-se-dire-enthousiaste-en",
  "language": "en",
  "datePublished": "2026-08-06",
  "publisher": {
    "name": "SHR — Swiss Human Resources",
    "url": "https://www.shr.swiss",
    "address": "Esplanade de Pont-Rouge 9A, 1212 Lancy, Suisse"
  },
  "summary": "Reframing anxiety as excitement may improve performance more than trying to calm down. The result is experimental.",
  "section": "Research",
  "topic": "Public Speaking & Impact",
  "place": {
    "name": "Lausanne",
    "region": "Vaud",
    "country": "CH"
  },
  "keyPoints": [
    {
      "heading": "The experiments",
      "point": "Alison Wood Brooks (2014, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General) shows participants who said 'I am excited' before a speech outperformed those told to calm down.."
    },
    {
      "heading": "The proposed mechanism",
      "point": "Anxiety and excitement share high arousal; shifting between them may be easier than suppressing arousal.."
    },
    {
      "heading": "The nuance",
      "point": "Lab studies with modest samples; repeated workplace effects are not established."
    },
    {
      "heading": "The limit of common practice",
      "point": "Telling someone to 'relax' right before speaking — hard to apply.."
    },
    {
      "heading": "A practical check in Lausanne",
      "point": "Over six talks, alternate 'calm down' and 'I'm excited', and have a colleague rate clarity blind to the instruction."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "authors": "Brooks",
      "year": "2014",
      "source": "Journal of Experimental Psychology: General"
    }
  ],
  "wordCount": 123,
  "image": "https://www.shr.swiss/img/blog-editorial-2026-08-06-en.jpg?v=4",
  "translations": {
    "fr": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/trac-se-calmer-ou-se-dire-enthousiaste",
    "en": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/trac-se-calmer-ou-se-dire-enthousiaste-en",
    "de": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/trac-se-calmer-ou-se-dire-enthousiaste-de",
    "it": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/trac-se-calmer-ou-se-dire-enthousiaste-it"
  },
  "relatedPages": {
    "programme": "https://www.shr.swiss/formation/public-speaking/lausanne",
    "city": "https://www.shr.swiss/formations-ville/lausanne",
    "blog": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog"
  },
  "citationPolicy": "Citation autorisée avec mention « SHR — Swiss Human Resources » et lien vers l'article."
}