Those Public Speaking Nerves

It's OK to have a few nerves when you're speaking in front of an audience, the kind of ones you get because you want to do a good job, that little bit of adrenaline that gives you some momentum.

If you're feeling the following though, then it's too much:

pounding heart
sweating
breathlessness
cold, clammy hands
nausea
inability to think straight.

This is the fight/flight response in action, a mechanism nature endowed us with to save our lives. Blood is pumped to the extremities to prepare us to stay and fight or run away. Your body doesn't need to be digesting food at that point, nor do you need to be thinking clearly.

A whole cascade of chemicals has been set in motion to enable all these bodily changes, and if you can't act on them then you feel rough, to put it mildly.

If this is your experience, you probably want to avoid public speaking at all costs. I have heard some very creative ways in which people get out of opportunities to speak.

Notice I said 'opportunities' for once you get over these feelings, you may progress your career even change your career, enjoy sharing your knowledge with others and even want to put time and energy into developing this skill.

With the right approach, you can say goodbye to this.

Let's keep the 'fight/flight' response for what nature intended it for.