If you’re terrified of public speaking, you’re not the only one. Many people are scared of getting up in front of an audience, especially when it’s something new. But you might be surprised to learn that even a lot of professional performers, motivational speakers, and CEOs with years of experience feel anxious about presenting. It’s normal.
You probably can’t eliminate all your fear, but you can certainly reduce it. To use me as an example, I’ve taught this stuff for years, and although I can still sometimes get nervous, I never get scared any more.
I use a three-step process to manage my anxiety: preparation, just before, and delivery.
Step 1: Preparation
Good preparation will cut your anxiety by at least half. It starts long before your presentation. You must prepare both your mind and your material.
To prepare your mind, change the way you think about your presentation. Many people see the audience as threatening because they believe they will probably fail and look foolish. But that’s all in your mind. When you tell yourself you will fail, you’re just practising failure. Instead, practise success. Imagine that you will give an excellent presentation and that your audience will like it so much that they’ll give you a standing ovation at the end.
To prepare your material, put plenty of time and effort into it. Many nervous presenters don’t know what they want to say, realise their slides are not good, and haven’t practised. Good material has been thought through properly. It offers a clear structure and high-quality slides that have not been slapped together at the last minute. Practise your presentation as much as possible to get the timing right and ensure it is concise and informative.
Step 2: Just before
Even when you prepare as much as you possibly can, you might still feel a visceral fear when you’re at a speaking event and it’s your turn next. You might experience an elevated heart rate, trembling hands, an upset stomach, sweaty underarms, a quavering voice, confusion, or a feeling that you might faint.
Maybe you think you can’t control any of this because it happens automatically. How can you calm yourself down enough to present well?
In the hour just before your presentation:
- Arrive early so you are not rushed and forget things.
- Use the lavatory so that you are relaxed and not distracted by physiological needs.
- Drink a little water to keep your mouth lubricated.
- Yawn to reduce any constriction in your throat that might affect your voice.
- Perform isometric exercises to loosen up tense muscles.
- Walk around so you are not constantly thinking about your presentation.
- Breathe deeply to consciously slow your heart rate and give your brain more oxygen.
Step 3: Delivery
You go up onto the stage and stand in front of a room full of people. This is what everything has been leading up to, but you still feel nervous. What else can you do?
When you deliver your presentation:
- Start with a smile to show the audience that you are calm and friendly.
- Make eye contact to develop a connection with the audience.
- Talk conversationally, as if you’re chatting with a friend, not a group.
- Gesture, because most speakers move their hands in some way when they talk.
- Walk around to disperse nervous energy and hide involuntary trembling.
- Maintain good posture to exude confidence.
- Imagine the audience is silly (e.g. wearing funny hats) so they don’t feel threatening.
Here’s that three-step process again: halve your nervousness by preparing well, do some physical activities to minimise your anxiety just before you present, then use body language, tone of voice and your imagination to keep yourself calm during delivery.
Koala Consulting and Training can provide you with presentation skills training to help you prepare, build your confidence with practice and get your message across to any audience.
Speak with me to communicate better.