Presentation Skills – Controlling Nervousness

In our Presentation Skills Training Programs, we are frequently asked, “How do I control my nervousness when delivering a presentation or speech?

The answer that we always give in our Presentation Skills Training Programs is simple: Don’t “control” your nervousness at all! Let it out! Let it out in terms of enthusiasm.

Participants in our Presentation Skills Training Programs are taught a great deal about nervousness. They are taught first or all that nervousness doesn’t show anywhere near to the extent that we feel it. In our presentation skills training programs, we illustrate the point by asking the participants to recall the last time they stood up in front of a group and spoke. It might have been a speech.

It might have been a presentation. It might have been as simple as a toast at a wedding, or at a party, or introducing themselves to a Church group. In all of those cases, they felt nervous, but when they were finished someone always came up and said, “Nice job!” to which they replied, “What do you mean ‘nice job’. I was nervous as can be up there.” The response then was, “Gee – you didn’t look nervous!”

So, first of all remember that nervousness doesn’t show!

It might help you to also remember that some of the most famous people in the world admit to being nervous when performing to a group. Barbra Streisand’s fear of performing to a group is well-known and certainly admitted.

Still, she does it and she certainly doesn’t look nervous.

Now, as we do in our presentation skills training programs, let’s look deeper into nervousness. Let’s talk about what causes the nervousness – and exactly what we can do about it.

In our presentation skills training programs, we tell participants that nervousness is natural. The only time that you won’t feel nervous is if you don’t care about the situation. If you do care (and in most situations you’ll care a great deal!) then you’re going to be nervous.

Your body reacts to the nervousness by releasing adrenaline into your system. Your body is doing this to give you extra energy. Psychologists call it the “fight or flight” syndrome. You can’t stop it – and in our presentation skills training programs, we always tell participants, “If I knew how to stop it, I wouldn’t tell you, because you want that extra energy!”

You want though; to turn it into positive energy and you can easily do that by increasing the enthusiasm of your delivery! Don’t get softer! Get louder! Don’t pace and shift! Plant your feet – and the nervousness will burn off through your fingertips! When you plant your feet, get your hands apart, and push the enthusiasm, the “nervousness” will come across to your listeners’ as enthusiasm!

If you don’t do that; if you get softer and softer (instead of louder and louder) that’s when your voice will crack; that’s when your knees will shake, because you’re trying to “control” your nervousness by holding it in. Again, as we always say in our presentation skills training programs, don’t hold it in! Let it out in by becoming more excited, more enthusiastic! You can easily burn off the energy through your hands and your voice. Try it! You’ll look better! You’ll feel better! You’ll have improved your presentation skills.

Using nervousness to your advantage is something that is always stressed in our presentation skills training programs. Try it yourself and you’ll see that it will work for you as well as it has for graduates of our presentation skills training programs.