I was talking to a woman who was a professional wedding MC for over 20 years. If you’re surprised that such a job exists (I certainly was), then you haven’t been to a modern Japanese wedding. The things are planned down to a t, and any stuff up, especially with names, can have enormous repercussions for anyone there in a position of power, MCs included.

So, I asked this woman what tips she had for keeping confident after all these years. She says that she has since realised that she was in completely the wrong industry, which just shows how powerful the technique is.

All you have to do is laugh out loud, forcefully if you have to. Not only does laughing help relax your vocal chords, it also tricks your mind into having confidence, partly as you become self-aware of the people surrounding you. The other part is that laughing causes you to not take yourself so seriously.

Granted, this technique might be especially good in Japan. The environment can be extremely tense with people not feeling free to be themselves and laugh out loud naturally. But I’m pretty confident that it works, going on 20 years of professional wedding MC work.