Presentation Panic: How to Calm Nerves and Reduce Stress
Presentations can be nerve-wracking. Knowing how to calm nerves and reduce stress in the preparation and delivery of a big presentation can be a lifesaver for the majority of us who deal with some level of nerves before a public speaking event. Our top tips to help calm nerves before a presentation will help you turn you anxiety into enthusiasm and deliver an incredible speech, every time. Let’s take a look at our tried and tested industry pointers.
Our Tips to Thrive
Practice, Practice, Practice
Know your speech or presentation as well as you possibly can. Practice your speech in front of a mirror or to friends; if you are confident with what you want to say, then you can lean into that confidence amongst stage fright or the pressure of an audience. Practicing a presentation also helps calm nerves and reduce stress by allowing you time to control your breathing, manage your pacing, and plan where you will pause for a breather, to allow slides to change over, or to take questions from your audience.
Use Positive Visualisation
Building confidence for a presentation can be difficult. If this is something you struggle with in particular, give positive visualisation a go. It can feel all too natural to let you panic and anxiety spiral into picturing greater and greater disasters on the day; but visualising a narrative of success and audience applause has been found to increase confidence, defeat imposter syndrome, calm nerves, and reduce stress on the lead-up to a big public speaking delivery.
Know Your Surroundings
If possible, get into your presentation space early to get yourself comfortable with the layout and tech. Practicing in the space itself is even better. Being able to foresee any possible issues with sound, presentation, or staging, for example, and getting your general feel for the space can all help you feel more prepared and more confident on the day.
Control Your Breathing
When we’re nervous, our muscles tighten and our breathing becomes shallower, which in turn makes us more anxious. Taking a deep breath and releasing a longer out breath can help calm the parasympathetic nervous system, reduce stress, and calm your nerves. Steady and focused breathing will also help you with the pacing of your presentation and keep you in control.
Delivering Your Best
From breathing exercises and positive visualisation to logistical preparation and dedicated practice, there are a range of tools you can use to calm nerves and reduce stress ahead of your next presentation. Delivering your best public speaking performance is just a few steps away.
If you would like some extra support in public speaking training, get in touch with the Cybele team here.