In this episode of Foster Your Voice, we’re diving into something every trial attorney faces—nerves. Not just the feeling, but the full-body cascade that comes with it: shaky hands, dry mouth, racing thoughts, tight throat.

Instead of trying to “power through,” what if you could lead your body back to calm—so your voice could follow?

You’ll learn how nervous system responses affect your courtroom presence, why nervousness is actually a sign your brain’s working correctly, and the simple breathing tool that can help you reset in real time. If you’ve ever wondered how to stay grounded when the stakes are high, this one’s for you.

LISTEN HERE...

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. Why nerves are a biological response—not a weakness

2. How your nervous system impacts your voice, body, and juror perception

3. What not to do when you feel panicked or off-balance

4. A step-by-step breakdown of the 4-7-8 breath technique to calm your nervous system

5. How consistent breath practice builds resilience and vocal steadiness

Key Takeaway:

You don’t need to eliminate nerves—you need to work with them. Learning to shift your breath shifts your chemistry, which shifts your presence. That’s when your voice becomes a steady, grounded tool for connection and clarity.

Favorite moment:

“When your body starts to believe you're calm, your voice follows. You become grounded. Clear. Steady. Not because you’re faking it—but because you’ve led your body back to safety.”

Links & Resources:

1. Want free weekly vocal and nonverbal tips for trial performance? Join the email list here → https://www.fostervoicestudio.com/contact

2. Learn more about the science of breathing with YogaBody: https://www.yogabody.com/science-of-breathing/

3. Share this episode with a colleague who’s tired of white-knuckling their courtroom nerves.

Want more?

👉 Follow me online for behind-the-scenes voice tips, mindset shifts, and strategies to help you lead with your voice in and out of court:

1. IG: www.instagram.com/fostervoicestudio

2. FB: www.facebook.com/fostervoicestudio

3. LI: www.linkedin/in/fosterthought

4. Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/fostervoicestudio/

TRANSCRIPT:

Helloooo! Hello Foster Fam. I'm excited for today's episode. I mean, we're just in particularly tense times, to say the least. So, I want to give you a really easy and accessible way to reset your nervous system, and recalibrate your chemistry so you can, hopefully, be more responsive instead of reactive.

Before we get to it, I wanted to share something that has kind of been a theme in my coaching sessions this month. It's funny how this happens—when one client is working on something, it seems that it applies to everyone and presents itself in everyone's sessions.

Maybe this has been present on my mind too because my niece just recently got their driver's license. So, I've been remembering when I was learning to drive. Both my parents took me out driving, but it was mostly my mom because my dad travelled a lot for work.

As we'd be out practice driving in empty parking lots, if I went over any of the lines, my mom would say "Look at all the cars you're hitting." And we'd laugh, cause, of course there were no cars, but it was to just draw my attention to the boundary lines and create some spacial awareness in a moving vehicle.

One of the other pearls of wisdom she would say is, "Your goal is to give your passengers the smoothest, most comfortable ride. Remember you know where you're going — you know when you're going to turn, swerve, hit a speed bump or pothole, etc — and you have something to hold onto. Your passengers don't. And they can't predict the direction you're going to take. So, make it your mission to let them relax."

Courtroom conversation should be the same. Prepare your audience by infusing meaning into words. By adding vocal emotion with our 5 vocal building blocks of pitch, pace, melody, volume, and tone, you help them know when to invest some emotional currency and when they can restore. HOW you deliver your message helps them know how to brace for intense parts of the story, when they can relax & refuel so to speak, and what to be on the lookout for.

You help them have a smooth and comfortable "ride in the car" and they know they can TRUST YOU AS THEIR DRIVER.

We've likely all been in cars with erratic drivers — pedal pumpers, quick action, offensive, going a little too fast, braking a little late. If you're a parent who's teaching their teen to drive, you know what I'm talking about and you know how fervently you pray that miraculously you'd get a steering wheel and brake pedal on the passenger side, right?

So...don't be that kind of communicator — jerky, jumping from topic to topic, no context statements, assuming everyone shares the same foundational knowledge and leaping to conclusions, talking as if everyone knows all the conversations you've previously had.

Be a good "driver" of conversation in the courtroom. Give them some heads up and some framework to be thinking in with context statements and segues. Help them relax when they can by keeping your voice and other nonverbals lifted and calm. Foreshadow when action in the story is ramping up by changing your vocal tone and pacing. Help them know when the ride is getting bumpy and full of potholes.

Okay, the analogy is maybe going too far now, but I think you get what I'm saying. It's worth it, for EVERYONE, when you consider how you can provide the smoothest experience possible. So, be a good driver for your juries.

—BREAK—

Today, we’re talking about something that affects every single one of us, no matter how seasoned or confident we may seem: nerves.

Not just feeling nervous—but what your body does when you’re nervous. Why your hands start to shake, why your mouth gets dry, why your voice speeds up or gets tight… and most importantly, what you can do about it.

This isn’t about pretending you’re calm. It’s about helping your body actually believe you are.

Now let’s start with the truth—one I think we need to normalize a lot more in high-stakes professions like trial law:

Being nervous is not a character flaw. It’s a biological response.

Your brain isn't trying to betray you when you feel those symptoms come on. It's doing what it’s designed to do: protect you.

