Let’s talk about the biggie when it comes to presenting; most people don’t want to do it because it scares the hell out of them. But there’s more to it than that. Nerves are a blocker; Nerves, anxiety, emotions and the associated thoughts can affect you, the audience and the message, impacting –
- The impression you make on others and your credibility. Nerves can undermine your composure and confidence and can be read as a lack of ability. As Maister, Green and Galford say in The Trusted Advisor, “Credibility isn’t just content expertise. It’s content expertise plus “presence”, which refers to how we look, act, react, and talk about our content.”
- Your level of comfort. Most of your focus shifts to how you are feeling, rather than your message or the audience. You are not present as it’s all about you! And because the brain can’t multi task, our performance suffers as we don’t have the ability to focus and pay attention to the presentation.
- The message you are trying to get across. The nerves come between you, your message, and the audience, acting as a block or filter. It undermines you even if you know your stuff.
I ask people in my workshops what it is about presenting that makes them feel nerves and how this feeling manifests. You may recognise some of them-
Reasons
– Being exposed and looking stupid
– Being judged
– Stakes are high
– Fear of failure or past failures
– Fear of appearing nervous
– Business/career impacts of a poor presentation
– Being caught out by questions
– Being underprepared
– Feeling vulnerable in front of groups of people
– High self-expectations
Symptoms
– Shaking legs, hands, body!
– Dry mouth
– Dodgy tummy
– Red face
– Weak voice
– Mind blanks
– Negative self-talk and thoughts
– Rambling
– Rapid heart rate
– Nausea
– Shortness of breath
– Need to go to the toilet
– Reverting to PowerPoint slides
– Not knowing what to do with those things at the end of your arms!
No wonder people avoid presentations! But why do we react this way? Because we’re human. We have a hardwired response to perceived danger and we are constantly scanning our environment for threats. Blame our ancestors who had to fight off predators! We may not have to worry about some beast blindsiding us and wanting us for dinner but our reptilian brain still keeps us out of trouble and helps us survive. When we feel stress, such as having to get up and present, our body can interpret this as danger, which releases adrenaline and kicks off the fight-flight-freeze response. That is, we feel like we’re about to get into a bout, we want to get the hell out of there or we just freeze up. These symptoms cause even more adrenaline to be released, making it an emotionally upsetting or confronting experience. We remember these feelings and seek to avoid them in future and if we can’t, performance anxiety will be right up there with us.
There’s not much brain power left to focus on anything else let alone the fantastic content you had ready to dazzle your audience. The bad news is that we are human and wired this way. The good news is that we can develop resilience to recover quickly when this happens and even calm the brain and our body, in the moment. So while we can’t get rid of nerves, let’s look at how we can manage them.
Top Tips
- Preparation and structure. Know your stuff and organise in a way that transfers that knowledge to your audience. What is your key message? What are your 3 key points? Have confidence in your knowledge and reason to be in the room. Think about your objectives, factual and emotional, and use those to guide your presentation.
- Do your prep then then let it happen. Bring yourself. Be present, fill the space. When you’re present it allows others to be. Let go. As an actor when I go ‘on stage’ I shed off all the fear and anxiety, in my mind, as there’s no point taking it on with me to weigh me down.
- Switch the focus from yourself to your audience; what do they need? Maintain eye contact, ‘listen’ and flex in the moment. Be willing to let go to rehearsed material and trust in your prep, knowledge and objectives you are working towards.
- Train your mind. Switch off your inner critic, bring out your inner coach and replace negative thoughts with something positive which works for you. Studies show affirmation of your values decreases anxiety. What’s your trigger?
- Practice mindfulness meditation. Recognise thoughts, allow the feelings, then let go.
- Reframe anxiety as excitement. Actors turn stage fright into stage presence, using the energy and creating electrifying performances.
- Take a strong and open neutral stance. Watch Amy Cuddy Ted Talk – Power pose and fake it until you become it!
- Wear clothes that make you feel comfortable and strong.
Managing your body
- Breathe. Deeply. When you stop breathing you can’t think. When you are tense you can’t breathe. Diaphragmatic breathing brings the heart rate down, sending a message to the brain that there is no danger. Breathing goes back to normal, the fight-flight-freeze symptoms dissipate as does the focus on self. You can train the arousal system through breath, changing your state, emotions and mind.
- Tense and release your body beforehand to get rid of excess adrenaline, putting your body into a relaxed state so that you can access the diaphragmatic breath.
Nerves can be managed, disguised and used to enhance your presentation. Recognise how they manifest for you, accept that it is normal and choose the techniques that work for you. If you do nothing else, breathe, just breathe. I’ll leave the final word to Amy Cuddy –
“That self-induced Presence in those challenging moments will allow you to approach stressful situations without anxiety, fear, and dread, and leave them without regret, doubt, and frustration. Instead you will go forth with the knowledge that you did everything you could do. That you accurately and fully represented yourself and your abilities. That you showed them who you really are.”
Glen Hancox is the director of Actreal, drawing upon acting practices to coach people develop sustainable personal and professional presence, to present and be present.
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