Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- Introduction
- Part I Some Initial Truths
- Part II The Truth About Getting Ready to Speak
- Part III The Truth About What Makes People Listen
- Part IV The Truth About Developing Support for Your Presentation
- Part V The Truth About Getting Up to Speak
- Part VI The Truth About Managing Anxiety
- Truth 32 All speakers get nervous
- Truth 33 Recognize anxiety before it begins
- Truth 34 Deal with nervous behaviors
- Truth 35 Keep your nervousness to yourself
- Part VII The Truth About Nonverbal Communication
- Part VIII The Truth About Visual Aids
- Part IX The Truth About Handling an Audience
- Part X The Truth About What Makes a Presentation Work
- References
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
Truth 32 - All speakers get nervous
from Part VI - The Truth About Managing Anxiety
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- Introduction
- Part I Some Initial Truths
- Part II The Truth About Getting Ready to Speak
- Part III The Truth About What Makes People Listen
- Part IV The Truth About Developing Support for Your Presentation
- Part V The Truth About Getting Up to Speak
- Part VI The Truth About Managing Anxiety
- Truth 32 All speakers get nervous
- Truth 33 Recognize anxiety before it begins
- Truth 34 Deal with nervous behaviors
- Truth 35 Keep your nervousness to yourself
- Part VII The Truth About Nonverbal Communication
- Part VIII The Truth About Visual Aids
- Part IX The Truth About Handling an Audience
- Part X The Truth About What Makes a Presentation Work
- References
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
Summary
When people stand up to speak in front of others, they are inevitably nervous. Some, just a little; others, a lot. Even skilled professionals who conduct dozens of presentations a year will admit to being at least a little anxious before a speech. Nervousness is a perfectly normal reaction to a stressful situation.
So, why do we see a presentation as stressful? What's stressful about talking to a few people about a subject you know and like? First, it may not be just a few people. The audience may be large and include people you don't know well. Second, the subject may not be one you know or like. You may speak on a topic that was assigned to you by a supervisor and address a group of people you've just met.
People generally get anxious about public speaking situations for three reasons:
Fear of being unprepared. This fear is actually rational. If you're unprepared, you really should feel afraid. The source of your anxiety is the idea that you'll forget what you planned to say, you won't think of examples that the audience will find convincing, and you'll present your key points out of order. The best defense against this, of course, is careful, thorough preparation. Do your research, think extensively about your pattern of organization, look for motivation and proof the audience will find compelling, and practice what you plan to say.
Fear of being evaluated. No one likes being judged by others. It's a potentially humbling, embarrassing experience. The fact is, though, the audience will take their measure of you and form a judgment regarding your expertise, competence and relevance. Take that as a challenge and prepare for it. What matters most to them is what you can do for them, so make absolutely certain you have ideas and concepts they can use. Focus on issues that are of the greatest concern to them; deal with their fears and provide them with information that will make their lives easier, better, safer and more meaningful. When they compare the experience of listening to you with how they might have spent the time 32 somewhere else, you'll get a favorable judgment.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Truth about Confident PresentingAll You Need To Know To Make Winning Presentations, Fearlessly And Painlessly, pp. 127 - 130Publisher: Anthem PressPrint publication year: 2019