How to Find Your Voice and Conquer Nerves

Lets face it, most of everyone gets nervous when they take to a stage. The feelings of sweaty palms, butterflies in the belly and a racing heart can all undermine your speech or presentation.

Even the most confident speaker will still get nervous before a presentation. The thing that separates a confident speaker from one whose nerves get in the way, is they have control of their nerves.

In this article I will share three tips on how to control your nerves before you have to deliver a presentation or speech to an audience.

"I am a big believer in visualization. I run through my races mentally so that I feel even more prepared." Allyson Felix

I echo Allyson's thoughts. Though Allyson visualizes races, we would be wise to visualize our speeches.

Visualizing what your presentation will look like, sound like and be like can go a long ways to helping you deliver a wonderful speech. We need to be mindful with our inner voice. You know the one. The one that will say "I just hope I can remember the quote at the start of the speech." or maybe it says "I hope I don't mess up the statistics."

That voice is damaging and can undermine your speech performance. Reframe those thoughts to "I am going to say the quote at the start to capture the audiences attention." Or "I am going to flawlessly remember the statistics."

If visualizing the whole speech is too taxing, then visualize the first 30 seconds and final 30 seconds going flawlessly. The opening sets you up for the rest of the speech. The final 30 seconds are the last impression you will leave with the audience.

"You just have to take a deep breath, relax and let the game come to you." A.C. Green

It is an interesting thing how we can learn a great deal from athletes when it comes to public speaking. This quote from a former NBA player really hits home on our second tip.

We often put pressure on ourselves to deliver a masterpiece. We strive to make no mistakes and when we do make one we get disheartened or start overthinking.

Remember only you know your presentation. Did you miss sharing that story in the middle of the speech? Only you know. The audience will be none the wiser and will likely be as appreciative of your speech.

At a recent Toastmasters meeting I was delivering a speech. When I had practiced the speech it came in at 7 minutes. However when I delivered it at the meeting I was timed at 5:50 seconds. I had forgotten a whole chunk of the speech. As I slinked back to my seat a fellow member whispered, "that was a great speech." My reply "You should have heard the whole thing." I then realized that the member had no idea a chunk was missing.

Next time you are speaking, breath. Relax and just deliver the best speech you can.

"The expert in anything was once a beginner." - Helen Hayes

The final tip to control our nerves as public speakers is to remember to practice. Practice makes perfect, well there is no thing as a perfect speech. Instead, practice is a way to deliver your best result.

Keep your practices of the speech short and often. Practice for 10-15 minutes daily, or every other day. You want to stay fresh during your practice. If you practice for long periods you will likely be exhausted quickly and the effectiveness of the practice will be lost.

One last tip on practicing, when you make a mistake keep going. After all when you deliver the speech to an audience you aren't going to be able to stop and start again. Mistakes in practices are a great way to learn how to handle them when they happen in front of the audience. Will you make a joke? Ignore the mistake and keep going? Or clarify the error and move on?

These are three tips on helping to reduce your nerves when delivering a speech or presentation. Which one would you like to hear more about? What tips do you have for controlling nerves during a speech?

Meet Steve Elliot, a distinguished Toastmaster, and the co-founder of e3 Public Speaking. With a passion for empowering individuals, Steve specializes in facilitating public speaking classes for both youth and professionals. Through his extensive experience and commitment, he helps others unlock their potential, gain self-confidence, and refine their communication skills.