In this episode, breathing educator Jane Tarrant explains how breathing habits affect confidence, voice, posture, anxiety and presence when speaking in high-pressure business situations. We explore diaphragmatic breathing, the “D-spot,” storytelling, and practical ways to feel calmer and more connected when presenting.
Breathing affects far more than most business leaders realise.
It shapes how your voice sounds in a meeting. It affects how calm you feel before a presentation. It influences your posture, your pacing, and how connected you feel to the people listening to you.
In Sapiens, Yuval Noah Harari writes that humans dominate the planet not because we’re the strongest or fastest, but because of our unique ability to tell shared stories.
Money, nations, laws – these are all imagined realities. They don’t exist in nature, but they exist in our minds because we collectively believe in them. That shared belief allows us to collaborate in large numbers, unlike any other species.
Words made this possible.
My wife coaches parents of children with autism. She often works with specialists who diagnose these conditions and write reports to explain what each child needs.
The problem is that the language in these reports is too complex. Even my wife, an expert in the field, sometimes struggles to understand them.
Imagine how hard it is for the parents.
She once showed me a phrase from one of these reports: “Alternative augmentative communication with predominantly receptive images.”
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson once explained what it really takes to appear natural.
Before his interview on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he studied past episodes to see how long Stewart usually let guests speak before jumping in with a joke. He noticed the show often referenced recent news, so he caught up on headlines. Then he rehearsed his key points until they were sharp and tight enough to land.
At Sukiyabashi Jiro, one of the most respected sushi restaurants in the world, chef Jiro Ono and his team spend hours every morning preparing rice before the restaurant opens.
Jiro is famous for saying, “Sushi is not just about the fish; it’s about the rice.”
He built his reputation on his ability to focus on the most important things – like the rice, which he and his apprentices treat as the foundation of their craft.
Whenever someone says, “Here’s the secret to…” – I stop listening.
The secret to losing weight. The secret to becoming a millionaire. The secret to mastering public speaking.
There’s no secret. The way to get good at anything is simple: put in thousands of hours.
Ask a chef, “What’s the secret to this recipe?” They’ll likely say, “I’ve been a chef for twenty years. That’s the secret.”
Talking about secrets dismisses the work. Mastery comes from time and effort. From failing and trying again.
Researchers studied the body language of job applicants during job interviews.
One group was told to practise power poses – open, confident postures – before the interview. The other group wasn’t given any instructions.
The results: the candidates who practised power poses were rated as more confident – and were more likely to get the job.
The way we carry ourselves matters. And often, we’re unaware of what we’re doing.
Jazz pianist Bill Evans once said he could spend an entire lifetime exploring a single song.
Rather than trying to perfect it once and move on – he was searching for new layers of meaning, new ways to express the same notes.
Presenting demands the same mindset.
You don’t master it once and stop. You keep refining – how you structure ideas, tell stories, use visuals and connect with people.
