What Happens in Vagus Part 4: Your Body's Early Warning System

Last month, I was preparing for a virtual keynote when I noticed something odd: my heart was racing. Not from physical exertion—I was just sitting at my desk reviewing slides—but it was a steady, rapid rhythm that seemed completely out of proportion to what I was doing. Then I caught myself holding my breath while checking my tech setup. By the time I realized what was happening, my shoulders were up around my ears and my voice had a tight quality that happens when my larynx is sitting too high.

My nervous system had been trying to tell me something for twenty minutes, but I'd been too busy with content prep to listen.

This is what I call your nervous system "tells"—the unique constellation of physical, vocal, and energetic changes that happen in your body before conscious anxiety even registers. And after three posts exploring the vagus nerve, regulation techniques, and context-specific approaches, it's time to talk about the most practical skill of all: learning to read your own early warning system.

Because here's the thing: all those regulation techniques I've shared work best when you catch the activation of these "tells" early. Once you're in full fight-or-flight, you're doing damage control. But if you can recognize your personal warning signs? That's when you have real power over your nervous system responses.

The Anatomy of Early Warning

Stephen Porges talks about "neuroception," your nervous system's unconscious scanning for safety or threat. This scanning is happening constantly, and your body is always giving you information about what it's detecting. It's just that most of us haven't learned to listen.

Your nervous system "tells" typically show up in four areas: physical tension patterns, breathing changes, vocal shifts, and energy fluctuations. Everyone's combination is different, which is why generic advice like "just relax" is so useless. You need to know your specific pattern.

Physical Tension Patterns

Some people are shoulder-holders; stress goes straight to the trapezius muscles. Others are jaw-clenchers, or they get that knot between their shoulder blades, or feel their stomach tighten. I'm a throat-gripper. When my nervous system starts detecting threat, my heart rate increases before I'm consciously aware of any anxiety, followed quickly by tension around my larynx.

Pay attention to where you hold stress during and after speaking situations. But more importantly, notice where changes appear first when you're just thinking about an upcoming presentation. That's your early warning zone.

Breathing Pattern Changes

Most people know they hold their breath when nervous, but the subtle changes happen much earlier. Maybe your breathing moves up into your chest instead of staying deep in your belly. Maybe you start breathing faster without realizing it. Maybe you catch yourself sighing more often, which is actually your nervous system trying to self-regulate through extended exhales.

I learned to notice my racing heart because it often happens even when I'm sitting still, and it's usually followed by that feeling that I can't get a satisfying breath—even though objectively, my breathing is fine. My nervous system is preparing for potential challenge by increasing my heart rate and changing how I'm accessing my breath support.

Vocal Shifts

Your voice is intimately connected to your autonomic nervous system state, so vocal changes are often the earliest and most reliable indicators of nervous system activation. Does your voice get higher when you're stressed? Breathier? Do you start talking faster? Do you lose access to your lower register?

Some people get more monotone when activated because the prosodic qualities that make speech engaging disappear when the nervous system prioritizes survival over social engagement. Others become more animated, but in a forced way that doesn't feel authentic.

Record yourself speaking in different nervous system states if you can; the differences are often more obvious when you listen back rather than when you're in the moment.

Energy Fluctuations

This is the subtlest category but often the most informative. Some people feel agitated energy: fidgety, can't sit still, need to move around. Others feel suddenly drained, like someone pulled their plug. Some get hyper-focused to the point where they lose awareness of their environment; others become scattered and can't concentrate on anything.

I tend to get what I call "productive anxiety": suddenly I need to reorganize my entire office or respond to emails that aren't urgent. It feels like useful activity, but it's actually my nervous system trying to discharge activation through movement and task completion.

Mapping Your Tells

Here's a practical exercise I use with clients: keep a "nervous system journal" for two weeks. Not a detailed diary—just quick notes about your physical state before, during, and after any speaking situation, from casual conversations to formal presentations.

Note:

• Where do you feel tension in your body?
• How is your breathing different from normal?
• What's happening with your voice quality, pace, or pitch?
• What's your energy level and focus like?
• What thoughts or concerns are running in the background?

Look for patterns. Maybe you always get a headache the day before big presentations. Maybe your voice gets scratchy when you're in conflict. Maybe you have trouble sleeping before important meetings, even if you're not consciously worried about them. It can look like a lot of things from digestive distress to recurring, intrusive thoughts.

