Chapter 5
Control Nervousness: The Star Wars Theory
“I feel like a brainless, perspiring, quivering weakling who’s on the verge of throwing up. That’s how I feel before giving a presentation.” Those are the words of a vice president of a very successful Fortune 500 company. Somewhere between the fun of “show-and-tell” in kindergarten and the “tell-and-sell” of corporate America, businesspeople have learned to despise speaking before a group. In this chapter, we’ll look at ways to tackle “presentation panic.”
42. Never Say “Nervous”
43. Think Positive Thoughts
44. Behave Like a Duck
45. Soothe Your Symptoms
46. Relax
47. Prepare! Prepare! Prepare!
48. Focus on the Audience—Not on Yourself
49. Don’t Panic
50. Eat Like an Athlete
51. Exercise
I like a speaker with a “relaxed, positive style.”
—Senior Assistant Counsel
42. Never Say “Nervous”
Never again say “nervous.” Instead, use a new term. Call that feeling “the Force.” Remember the movie Star Wars? There were two sides to “the Force,” the dark side and the good side. The same thing is true of prespeech tension. You can think about it as a nasty prelude to failure, or you can think about it as a surge of electricity that will make you glow.
Compare a presenter’s anxiety and an athlete’s adrenaline. The symptoms are basically the same: racing heart, sweaty palms, knot in the stomach. The main difference is in the mental interpretation. When a person feels nervous, the feeling is interpreted as negative. However, when a person feels the flow of adrenaline, the feeling is interpreted as positive, race-horse-like energy. Imagine an Olympic ski jumper at the top of the chute waiting to bolt down the ramp. The skier probably has many feelings running through him or her. Above all, there is the positive thrust of adrenaline. That feeling is absolutely necessary for maximum performance.
The same thing is true of speaking. The jittery feelings will not, and should not, go away. Just as an athlete needs that electrified feeling, so does a speaker. Never say “nervous.” Instead in the words of Obie Wan Kenobe, “May the Force be with you.” You need it.
43. Think Positive Thoughts
What do you say to yourself when you’re thinking about that next presentation? Are you saying, “Why me? This isn’t interesting. I hate giving presentations”? Or are you saying, “I can’t wait. The audience will love this. I really enjoy speaking”? Your comfort level depends on that little voice inside your head. The secret is to consciously control the dialogue. Even if you’ve been speaking for fifteen years, negative thoughts will still try to dominate. The voice in your head is like a record. But you are the one who chooses which side of that record to play: the positive side or the negative side.
Speaking is such a traumatic event for some of my clients that I actually have them write some positive thoughts on an index card. Then, for an entire month prior to the presentation, they repeat the thoughts several times each day, like a continuous loop on a tape recorder. The idea is to make the positive thoughts automatic. These thoughts should be as simple as “I love to speak. My audience will enjoy my presentation. I am well prepared.”
Besides thinking positive thoughts, visualize a positive speaking situation in vivid detail. See yourself wearing your best presentation attire. You look great; you glow, and you walk around the room with ease. You’re smiling; the audience is alert and responsive; they’re smiling, too. You say something funny, and they laugh and applaud. . . .
For each presentation, think positive thoughts and imagine a successful experience. It won’t be automatic. You need to mentally orchestrate your desired outcome. Program yourself for success.
44. Behave Like a Duck
That’s right. Behave like a duck: Stay calm on the surface, but paddle like crazy underneath. What’s the secret of looking comfortable even when you’re not? Do what the pros do. Fake it! And learn the behaviors of “calm.”
Smile a lot.
Don’t hurry. Take your time.
Never hold anything that shows you have “the shakes” (notes that quiver, pens that vibrate, pointers that look like they’re drunk).
Act like you know what you’re doing.
Never admit that you don’t know what you’re doing.
Imagine that you’re giving the talk to a group of friends gathered in your living room—keep it conversational.
Be yourself.
Commit to having a good time.
Breathe!