When you step into unfamiliar or high-pressure situations—like addressing a jury, delivering a rebuttal, even just standing to begin your opening—it’s common for the brain to misinterpret the situation as a threat.

Why? Because the brain doesn’t always distinguish between true danger and just… newness.

So, what happens?

Here comes norepinephrine, revving up your alert systems. Then adrenaline kicks in—prepping you to fight or flee by sending blood to your muscles and boosting your energy levels. Sounds great if you’re being chased by a bear… but a little inconvenient when you’re standing in a suit in front of a jury.

And then there’s cortisol—that stress hormone that contributes to feelings of tension, restlessness, and that buzzing, panicked sense that you're going to forget your words at any second.

So if you’ve ever found yourself thinking, “Why am I sweating? Why can’t I stop talking so fast? Why do my hands feel weird?”—that’s not weakness. That’s a very normal human brain doing its job.

And that means: it’s not just you. This happens to everyone. Even the people who look completely calm and composed on the outside are still managing the same physiological systems on the inside.

But here's where it gets tricky. In the courtroom, you’re supposed to look like the one in control. The one the jury can trust. You’ve got to lead with calm authority and grounded clarity—even when your body is doing the opposite.

And the tension you hold in your shoulders, your tight jaw, your rushed speech—jurors feel that.

Not just see it—feel it.

Which can inadvertently communicate the opposite of what you intend. Instead of projecting confidence, it may read as uncertainty or stress. And jurors—being the very human beings they are—are wired to tune into that.

So let’s talk about what to do with those nerves instead of trying to “stuff them down” or “power through.”

What you need in those moments is a quick and effective way to downshift.

This is where your breath becomes a powerful tool—not just for calming your mind, but for rebalancing your entire nervous system.

Simple, intentional breathing tells your brain, “You’re not in danger. You’re safe. You’ve got this.”

And your brain listens. Really.

When you shift your breath, you start to shift your chemistry too. Endorphins get released, which bring a feeling of relaxation. Serotonin starts to circulate, which helps improve mood and reduce anxiety.

And most importantly: once your body starts to believe you're calm, your voice follows.

You become grounded. Clear. Steady.

Not because you’re faking it—but because you’ve led your body back to safety.

Several years ago, I was pleased to go through a breath certification course with YogaBody, taught by Lucas Rockwood. 'Cause even though, as a professional singer, I'm a good deep breather, I knew the mechanics of "belly breathing" but I didn't know the science of breathing. It was a great course and certification program that suddenly put everything I knew into perspective and gave me the WHY behind the HOW.

When you practice slow, low breathing—like 4-7-8, which we'll do in just a minute together—you’re training your body to get comfortable with a little more carbon dioxide (CO₂) in your system. That’s a good thing. CO₂ isn’t just a waste gas—it actually helps your body use oxygen more efficiently. The more tolerant you are to CO₂, the better your cells can pull in the oxygen they need.

This kind of breathing also tones the vagus nerve, which helps calm your heart rate, relax your muscles, and shift your body into “rest and digest” mode. It’s like strength training for your nervous system—building resilience, calm, and better focus with every breath.

Okay, let's get you set up for being able to do the 4-7-8 exercise. You'll:

1. Inhale through your nose for four counts.

2. Hold your breath for seven counts.

3. Exhale slowly through your mouth for eight counts.

Now if you're like me, you're like "Why 7? That's weird."

Well, 4-7-8 has a specific rhythm that trains a shift from active to calm

1. Short inhale (4) to stimulate

2. Slightly longer hold (7) to pause and absorb. Long enough to pause and reset the nervous system, but not long enough to cause breath-holding stress, especially for beginners.

3. Exhale (8) to trigger relaxation

If the hold matches or exceeds the exhale, it can create a little brain panic, and raises the risk of lightheadedness or discomfort. No one needs that when you're goal is to relax, right?

The exhale phase is what really activates the parasympathetic nervous system—that's your rest and digest, the opposite of fight or flight—so that's why it’s designed to be the longest part.

Do it two or three times in a row.

That’s it. That’s the whole thing.

In addition to all the sciencey-stuff that's happening, doing a mindful, disciplined practice like this also just gives your brain a minute to re-assess the situation. To realize: this isn’t a bear. This is just a new moment. But you can handle new things.

And just like when any skill you're trying to develop—don’t wait until a huge moment to test this out for the first time. You have to work at it. Make it part of your daily routine. Practice while reading over your opening. While sitting in the car waiting to go into your office. Try it before you walk into a meeting.

The more familiar it becomes, and the more you condition your nervous system, the more easily your body can access it when you actually need it.

So just remember...You don’t need to eliminate nerves. That’s not even realistic. But you can learn to work with them. To recognize the signals, offer your body support, and get back into alignment.

And when your voice reflects that alignment? That’s when jurors lean in.

Because that’s when you’re not just delivering information—you’re embodying it.

So next time you’re standing outside the courtroom door… or waiting for the judge to invite you to begin… or even just prepping at home for a big trial, when your heart’s racing before you speak, don’t judge it. Just breathe.

Shift the chemistry. Give your body what it needs. Let your voice come from that grounded place of presence.

You’ve got this.

Until next week...keep fostering your voice.