“I get so nervous every time I speak in public. No matter how much I rehearse I forget my script, get swept up in self-consciousness. What can I do?”
I hear this question all the time, and I feel your pain. We all have different anxiety responses and your symptoms are fairly common.
What I’m going to say may sound simplistic, but often the best wisdom is right in front of you. If you can allow this to sink in it will be life-changing, or at least it will change the way you view public speaking: Stop thinking about yourself and instead, focus on what you have to offer the audience. If you can make this subtle but profound shift of consciousness you will make huge strides toward easing your anxiety. After all, you’ve spent the time and put in the hours to make yourself an expert at the topic you’re discussing. The audience is there to hear you. It’s your job to deliver to them what they need.
The ever-wise Nancy Duarte explains this in the Starwars dynamic.
“…Master Yoda has a thing or two to teach us about being a powerful presenter. No, it’s not sharing profound thoughts like: “Always in motion is the future….” (You don’t say!) Yoda’s secret is his role as a mentor.
As a mentor, he has vast knowledge – after all, he has trained Jedi knights for 800 years – but he’s not constantly spouting off about his own achievements or skills. Despite being the expert, his focus is not on himself but on helping young Luke Skywalker to become a better hero.
…You, as the presenter…are not the most important guy/girl in the room. Just because you’re on a stage or in front of a crowd does not make you the savior everyone has been waiting for. (This applies whether you are addressing a conference of ten thousand or holding a team meeting with three people.) Recognize that you are Yoda, not Luke. The most important people in the room are your audience.”
So the next time you’ve got the jitters on stage, focus outward. Show the audience the benefits of listening to you, acknowledge their conflicts and struggles, and offer them solutions — this is especially productive with salespeople. Summon your generosity and think about what you have to offer, be it a story that explains something complex in simple terms, a useful interpretation of numbers or statistics, or an experience that will open their eyes and minds to a new way of seeing the world.
Yoda helped Luke discover his personal power. You do the same!