The key to dealing with speaking nerves

Have you ever looked around the room during a big meeting, presentation, panel, or group interview and thought:

• I’m the only one here who seems nervous! I must be doing something wrong…
• Everybody around me seems so confident and at ease, but I can’t shake the jitters that crop up every time it’s my turn to speak…
• If I could just get rid of my nerves, I’d be able to communicate so much more effectively…

You want to nip your nerves in the bud so you can show up as your most grounded and articulate self, but the physical symptoms of your nervousness keep getting in the way of your delivery!

So how can you overcome those pesky jitters when you’re speaking on-the-spot? I’ll give you a hint—it starts with accepting them for what they are.

Watch this clip to learn how you can reframe your relationship to nerves and communicate with more confidence:

The most important thing to remember when dealing with speaking nerves?

It’s not about “getting rid of” those feelings. The fact that you’re uncomfortable just means your brain is doing its job! But there are two key things I want you to know when it comes to that balance between noticing nerves and landing your message the way you want to:

You can’t turn off your fight-or-flight response—and that’s nothing to be ashamed of!

Think of it this way: if you saw a delicious-looking cookie and started salivating, would you beat yourself up about it? I sure hope not! Saliva production is a natural, physical response to seeing appealing food, and that phenomenon is just evidence of your innate biology at work.

And your nerves are no different. Those tense or jittery sensations that creep in when you’re on the spot are your body’s natural response to perceived danger. Nerves are your limbic brain’s way of protecting you! 

So while you might be uncomfortable in the moment, there’s no need to be ashamed of feeling nervous. You’re undergoing a healthy chemical reaction that we, as humans, are wired to experience.

You can develop skills to address and work with your nerves instead of against them.

The good news? There are clear, practical strategies you can use to let your brain know that you’re actually safe and not in a life-or-death situation.

By using physical strategies and intentional mindset shifts, you can dial down your speaking nerves and communicate with more grounded confidence.

Bottom line? Your nerves will never disappear completely (and thank goodness for that!), but they don’t have to derail your communication.

By noticing the discomfort, acknowledging the symptoms of your fight or flight response at work (instead of identifying with them and making them mean something about your abilities), and using proven, counteracting behaviors to calm yourself on the inside and exude the qualities you want to on the outside, you’ll feel more in charge of how you show up under pressure.

And if you’re ready to build more clear-cut, actionable skills for dealing with speaking nerves and communicating with more impact? Check out The Confident Communicator! ✨

Inside this course, you’ll learn to: 

• dial down speaking anxiety with practical, science-backed techniques
• assess your own communication style, so you can pinpoint which habits serve vs. undercut you
• be more present and intentional in your interactions, so you can communicate from a genuinely empowered place
• project the qualities you want others to see in you—without faking or forcing anything
• articulate yourself in a clearer, more engaging and “tailorable” way
• build presentations in half the time, but with double the impact

So click here to learn more and enroll in The Confident Communicator today! 

When you join, you’ll also get 4 bonus coaching calls with me, so we can dig into your burning questions, role-play real-world situations, and get you speaking with more clarity and conviction than ever before!

Whether you decide to join The Confident Communicator or not, please remember: even though it might seem like everyone else is calm, cool, and collected on the outside, we’re all dealing with speaking nerves on the inside! You’re never alone in those feelings, and we’re always here to support you as you work with and through them ✨

All my love,