You’ve prepared to present. You’ve organized your material. You’ve followed a routine. You are grounded, ready to be in front of the room.
But you still have nerves. There is no more time to implement strategies before presenting.
So what to do?
Your nerves may not end the moment you stand in front of the room, in fact, that may be when they escalate. You need a few tactics to keep you focused and stress free as you present. Add these to your toolkit for the moments when you need them most.
Breathe
When we get nervous our breathing gets shallow and fast. If you’re a zebra about to be attacked by a lion it’s a natural stress response. You aren’t a zebra, so focus on taking deep breaths from your diaphragm. You’ll feel the burst of oxygen to your brain, both helping to calm you and to find your words.
Your brain needs oxygen. Make it easier on your brain.
Find a Friendly Face
Sweep the room. Find that face. The warm one. The one that makes you feel good. Talk to them. When you reduce the number of the eyes looking at you, you can humanize your audience. They become real individuals. And you can become more calm.
What about that not so friendly face you notice? Avoid it. Don’t look in their direction. The skepticism they show isn’t worth the nerves it may brew in you.
Act As If
Amy Cuddy in her famous Ted Video says, “fake it until you become it.” So act as if you are confident. Act as if YOU are nailing this. Act as if you are the strongest, most polished presenter you know.
Give it a try. See what happens. You won’t be disappointed.
Squeeze Your Toes
When you are nervous your energy needs to go somewhere. Some people pace. Some people fold or refold their notes. If you are a nervous mover, squeeze your toes.
Yes, squeeze your toes.
Your energy will now have someplace to go and you’re able to look confident. It’s okay to move, but move with purpose and then squeeze your toes again.
You may want to consider avoiding wearing sandals when you try this strategy!
Smile
As Amy Cuddy demonstrated, there is power in acting. There is power in trying something on. Your smile has that power. It’s perhaps one of your most powerful fake it until you become it tools.
Smile. It will act like a yawn for your audience, producing more smiles which will feed your smile, launching you into a smile feedback loop.
Take A Mini Collect Moment
Nerves can lead you to forget what you were going to say or do next. You need to have something ready for when this occurs.
The next time you are in the middle of your training or presentation and you can’t remember what comes next, stop. Ask your learners to turn to a neighbor or their table group and share the three things they can recall from the last section of class. While they are focused on each other, check your notes, breathe, find your words. This mini moment goes unnoticed by your learners, engages them in retrieval practice, and gives you time to regather your place and confidence. Everyone wins!
Go Easy On Yourself
You will make mistakes.
Things will go wrong.
You will lose your place.
Let it go. Most people won’t know when you’ve forgotten something unless you tell them. Everyone forgets things when presenting. Everyone has little flubs. Roll with them.
Celebrate what you do right. Celebrate that face in the crowd you connected with. Learn from each presentation to improve the next.
You’ve got this!
Do you have other go to strategies when you are in front of the room? Share in the comments below! I’d love to add some new tools!
