From the course: Communicating with Confidence

Five ways to handle nervousness when speaking

From the course: Communicating with Confidence

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Five ways to handle nervousness when speaking

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- When we feel nervous, it can rob us of authority, credibility, and influence every time we speak. After being a professional speaker now for the last decade plus, here are five of the most powerful ways you can manage your nerves. Number one, there's something known as the Wim Hof Guided Bubble Breathing Technique. You've got to go check out these videos by Wim Hof if you've never heard of them before. I've spoken to groups of 10 people, I've spoken to groups of 10,000 people. I've even been in a basketball arena speaking to over 20,000 people. And there have been times where I've felt so nervous, it was crippling. And this breathing technique by Wim Hof saved me. So if you don't know it, go search for it online, and it's going to save you too, I know it. Tip number two, you want to get rid of the adrenaline. Often, one of the main reasons why we're shaking, our body is shaking, or our voice is shaking, is because there's excess adrenaline in our bodies. So the easiest way to get rid of adrenaline is to do star jumps, right? So you can do star jumps backstage, couple of pushups, go for a brisk walk. That's going to help you get rid of the adrenaline, which is going to minimize the shaking, so it gets rid of the shaky hands and the shaky voice. Tip number three, this one is all about mindset. The lesson is simple, and it's this: it's not about you. Get into a mindset of service, and remember that you're here to serve the audience. That's the main reason why you're here. And as you become more self-conscious, as we all do when we get on stage, learn how to think more outward and become audience-conscious. Tip number four, we often feel nervous because we want everybody to like us and love our presentation. And I want you to remember this if you fall victim to that kind of thinking, like I do, and this is the thought, if you try to please everyone, you'll please no one. Not everyone is going to love your presentation, and that's okay. And just remember this, that not everyone's going to like this course that I've created, and that's okay. The reality is, if you try to please everyone and focus too much on that, you end up pleasing no one. Number five, another reason for nervousness comes from the fear of judgment. We all get so caught up in worry about what other people are thinking about us, that it cripples us from being able to add value to others. Can I tell you a little secret? No one is thinking about you. I'm not saying this to be mean. I'm saying this to free you from the fear of judgment. Do you know what most people are often thinking about? They're thinking about themselves. They're thinking about, "What groceries am I going to get later today? "Oh, I'm going to pick up the kids, "can't forget the kids from school." They're not thinking about you. Just like Mark Twain says, "You'll worry less about what others think of you "when you realize how seldom they do." I need someone tell me that on repeat as well. When you learn how to control your breath, when you learn how to manage your adrenaline and focus your mind on the right things, you'll be able to then turn nerves into excitement. Because here's another little dirty secret. When you get nervous, you know, all the symptoms of nervousness, they're the same symptoms as excitement. So as you learn to control these nerves, it allows you to reframe it from, "I'm scared, I'm nervous." You can reframe it into, "I'm excited for the presentation I'm about to give."

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