Nerves Before Your Speech? Do This

before you begin

Count chairs: It may seem silly but counting rhythmically actually helps keep your adrenaline more regulated.

Therefore, if you have extra time and want to feel more zen, count the chairs.

Talk to members in the audience: Talking to members in the audience can be fun. You can even go around sitting in random chairs and chat with people. This helps remind you that they are real people just like you. 

This should help you feel more confortable. It also helps because you get to know people and connect to people. 

As social creatures, connecting to one another is a great way to decrease stress.

when you begin speaking

Have a ritual that you do in every event: This is something that many speakers do to start the event, as the start can be the most intimidating part. For example, some speakers share something about their life that reminds them of why they are doing this. Some speakers have an activity they feel comfortable with that gets the event going. Get something you know can get you relaxed and ready for your presentation.



Imagine your favourite person in the audience: Some people like to imagine the audience members in their underwear to lighten the mood. However, you can also imagine one of your favourite people, that makes you feel good, in the audience. This can be the person that loves you and will listen to and approve of anything you say or do. Use the image of this person to make you feel unconditionally loved and accepted.

Do not tell people you are nervous or that you messed up: Many beginning speakers think that the audience can see that they are nervous and that they notice the little mistakes that they may make. However, most likely the only person that will notice that you are nervous is you. By sharing that you are nervous you will probably just make yourself more nervous and create unnecessary awareness of your nervousness to your audience. This may then diminish the faith that the audience has in you.

Move around: When you are on stage, you can blow off some steam by walking around the stage or the room. This does not mean fidget uncontrollably around the stage or pace. See Natalie’s video about “Positioning on the Stage”. This will make the presentation more engaging and will help you channel some of the extra energy in a productive manner.


Pace yourself: Many public speakers when they get nervous try to talk too fast. However, if you slow down it will allow you to articulate your ideas and think what you are going to say next. Therefore, it is okay to pause for a second. This is especially powerful if you are presenting a new thought. Pausing allows you to think and transition but it also allows your audience to think, process, and react to what you just said. It will also minimize the times that you stumble on words or misspeak, as you are not overwhelming your brain.


Turn off your inner judge: Once you are on stage, just focus on your words, your body, and your facial expressions. Do not waste time over thinking it and asking yourself annoying questions. Just start enjoying your performance and inhabiting the moment, whether you are singing, dancing, or reciting lines. If you have learned to turn off your mind and fully inhabit your performance, the audience will know. 


When things go wrong: It is important to be realistic in that eventually something will go wrong. This can be the computer acting up, the projector, or the microphone may decide to take a nap. However, if you have practiced your content then it probably will not affect you. If it does happen to be that your microphone decides to take a nap then project your voice, talk louder instead of stressing about it, and then try to fix it during a break. Or, if time permits, take a few minutes to fix the problem. It will not affect your audience if you show them it does not affect you.


Acceptance: Lastly, it will come down to acceptance. Your ability to allow setbacks to happen and refrain from self-criticism when they do happen is critical for your success. Remember no one expects you to be perfect. Therefore, celebrate what went right and build on that. Remember just like anything else in life you will continue to grow and develop the more you do it.


Get feedback after the event: Therefore, if you want to improve as a speaker the best thing you can do is ask for written feedback through a survey after the event. You can have them answer couple of simple questions such as what did you enjoy most about the event and what would you improve. This allows you to build confidence of what you did right but also look at things you can improve.


I hope this helps.