There seems to be hundreds of theories and opinions about nerves in relation to making a presentation. Possibly one of the more famous sayings is that it is okay to have butterflies, as long as they are flying in the same formation. Other people say presentation nerves are built-in anti-complacency buttons, ensuring that we are always on edge and performing to our best.

I don’t really buy the line that presentation nerves are healthy. I think presentation nerves are risky. When coaching groups in workshops I see the unfortunate consequences of nerves all the time. They take you from the comfortable level of “I can do this” to the more uncertain “I’m not really sure how this is going to go”. That, to me, is dangerous because (like sharks) audiences can smell fear. Difficult audience members can make life even tougher, by putting you on the spot with impossible-to-answer questions. Add to this the visible signs of nerves (shaking, red-head, dry mouth, strange sounds emanating from the throat, going blank) then you have a potentially disastrous presentation.

So how do we solve presentation nerves? Well, the first thing to do is to recognise and appreciate the link between nerves and certainty. That is: the more uncertain you are, the more nervous you will be. Imagine you are walking down a street late at night. It’s dark and wet, in a dangerous part of town. You feel nervous because you are uncertain about your safety, right? Now imagine the same scene during the day. It’s bright; there are people everywhere and a police presence. Now you are certain that you are going to be safe, so you lose the nerves.

It’s a bit the same with presentation nerves. You are similarly walking down a path of uncertainty. You start to question everything: What will the audience think? Will I get the decision cast in my favour? What if I forget to say something? What will the audience think of the way I come across? What if I get asked a difficult question?

So how do you make a dangerous, or uncertain, path safe? Well to continue the analogy, you need to surround yourself with familiar signs. You need to have familiarity everywhere you turn - a map in front of you with clear points. You need to have some sort of knowledge of the audience - with knowledge comes trust. And you need to know your endpoint.

Let’s deal with each of these concepts in turn:

1. Familiar signs
The biggest mistake people can make is to rehearse every presentation word for word. It may work in rehearsal, but unless you are Robert Deniro it ain’t going to work in real life. A better way is to concentrate on structuring your presentation, so that it acts like a map. Then place a number of key phrases through the map to glance down at throughout your presentation. This will act as a guide so that you have some familiar signs - some certainty. Let me know if you would like a further guide as to structure your presentation.

2. Knowledge of the audience
It’s sometimes hard to get to know the audience. But please do try. Google their names - it’s amazing what you can find. Ask around - often suppliers and customers will know something about them. But the best way to do this is to approach each audience member or a spokesperson from the group and ASK QUESTIONS prior to the presentation. Yep, that very familiar “consult” word again. It’s quite strange that we often want our presentations to be a great surprise.

When I coach people they say things like “But if I tell them what’s going to be in the presentation it will lose the excitement factor.” True, it may lose a little bit of surprise value. But you will gain much more satisfaction by getting the results you need. You do this by learning more about audience wants and needs prior to the presentation. Here are a few great questions to ask:

* “What do you and team really want to see (or expect) in our presentation?”
* Go through the agenda, then ask - “Is there anything on there I have missed?”
* “Do you mind taking 5 minutes to go though each member of your team?”, then ask questions about their role on the panel, what they particularly want to get out of it, or even better, if you can call them directly.

Presentation nerves can start to fade away when you start to realise that you will be satisfying the audience - all because of 10 minutes extra research!

3. Begin with the end in mind
I think “begin with the end in mind” was first coined in 7 Habits. It is one of my favourite sayings because it is such a guiding light In our world, it means that you don’t even start the presentation until you have a very firm idea of how you want the presentation to finish. With this “endpoint” in mind, it’s relatively easy to work back and construct a great presentation. Here’s a simple question you can ask yourself - I call it the “closed door moment”:

* When I leave the room and close the door, what is the one thing I want the audience to DO or THINK as result of the presentation?”

Summary
Here’s the bottom line: Take steps to reduce your presentation nerves by creating familiar signs throughout to act as a roadmap. Further reduce your nerves by understanding the audience as much as possible by asking questions. And begin with the end in mind so you have a very clear idea of your purpose in this presentation. You will not only be in control of your nerves, but you will deliver a much more professional and engaging presentation as a result.