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Why Do You Feel So Nervous?
Feeling nervous before you speak in front of a
room full of people is quite common among the majority of
people today. According to surveys, many people would rather
die than give a speech. However, remember no one has actually
died from stage fright. It may help if you understand why the
body goes into a complete fearful state when asked to give a
speech.
This feeling is actually the body’s natural
“fight or flight” response when it encounters danger. The body
releases adrenalin increasing your heart rate, blood
circulation, and pulse rate causing the feeling of nausea,
shaky knees, trembling lips, and sweaty hands. Below are four
strategies to reduce the anxiety and gain confidence.
1. Start with the 3 P’s.
a. Planning your presentation.
Whether you are giving a 30-second
introduction or a 60-minute sales presentation, it is
imperative that you first plan your talk on paper. Thinking
you can just “wing-in” will end up in total disaster and the
lost of potential sales.
Create an outline
of your speech and write it down. Although it is popular in a
political arena to write out an entire speech, I recommend
only an outline. This will keep your talk from sounding
memorized and help you to have a conversation with your
listeners instead of talking at them.
When planning your talk, be sure to create a
beginning, middle,
and end to your
speech.
b. Practice your presentation.
Practicing your speech is one of the best ways
to reduce the jitters. As they say in Real Estate, “location,
location, location, is everything” in speaking it is
“practice, practice, practice is everything.”
Prepare 1 hour for every 2 minutes of your
presentation (if your talk is 60 minutes, preparation time
would be 30 hours – this includes research, preparation, and
practice time).
c. Prepare yourself.
On the day of your presentation arrive at your
meeting location early and walk the speaking area. Meet as
many people as you can and make them your friends. Meet the
individual who is going to introduce you and make sure they
have a copy of your bio and can pronounce your name correctly.
If you are speaking at a meeting that meets
monthly, attend the month before your talk and see how the
meeting is ran and how they introduce the speaker.
2. Visualize your success in advance.
Take 2 or 3 minutes each day imaging your
success. Visualize your audience smiling and clapping after
your presentation. Remember your audience is on your side and
wants you to succeed.
3. Remember, it’s not about you.
Many of us have heard of the “world’s most
listened-to radio station,” WIIFM (What’s In It For Me?).
Whether we want to believe it or not, this is the station your
audience is probably listening to during your talk. To keep
them attentive, focus your talk around WIIFT (what’s in it for
them). How?
a. Concentrate on the value you are giving.
Focus on the benefits you are giving to your
audience and not on yourself or how nervous you may be.
Remember nervousness doesn’t show one-tenth as much as it
feels. Never let your audience see you sweat and never, never,
never, tell them you are nervous.
b. Keep your audience involved.
You can involve your audience in many
different ways such as, exercises, breakouts, role-play,
asking questions and more. When you involve your audience in
your talk it takes the attention off of you and onto your
audience. It is a great way to take a break from speaking and
gain your composure.
4. Breathe.
A common trait among new speakers is that they
forget to breathe. Breathing before your presentation can
reduce anxiety and calm the butterflies.
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