We all know what it’s like to feel nervous. Flushed cheeks. Sweaty palms. Churning stomach. All you can think about is how nervous you must look — which, of course, makes you stammer and shake all the more!
How do you escape this downward spiral? Start by remembering the secret every great presenter knows: When you speak in front of an audience, they DON’T see the butterflies fluttering inside you!
I know it seems too good to be true, but trust me, it is. We’ve coached about 5,000 presenters in the past 15 years. This is what we’ve found:
- After presenting, we ask them, “On a scale of 1 to 10, how nervous were you?” We then ask the audience how many nerves they saw. The results are incredible. 99.9% of the time, audience members saw fewer nerves than the presenter felt.
- When our clients see themselves on video (this is the main reason we use video-recording) they say, “Oh my gosh, I don’t look nearly as nervous as I felt – that’s amazing.”
So when you start to feel nervous, remember: You never look as nervous as you feel! Instead of focusing on your nerves, try to focus on your listeners and helping them get your message. Meanwhile, your nerves are your own best-kept secret.
