Jon Bockelmann-Evans reveals why even elite speakers lose confidence at critical moments, and shares the two-minute reset trusted by CEOs, athletes and world-class performers.

Jon Bockelmann-Evans

Every speaker has that one moment.

Backstage.
In the corridor outside the boardroom.
Right before the mic goes live.

Your chest tightens.
Your breath shortens.
Your mind goes, “Why am I suddenly nervous? I’ve done this a thousand times.”

Here’s the truth we rarely say out loud:

Even top-tier speakers lose their footing sometimes.
Not because they’re inexperienced.
Because they’re human.

And nobody normalises that better than Jon Bockelmann-Evans, Oratore Speakers’ new Speaker Wellbeing Coach.

Jon has spent 25 years helping leaders, teams and speakers regain emotional steadiness when the stakes rise. He’s rebuilt broken teams, helped thousands recover from stress-related illness, and coached speakers before some of the biggest stages in the world.

On top of that, he has delivered hundreds of talks himself, so he understands the emotional reality of standing under the lights.

This week, he breaks down what’s actually happening when confidence dips - and the simple, humane tools that get you back to calm in under two minutes.

Why confidence wobbles (even after 1,000 talks)

When a moment feels important or unfamiliar, your body reacts before your mind even knows why.
It’s not weakness.
It’s biology.

Jon puts it bluntly:

“Nothing is wrong with you. Your nervous system is just doing its job. The skill is guiding it back to steady ground.”

The faster you stop fighting the discomfort and start working with your system, the faster you regain clarity.

The two-minute reset Jon teaches every speaker

Breathe in for 7.
Breathe out for 11.
Slow. Controlled.

That longer exhale signals your parasympathetic system to take over.
Heart rate drops.
Muscles release.
Focus returns.

One of Jon’s clients was so anxious about public speaking that she avoided social settings entirely. With this technique, she not only rebuilt her confidence, but she ended up delivering a keynote to 2,500 businesswomen in Dubai.

It works. Fast.

The inner voice audit

Your nervous system listens to your narrative.

If your internal script sounds like:

• “Don’t screw this up.”

• “Everyone else is more qualified.”

…then confidence will sink, no matter how talented you are.

Jon encourages speakers to build a calm, truthful script such as:

• “I know this material.”

• “I’ve done harder things.”

• “My job is to be useful, not perfect.”

This isn’t optimism. It’s regulation.

Checking your emotional needs

We all have eight core emotional needs, such as certainty, connection, status, belonging, and control.

When one is strained, confidence drops fast.

Ask yourself:

• Do I feel out of control?

• Is my status on the line?

• Am I walking into this moment feeling alone?

Identifying the real driver of discomfort is often enough to neutralise it.

Speakers don’t need more hype. They need support.

The speaking world glorifies performance.
What it rarely talks about is the emotional load behind it.

You can be a phenomenal speaker and still feel shaky before a big moment.
You can be experienced and still need grounding.
You can be successful and still need support.

This is why Jon is now part of Oratore Speakers; to give speakers a place to land before, during and after high-stakes engagements.

If you want to talk, zero pressure, just reach out.
Often, one conversation is all it takes to feel steady again.

What’s the one moment in your speaking career where your confidence dipped, and what saved you?

If you’ve had that moment — the wobble, the breath, the doubt — hit reply and tell Jon. These stories matter more than we admit. Jon reads every response.

📩 [email protected]
🌐 jonbockelmannevans.com

About this newsletter

The Oratore Speakers newsletter connects 3,300+ founders, leaders and speakers across Europe and the UK. Each edition highlights the humans behind the craft: the ideas, tools and stories that shape better leaders and better speaking. If you’ve got insights (not promos) worth sharing, reply and let’s talk.

Thanks for reading,
Steven

Let’s connect: LinkedIn