Tips for Handling Emotion During a Speech

Difficult topics or personal stories can cause emotions to surface during a presentation or interview. It can be anything, from corporate performance to a personal experience, even a eulogy that causes the speaker or interview subject to choke up or lose focus. This is not a cause for panic. Instead, human emotion can make a lasting, positive impact on an audience.

When the subject matter becomes emotionally charged, a modicum of self-control can keep you on track. Here are some tips to keep in mind, from blogger Brad Phillips:

1. Ask yourself whether it's OK to be emotional. Exhibiting emotion can certainly feel uncomfortable, but in some cases it may actually enhance your delivery. So don't automatically try to squelch it because you're embarrassed. Context and audience really matter. If the audience views the topic as emotional, they will indeed understand and empathize.
   
   
2. Take a moment. If you get choked up, stop talking for a few seconds instead of rushing through your remarks—just put your head down and pause for a few seconds, then look up and continue when you're ready. If you're more than just momentarily choked up and fear you may not be able to continue at all, you may need to move on to the next option.
   
   
3. De-personalize and detach. When people become emotional during a talk, it's usually because they're too close to the material. By de-personalizing the story, they're often able to get through the material much more easily. When emotional speakers make the content less concrete and more abstract, they can often proceed without emotion getting in the way. And once they're on more solid ground, they can return to the more emotional parts of the story—if and when they're ready.

Realize that some topics can be stressful and elicit emotion. So practice as much as possible and adhere to Brad's tips for successful delivery.