Designing Your Ritual

Build a ritual that fits your personality and timing, then run the same one every time:

• Five minutes before: physical reset — power pose, deep breathing, or muscle relaxation.
• Three minutes before: mental warm-up — picture your opening thirty seconds and your recovery plan.
• One minute before: anchor activation — a word or gesture your body already links to calm.

Thirty seconds before, finish the sentence "The audience will leave with..." Then take one deep breath, smile, and step forward. Practice the ritual in low-stakes settings first, so it carries you on autopilot when the room actually matters.