It’s Not the Gettysburg Address – Relax! (A post on presentation anxiety)

I have a client who suffers from extreme “performance anxiety,” and not just before the presentation begins, but during and even after it is over. I have certainly been there and for me, it is something that comes and goes with time.

He asked,

“Where does it come from? I feel super-confident in my command of the subject matter, but no matter what I do, I get chilled, sweaty palms, and a tense, almost frightening pain in my chest. What can I do?”

Candidly, there is no simple answer. And there is no simple cure. It is something that will come and go. But! There are triggers to be aware of! There ARE things you can do!

To begin with, your audience plays a huge role. If they are obstreperous, nervous people, you too will become nervous and noisy (in a way). Your heart beats fast –  surely the audience can hear it, right? Wrong. Only you can hear it.

What can you do about a bad audience?

The answers here lay in the classroom management techniques employed by elementary school teachers.

• Ask everyone to turn off their electronic devices, and to put away computers and tablets.
• Then, involve your audience in your presentation, quickly, at the outset. Ask a question that engages them in the search for an answer.
• Having them partner with another audience member can help to bring them in as listeners.
• Give them something to do both at the outset and for the duration of your talk. For example, hand out bingo sheets that list your various key terms that you will be talking about and as any one of the audience is able to get to “Bingo!” have them sing out! It’s fun and engaging.

Are you over-valuing the outcome?

Something else to think about: Perhaps you’re over-valuing success or failure.

Remember, it’s not the freaking Gettysburg Address. Not at all.  Your presentation is likely to be forgotten by the end of the day. Stop holding on so tight!

Next, is YOU. Are you worrying about past performances? Try flipping your worry into resolve not to make whatever mistake(s) you made in the past. Past mistakes cannot be undone, but your view of them can be. Perhaps you are comparing yourself to the wrong people or to the wrong students. Remember this:

There will ALWAYS be someone better than you at presenting. By the same token, there are oodles of people who are far worse than you.

Taking care of yourself physically and emotionally will help to control your anxiety levels by making you feel relaxed and using up some of the nervous energy that is produced when you are under stress. The following strategies are recommended.

• Eat well.
• Limit alcohol, caffeine and sugary foods.
• Get between six to eight hours sleep per night.
• Exercise regularly as this uses up nervous energy and relaxes muscles.
• Breathe! In through the nose, hold it for four, then exhale quickly through the mouth. Rinse, repeat.

Perhaps you are dwelling upon the negative consequences of not doing as well as you would like. Again, I ask you flip this into a consideration of the consequences were not to try!

Finally, perhaps you are perseverating over inadequate preparation. Well, good. But over-preparing isn’t any good either. The bottom line is this: Does your presentation meet the wants and needs of your audience? You have been asked to present, so you should know what the objectives are. From the moment you know your presentation date and time, begin a list of important points to cover. Nothing fancy – just get out a legal pad and begin a simple list. Once you have that, begin to build your presentation deck. If you can assuredly say that everything on your list is in your presentation, then it’s time to practice.

Practice Until You Cannot Get it Wrong

It must be admitted that spelling is not taught successfully; indeed, the difficulty lies in the fact that it is seldom taught at all. Spelling lessons are assigned, studied, recited, but not taught. Much of the time spent in hearing children recite—guess till they get it right—should be spent in a definite teaching process, until they cannot get it wrong.

Practice is nothing more of less than getting the butterflies in your stomach to fly in formation. Everyone has butterflies. There are countless stories of even the most accomplished stage actors who would throw up just before a performance – they were that nervous. But the show went on. Give your butterflies names, like Donner and Blitzen, Rudolph and Comet, etc. Talk to them. Nudge them into formation.

Planning and practicing for your presentation carefully can have a number of beneficial effects on your anxiety levels, including helping you to feel more confident and in control prior to the event. The better prepared you are and the more you know your material, the more likely you will be to recall it when you are feeling nervous or stressed.

When you are rehearsing for your presentation, picture yourself as if you are in front of your audience and rehearse out loud. If possible, do this in front of some friends who could give you constructive feedback about your verbal and non-verbal communication, and your time-keeping. If you do not want a friend to watch you, consider making an audio or video tape of yourself. You can then listen or watch the tape and provide your own feedback. Identify at least five positive things about your presentation skills, as well as areas for further development.

No Questions? No good.

Preparing for questions at the end of a presentation may also help to lower your anxiety levels. Read over your presentation notes critically to identify areas of possible weakness and prepare positive answers. Friends may be able to assist with this. During the event, give yourself time to think of a response to the question by pausing, repeating the words of the question or, if you need longer, asking for a few moments to consider your answer.

If need be, list out some question you wish they would ask. This might be called “priming the pump,” and can work wonders for audience engagement.

Plan Ahead

You may find it helpful to identify the aspects of the situation which are causing you the greatest levels of anxiety, to plan steps to prevent them from becoming a reality. Imagine the presentation and write down the aspects which cause you to feel particularly anxious, and then identify something you could do in advance which would help to prevent this from occurring. For instance, if you are worried about using equipment, make sure that you practice using it before the event. Alternatively, if you are worried that a weakness will be highlighted, plan a positive response to this in advance.

As described previously, having negative thoughts is one indicator that you may be experiencing performance anxiety. It is useful, therefore, to be aware of some of the common cognitive distortions so that you can try to replace them with positive thoughts.

Try to become self-aware of those negative thought patterns, those cognitive distortions. Focus on a positive re-frame, even if you don’t believe it. Fake it until you make it.

For more information on cognitive distortions, see my post here.

Remember this old saying?

Hope for the best, expect the worst, and you will wind up in the middle.

Then, think about what success would look like. Imagine yourself after the presentation, with it complete and behind you. How will you feel? Plan for something afterwards that is not dependent upon the outcome.

Using these processes will help you to keep a sense of perspective about the event and to help you stop things from spiraling out of control. Focus on the present and what you can do now to deal with the situation, rather than dwelling on what you should have done or how similar events went in the past.

Thoughts? Comments? I would love to hear from you!