Nervous - moi?

Nerves – you know you’ve got them

A seminar attendee recently asked if I had been nervous whilst speaking. Of course I was –‘well you didn’t look nervous’.

Was I pleased – you bet I was.

Much of coping with nerves is about coping with the outward manifestation of your nerves. If the speaker can create the impression of confidence this does much to promote an aura of control and ability. In turn these qualities make it easier to trust the speaker and buy into what he or she is trying to communicate.

On the other hand the speaker entirely lacking in nerves is potentially shaky ground. How many football fans have realised that their team are swaggering too much just before they go down to a lesser team (yes I am Scottish and I do remember Ally’s army- if you don’t drop me a mail and I’ll explain the reference)?

We shouldn’t be afraid of nerves themselves but the successful speaker must find strategies to control these nerves with a view to creating the aura of confidence, it may not be entirely real but to our audience it will be real enough.

Check out Coping with nerves on skillpresentations.com part of the Fundamentals course.

MG