We all know that moment right before a big presentation. You have to present a big project or you have a presentation that determines if you fail or pass.
And likely before those presentations your going to be nervous af.
Kind of Ironic, isn’t it… you’re having an event that could determine your future and exactly in that moment you’re getting so nervous, that you can’t really focus on the task at hand.
Yes, it’s obvious that you’re going to be nervous in those situations. But that nervousity doesn’t help you at all. It’s not like an adrenaline hit that sharpens your sins and strengthen your muscles.
It’s quite the opposite and it definitely doesn’t help you in those situations at all.
So The question now is, if we already know that there is close to no benefit of being nervous how can we avoid it to actually be at peak performance when we need to.
In my opinion there are actually two ways to reduce or even eliminate your nervousity.
Put yourself in those situations over and over again
Number one is kinda obvious. If you put yourself more and more in those situations you’ll be less nervous every time you face them. If you generally are nervous when presenting in front of a crowd then expose yourself and present whenever you have a chance to.
Yes, you’re going to fail and it’s going to be rough but that’s the only way to get less nervous in those situations.
So next time when the teacher or your boss asks you if you wan’t to present something, be happy for the opportunity and take the chance with a smile.
That goes for everything else too. You’re afraid to talk to people, then expose yourself and talk to as many as you can.
I think you get the point. Practice, practice and practice 🙂
The second way is more a mental thing and it helped me out a lot already:
Switch out your nervousity with excitement
When you think about it the symptoms for nervousity and excitement are exactly the same.
Your heart is racing, your palms are starting to sweat, you visualise the future… its the same for excitement and nervousity.
When you take top athletes for example. A lot of them get asked after the competition if there were nervous. And most if not all of them answer with “no, I was excited!”.
Those athletes have trimmed their bodys to respond to nervousity with excitement. Instead of being nervous they are excited.
And the exact same can be applied in every situation. Next time your nervous just tell yourself “oh this is exciting!”.
Your body doesn’t know the difference and your nervousity will be exchanged with excitement.
With that you’ll have 120% a clear mind and even be excited on whats coming instead of being scared. Your facing that presentation with excitement and a big smile and you’ll be more light headed and will perform even better.
Try it out! It’s amazing and people will admire you for being able to present with as much confidence as you do!