Remember this: If you do not draw attention to them, the audience will not care about most mistakes. I have seen presenters trip on stage, lose their places, stumble over words, forget main points, lose the sound on their microphones, and have to abandon faulty A-V equipment—all without any negative audience response. Next time this happens to you, handle the problem gracefully. Look cool and confident. Behave like a duck!
45. Soothe Your Symptoms
Make a list of your nervous symptoms. For most of them, there is a way to lessen the problem. Attack your symptoms rather than letting them attack you.
DRY MOUTH: |
Have a pitcher of room-temperature water available. |
OUT OF BREATH: |
Practice deep breathing. |
KNOT IN STOMACH: |
Avoid caffeine and eating large meals. Get some exercise, even if it’s just walking down the hallway. |
POUNDING HEART: |
Listen to music, exercise, practice deep breathing. |
MIND GOES BLANK: |
Prepare easy-to-read notes, use simple and effective audiovisuals; have the opening well rehearsed; turn it over to the audience for questions. |
HOARSE VOICE: |
Drink lemon juice, hot tea, or decaffeinated coffee. |
TENSE VOICE: |
Try voice exercises. Sing “ah” slowly up and down the scale as though you were an opera singer preparing. Make deep breathing a habit. |
FACIAL TENSION: |
Make exaggerated monster, clown, and goofy faces. |
46. Relax
If you think about trying to relax five minutes before your presentation, it’s too late. Then it’s like trying to put out a burning building with a bucket of water. Prespeech relaxation works best if you start first thing in the morning, then work at it right up until the time that you speak. Here are some specific things you can do:
Breathe deeply. Breathe in through your nose for a slow count of eight, then breathe out through your mouth for a slow count of eight. Keep doing this for at least ten minutes. Use deep breathing throughout the day—make it an ongoing habit any time you feel stress.
Visualize a favorite place. Picture the details: the crashing surf, the seagulls squawking overhead, or the way the moss hangs from the trees at the edge of the trail. Keep your thoughts and visions flowing for at least ten minutes. Include the deep breathing exercise.
Be your own psychologist. For five minutes, write down your feelings in great detail. Take a short break, then look at what you’ve written. Imagine that you are a caring and insightful counselor. Give yourself some good advice.
Listen to music. It will synchronize your internal body rhythm (breathing and heart rate) to its own beat. Choose a lively piece when you want to be motivational and entertaining. Choose something mellow when you are leading a meeting.
47. Prepare! Prepare! Prepare!
Here’s a presentation preparation checklist:
Know your audience.
Use easy-to-read notes with large print. Write down key ideas only. Do not write out your presentation word for word. Practice using your notes.
Rehearse your talk six times. Record it on video- or audiotape if possible.
Practice using your visual aids.
Have the first three minutes of your talk down cold. No notes.
Know how to expand or shrink your talk as time requires.
Write down the twenty questions the audience is most likely to ask. Think about your answers.
Make a checklist of supplies and materials you’ll be using: markers, transparencies, handouts, props, name tags.
Have written directions to the meeting site.
Get plenty of rest.
Carry vital notes with you. Do not put them in airlines’ checked baggage.
Arrive at the presentation site at least one hour early.
Check and test all equipment, lighting, microphone, etc.
48. Focus on the Audience—Not on Yourself
One day I walked up to a marketing specialist who was about to give his first presentation, and I asked him what was going through his mind. He said, “I want everything to be perfect. I’m thinking about not forgetting any information. I’m wondering if I’ll look nervous. I hate giving presentations.”
A few weeks later, I walked up to a veteran speaker, and I asked the same question. He said, “I’m thinking about the audience. I know they’ll learn some things here today that they’ll keep with them for the rest of their lives. I think they’ll enjoy this talk, and I’m looking forward to it.
The difference? Speaker 1 was inwardly focused, concentrating on his own shortcomings. Speaker 2, on the other hand, was outwardly focused. He was thinking about the audience and the benefits they would receive from his talk.
If you have difficulty being audience-focused, write down two or three ways in which your listeners will be better off after hearing your presentation. Always have at least fifteen minutes to spare prior to your starting time. Then you’ll be able to shake people’s hands and mingle before you begin. This will give you some friendly faces in the crowd. It will help you to think of “them” instead of “me.”
