Are you prone to blushing when you’re nervous or embarrassed?
It’s completely normal and happens to us all, but it’s more obvious in some people than others. As adrenaline races through your system the blood vessels expand to take oxygen round, your skin temperature shoots up and the familiar blush begins. With thinner skin than men, women tend to be more prone to it, and the fairer you are the more obvious it looks.
Then, especially if you’re standing up in front of an audience, you feel self-conscious about what’s happening, get more stressed, go even pinker and so it goes round and round…
How can you cope with blushing?
Thinking “I have to stop blushing and must never do it again” won’t work!
Ask yourself instead “does it actually matter if I do?” If you act as if it doesn’t matter, maybe even make a relaxed joke about it yourself in advance, you’ll start to feel more confident about it, because plenty of the audience will know exactly how it feels themselves and will be sympathetic. And did you know blushing is also considered rather attractive!
You can practice deep breathing and relaxation exercises to calm you and make it less likely to happen.
A makeup artist’s secret – you can buy green-tinted cream concealer makeup that can help tone down that redness and translucent powder to take down any shine. All performers, male and female, wear makeup for stage, cameras and lighting, and it’s very useful for public speakers, too.
But if blushing really has become a problem for you, you may find hypnotherapy can help you build your confidence, so you feel more comfortable and so less prone to blushing.
Learn more about Dealing with Nerves with Speaking Well In Public.