Watch Your Body Language

What gets in the way for many new speakers is nervousness — and there is nothing wrong with that. Almost every speaker has to deal with being nervous; the trick is not to let it get the better of you. Nervousness keeps us alert and energized. But when you’re extremely nervous and you have trouble controlling it, you will tend to spend more time in your head concerned with how you’re doing than being present in the moment and unfortunately, the audience will pick up on that.

Your nervousness can affect your energy, your pace, eye contact, your volume, your gestures, and your self-expression. You’ll appear stiff and disconnected from the audience and they won’t feel confident about you, which in turn, will affect your ability to sell yourself, your products, and services.

Your goal is to connect with the audience right from the moment you go onstage. What attracts people to you instantly is your enthusiasm, energy, and authenticity in speaking. You can learn how to overcome nervousness simply by:

• Preparing and rehearsing your talk over and over again until it’s second nature.
• Visualize seeing yourself delivering an amazing presentation and the audience applauding you as you finish your talk.
• Before you give your talk, walk around and introduce yourself to the people as they arrive to hear you speak.