Presentation Tip Nervousness: You Use It or It Uses You.

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I spend well over 100 days in the classroom every year delivering training.  I get nervous every time I have to stand-up in front of the group.

Our fear of nervousness and that it will show in some way is what people are most concerned about. They are amazed time and time again that the nervousness they feel just doesn't show.

Unless people do something overt that says “I am horribly uncomfortable here,” it just doesn't show.  They don't see their heart pounding. They don't see sweat pouring off of themselves.  And you might think it's a simple thing.  Yet, our biggest fear is that we’ll seem nervous.

In performance terms, it’s performance anxiety. I need to get up in front of the group, I look at everyone in the group, and it creates pressure.

The good news is that there are all sorts of ways to burn off nervousness.

  1. Push more energy out.
  2. Be loud! Be as loud as you possibly can.
  3. Use your hands as much as possible.

The more energy you push out, the less nervous you will appear.  And, more importantly, the less nervous you will feel.  

There two things we say about nervousness: You use it or it uses you.

If you try to keep it in, it's coming out.  And it will come out in a way that’s not going to make you look very good.

Find a way to burn it off!