The goal isn't to judge these responses; they're information, not problems to fix. Your nervous system is doing its job by alerting you to situations that might require extra resources or attention.

Early Intervention Strategies

Once you know your "tells," you can develop personalized early intervention strategies. This is so much more effective than waiting until you need emergency regulation.

For Physical-Tension Holders: If your shoulders creep up when you're preparing for presentations, build shoulder releases into your prep routine. Don't wait until they're locked around your ears—do gentle rolls and stretches as soon as you notice the first hint of elevation.

For Breathing-Pattern Shifters: If you tend to move into chest breathing when activated, practice returning to belly breathing as soon as you notice the shift. One of my clients sets random phone alarms throughout the day before big speaking events. When they go off, she does three belly breaths regardless of where she is.

For Vocal-Change Responders: If your voice gets tight when nervous, vocal warm-ups become nervous system regulation, not just vocal preparation. Humming, lip trills, and gentle scales aren't just preparing your voice—they're giving your autonomic system information about safety and readiness.

For Energy-Fluctuation Experiencers: If you get agitated energy, plan movement into your preparation routine. If you get drained energy, plan restorative practices. Don't fight your pattern; work with it.

The Integration Practice

Here's what I've learned after years of paying attention to my nervous system "tells": the goal isn't to prevent these responses, because they're actually valuable information about how my system is preparing for a challenge. The goal is to catch them early enough to work with them instead of being overwhelmed by them.

Now when I notice my heart racing for no apparent reason, I don't try to ignore it. Instead, I pause and ask: "What is my nervous system trying to tell me?" Usually, it's that I need to do some coherent breathing, or that I haven't done enough content preparation, or that I need to spend a few minutes with vocal warm-ups.

The increased heart rate becomes a signal to take care of myself proactively instead of waiting until I'm struggling during the actual presentation.

Building Your Personal Prevention Protocol

Based on your "tells," create a personalized protocol for the 24 hours before important speaking events. This isn't about following someone else's routine; it's about honoring what your specific nervous system needs to feel prepared and regulated.

Maybe you need extra sleep the night before. Maybe you need to avoid caffeine that day. Maybe you need 20 minutes of movement in the morning, or specific vocal warm-ups, or time in nature, or a call with someone who makes you laugh.

The key is to make these choices based on your actual patterns rather than what you think you "should" need. Your nervous system has been giving you data for years—now you're finally learning to interpret it.

The Bigger Picture

Over the course of this series, we've explored the vagus nerve's role in voice and speaking, learned specific regulation techniques, discovered how to adapt them to different contexts, and now developed early warning awareness. But the real insight is this: your nervous system isn't working against you when you speak. It's working for you, constantly assessing and preparing for the social and cognitive demands of communication.

When you learn to work with your nervous system instead of fighting it, speaking becomes less about managing anxiety and more about optimizing performance. You're not trying to eliminate your responses; you're learning to collaborate with the sophisticated biological system that's designed to help you succeed in social situations.

Your vasovagal responses, your activation patterns, your unique nervous system "tells"—these aren't bugs in your system. They're features. They're your body's way of preparing you for the complex task of human communication. The more you understand and work with them, the more authentic and effective your speaking becomes.

Because what happens in vagus doesn't stay in vagus—it shows up in every word you speak, every connection you make, and every moment you choose to share your voice with the world.

This concludes our four-part series on the vagus nerve and speaking. Thank you for joining me on this exploration of how our nervous systems and our voices work together. As always, feel free to email me with any questions about this topic or what you're curious about in voice and speech.

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Previous posts in this series:

What Happens in Vagus -- Doesn't Stay There

What Happens in Vagus Part 2 - The Vocal Sweet Spot

What Happens in Vagus Part 3 - Reading the Room

What Happens in Vagus Part 4 - Your Body's Warning System

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About Gina: Gina Razón is a recovering opera singer, functional voice coach, keynote speaker, and founder of GROW Voice, a Boston-based voice and speaking presentation practice. She is recognized for being the calm voice of clarity as she helps others connect the intention behind their ideas with their desired goals. She speaks on the power of speaking and leading from a center of neurophysiological embodiment. For more information about GROW Voice or to check out resources, visit growvoice.com.

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