Stage 5 · Lesson 6 of 7
Presenting when you are nervous
Most people feel nervous before presenting, including experienced speakers. You do not have to remove the nerves; you need to function with them. Preparation does most of the work: know your opening lines well, keep slides simple, and rehearse out loud several times, ideally once in front of a friend.
Before you start, breathe out slowly a few times and plant your feet. Look at a few friendly faces. If you lose your place, pause, look at your notes and continue; a pause feels long to you and is barely noticed by the audience.
Afterwards, write what went well in your evidence file before thinking about what to improve.
Common trapreading your slides word for word to feel safe, which makes you more anxious and less engaging.
A question to check yourself and an AI practice session come when you add the roadmap to your account. Add it
Resources for this stage
Start with· follow one of these
- VideoFreeHow to Speak So That People Want to Listen (Julian Treasure, TEDGlobal 2013)
Julian Treasure (TEDGlobal 2013)
Practical tips on voice, pace and habits that make people listen
- CourseFreeIntroduction to Public Speaking (University of Washington, Coursera)
University of Washington on Coursera · Beginner
A structured course on preparing and giving talks, free to audit
Practise
Keep handy
Also worth your time
Struggling right now? If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, contact local emergency services or a crisis line: Find a helpline (any country), Umang (Pakistan), Tele-MANAS, 14416 (India).