How Do I Deal With Nerves When Public Speaking? A Public Speaking Coach Answers

Whether you're giving a formal presentation to a large crowd or just raising your hand in a meeting, nerves can make speaking up feel hard. Dina Schmid, a public speaking coach and etiquette instructor, says this is one of the questions she's asked most often. Here's her answer.

Short answer: There's no single trick that makes nerves disappear. Controlling them takes several pieces working together: understanding your fears, calming your body's physical response, building skills, using frameworks, and getting guided practice until speaking stops feeling like a threat.

How do I deal with nerves when speaking?

According to Dina, the goal is to control your nerves so they don't control you. That doesn't happen with one technique. It comes from several different pieces coming together.

Why is public speaking so nerve-wracking?

Fear of public speaking is very common. Dina points out that it shows up in big moments, like a formal presentation in front of a large crowd, and in small ones, like raising your hand to speak in a meeting. If it feels hard, you're far from alone.

Is there one trick to stop being nervous?

No. Dina says that if one method could magically eliminate nerves, we'd all be using it. The reality is that it takes several pieces working together to be effective.

What helps control public speaking nerves?

Dina says it can involve several pieces:

Identifying your fears

Learning techniques to counter the physical effects of nerves and reset your nervous system

Learning new skills so you feel good about what you're going to do

Using frameworks so you don't have to worry about drawing a blank

Getting effective, guided practice so your body stops treating speaking as a threat

Can a nervous speaker really become confident?

Yes. Dina says she has seen people go from completely nervous to doing well. With the right pieces in place and enough guided practice, speaking starts to feel less like a threat and more like something you can handle.

Transcript

"One of the questions I get asked very frequently is, 'How do I deal with the nerves when I'm speaking?' And I think I get asked it because fear of public speaking and the nervousness associated with it are very common, whether it's standing up in front of a large crowd to give a formal presentation, or even just raising your hand to speak during a meeting. If there was one way that would magically eliminate the nerves, I think we would all be doing that. But the reality is that it takes several different pieces coming together to be effective at controlling the nerves so that they don't control you. And this is something I have a lot of experience with. It can involve identifying your fears, learning techniques to counter the physiological effects of nerves or reset your nervous system, and learning some new skills so that you can feel good about what you're going to do. It may even be getting some frameworks so that you don't have to worry about drawing a blank when you get nervous speaking. And it's also about getting some effective, guided practice and experiences in so that your body can start to not feel like speaking is such a threat. And it really can work. I've seen people grow their confidence from a point of being completely nervous to being able to do well. And I would love to help you too. My name is Dina Schmid. I'm a public speaking coach and etiquette instructor, and you can find me here on ProPass."

Watch Dina answer the question (tap the video to play):