When gifted students understand what is happening inside their bodies, it can help them cope with the nervousness that accompanies public speaking.
Your body has a complex reaction to speech making or any perceived stressor, or danger. Once you get ready to begin, your hypothalamus kicks in. Your hypothalamus is the basal section of your thalamus, which lies in the base of your brain and controls the autonomic nervous system. The hypothalamus activates two systems, the nervous system and the endocrine system.
The nervous system is the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system, which activates involuntary muscles, and the medulla of the adrenal glands, which are located near your kidneys. The adrenal glands release a natural powerful heart stimulant known as Adrenaline (Epinephrine) and its helper, Noradrenaline (Norepinephrine) into the bloodstream.
Meanwhile, the endocrine system activates the anterior pituitary gland at the base of the brain to release the Adrenocorticotrophic Hormone (ACTH). ACTH stimulates the cortex of the adrenal glands and thyroid to produce corticosteroids.
What all of this means is that when Adrenaline, Noradrenaline, and corticosteroids are let loose in your body, some rather nasty things begin to happen to you. Your heart rate increases, your blood pressure increases, your oxygen level increases, the blood leaves your external body parts and your digestive system and rushes to the large muscles, and your brain activity changes. Your body and brain give you only two choices, run or fight - the "Fight or Flight" theory. Living in a politically correct society that would frown upon you obliterating entire rooms full of people or jumping out of the window leaves you with few options except to deliver the speech. Even though you’re smart, you’re scared, and now you know that you have a right to be!