An association executive came up to me one day after a lunch speech I had given. He couldn’t wait to tell me about his favorite speaker. This speaker spent at least twenty minutes shaking hands and meeting people prior to his talk. The format of his presentation was then determined by the audience: They asked questions, and he responded to their concerns. The entire group was amazed when the speaker addressed each person in the group of forty-five by his or her first name. This popular speaker was completely audience-focused.
49. Don’t Panic!
Here are the most common causes of presentation panic—and their cures:
Losing your place. Use easy-to-follow notes, with only three or four words on a line. Prewritten audiovisuals will help the flow of ideas. Take a break. Consider audience involvement.
Too much material. Zoom in on your primary message. Make it crystal clear, and condense your thoughts into a few main points. DO NOT GO OVERTIME.
Too little material. End early (people rarely complain about ending early). Or involve the audience in an activity or discussion.
Someone in the audience is falling asleep. Use the 95 percent rule. If 95 percent of the people look alert and interested, don’t worry. However, if quite a few people look drowsy, do something: change gears, take a break, check the room temperature, liven things up with a group activity, add more excitement to your voice and gestures.
Saying something you regret. Use a comeback such as, “Oops! Let me press the delete button on that one!”
A-V equipment fails. Always have a backup plan. If the backup plan fails, take a break. Try to remedy the problem.
Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance from someone in the audience. If the equipment cannot be fixed, explain the situation to the audience, and then proceed full speed ahead. Apologize only once, then proceed!
50. Eat Like an Athlete
I never really paid much attention to what I ate before giving a presentation until one morning when my stomach felt as if it were going to erupt. It happened during a critique session for my Applause! Speakers Training Camp—one of my favorite parts of the program. After retracing my actions that morning, I tied the gut-wrenching feeling to the thick, dark (almost chewy) coffee I had been drinking. Since that time, I have done lots of personal research on what foods help and hinder presentation performance.
Here’s what I’ve discovered: Eat like an athlete. Eat healthy foods, with plenty of protein and Vitamin C (fruits and vegetables), and avoid spicy choices. For two days prior to the presentation and for the day(s) of your presentation, eliminate caffeine and alcohol, and eat pasta (athletes call this carbohydrate-loading). Eating pasta helps to maintain energy and works wonders in overcoming jet lag. Keep your throat lubricated by drinking hot liquids (remember, no caffeine) and lots of water (room temperature is best). Stay away from milk products; they promote mucous secretions in the throat. Also, avoid medications that cause side effects such as drowsiness, light-headedness, excitability, or dry mouth.
If your presentation is lengthy, take something to munch on, such as a bagel. I find that after about two hours my stomach starts to rumble, and the only way to stop it is by having a bite to eat.
51. Exercise
I am an exercise freak. I’ve exercised regularly for the last twenty years. But I always thought that I was too busy on the days of my presentations to bother with it.
Until the morning I was going to deliver a presentation to about forty-five people who knew me. Their expectations were extremely high, and I wanted to knock ’em dead! I woke up that morning with a bad case of the jitters—pounding heart and out of breath. I decided to take the time to racewalk two miles. By the end of my journey, I felt exhilarated, relaxed, and confident. I was mentally and physically ready for that presentation. I even received an added bonus: a rosy, glowing, healthy-looking complexion!
One friend of mine, a traveling executive, jogs in place for twenty minutes while she watches TV in her hotel room. Another walks two miles to and from the office. Regardless of your choice of aerobic exercise, the physical and mental rewards will greatly reduce your level of stress. Find some activities that you can do even while traveling. Always pack a swimming suit, exercise clothes, and a comfortable pair of walking shoes. Remember, breathing and heart rate are keys to relaxation. Steady aerobic exercise will be your ally.
There are other hidden benefits of exercise. As an avid race-walker and golfer (I never use a cart), I often depend on exercise to enhance my creativity. If I’m looking for some great ideas to use in a presentation, I’ll put the task on autopilot. About thirty minutes into the activity, the ideas surge. Researchers call it the release of endorphins. I call it “aerobic ahas!”