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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 34 - Deal with nervous behaviors
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
The best way to deal with nervous behaviors is to take an inventory of them during practice sessions. Unfortunately, most nervous behavior is neither obvious nor self-evident. Watching a video recording of yourself as you speak, or asking a friend or colleague to critique you are two helpful ways to discover what you look and sound like when you speak. If your behavior betrays a bad case of nerves, you'll know what to look for and how to control it.
What are the most common behaviors to look for in a nervous speaker? These four are most prevalent:
Fidgeting with something as you speak. Don't bring a pen, paper clip or rubber band with you to the podium. These things inevitably end up in your hands and unconsciously become something for you to play with. Once that begins, the audience will see or think of little else. You should also avoid touching your hair and playing with keys or coins in your pockets. Try to avoid scratching yourself (anywhere) because it really bothers the audience. The same applies to clasping your hands behind your back, swaying back and forth and nervous foot movement.
Trembling. Trembling hands are a common symptom of nervousness. The best place for your hands is generally at your side, but grasping the podium lightly is good way to respond to trembling. Holding note cards or papers only magnifies trembling hands, so put them down and either work without them or glance at them only occasionally. Simple, controlled gestures will help. By gesturing, you dispel nervous energy, engage the audience and help to relax your upper body muscles.
Quivering voice. A strong voice is essential in conveying commitment and sincerity to your audience, and anxiety can weaken your voice to an extent. There are ways to address this issue, but 34 you must be careful not to create other problems as you try to solve this one. Speaking a bit more loudly and deeply is a useful technique to soften a quivering voice, as long as you don't speak too loudly or too deeply. If your voice is too loud, you'll have little opportunity to adjust volume as you move through the speech, and if your voice is too deep, you'll just sound silly.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Truth about Confident PresentingAll You Need To Know To Make Winning Presentations, Fearlessly And Painlessly, pp. 135 - 138Publisher: Anthem PressPrint publication year: 2019