Getting Over Anxiety
Imagine this…
You’re about to walk through the curtain to deliver a lecture, in front of 100′s of people. Your nerves are jumping, your palms are sweating and the butterflies in your stomach feel more like crows. As Hank Hill put it, you don’t know whether to laugh, or vomit.
Of course, every time you tell yourself otherwise, your mind keys in on “nervous” and it all just increases.
What do you do about it?
It’s actually quite simple. You release it!
Instead of trying to contain all that nervous energy, because you’re afraid to let anyone else see it, let it out precisely so that everybody CAN see it!
You have an audience out there who went out of their way to come and hear you speak. They hired babysitters, got dressed up, found and paid for parking and probably paid more at the door…would you give them anything less than a charged up, energized performance? Not if you want them to come back!
Instead of dwelling on how your heightened energy is affecting you, and interpreting it as a negative that has to be hidden, appreciate it as the source of the powerful performance you’re about to give. And count it as the blessing it is.
Don’t forget that the audience understands your nervousness, wants to like you, expects to learn something and is going to return the energy you give them. If you use that energy you thought had to stay hidden to create a performance that deserves it, all the energy they throw back with the first round of applause will be positive!
If you try to stifle that energy, speaking awkwardly while you hold it back…they’ll respond with the same lack of enthusiasm your nervousness gave them.
For those of us who don’t regularily give lectures, the same holds true for the few people in the boardroom who’ve gathered to hear your 3rd quarter fiscal plan. And the guy sitting across from you in the restaurant. And the girl beside you in the roller coaster car…
There are all sorts of people, in all sorts of situations, over whom we can drive ourselves nervous. Never forget that most of them like you, that’s why they’re there. And they have faith in your ability to deliver the exciting results they believe you can provide. So rather than being obsessed with how you’ll look, have the same faith they do and use the energy you’re feeling to get you through!
