Want to calm down before a presentation? Even if you don’t regularly experience the fear of public speaking, just before you start a speech, it is easy to feel anxious. This initial nervous energy can cause a speaker to have a shaky voice, dry mouth, or sweaty palms just before a presentation. The good news is that this experience is very common. Most of the time, if you start your presentation well, the level of nervousness will drop very quickly.

However, sometimes when people feel that stage fright, they panic. When you panic in front of an audience, you will most likely experience even more nervous feelings.

So stick around and listen to a few ways that are tried and tested to calm people down before speeches!

Show Notes: How to Calm Down Before a Presentation | 5 Simple Ways to Calm Your Nerves

(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/how-to-calm-down-before-a-presentation-5-simple-ways-to-calm-your-nerves)

Picture this: You arrive at a concert venue to see your favorite artist. The lights dim, the crowd buzzes, anticipation builds. They finally step on stage and perform the entire set with their hands stuck in their pockets. No gestures. No movement. No visible energy. Even if the music sounds incredible, something feels off. You’re listening, but you’re not fully feeling it. The performance lacks presence, connection, and impact. You leave entertained (maybe), but not moved.

Whether or not you use your hands as a tool to command a room can be the difference between an impactful presentation and a forgettable one. Talking with your hands is a form of nonverbal communication that won’t replace your words, but can determine how your words are received.

This week, Roma steps in for Doug to share everything she knows about presenting physically and using the full range of you to give a presentation. Learn what to do with what body parts when and why!

Show Notes: Talking With Your Hands: How Positive Gestures Instantly Improve Your Presence on Stage

(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/talking-with-your-hands-how-positive-gestures-instantly-improve-your-presence-on-stage/)

The quickest way to make people not believe you're qualified is to not believe it yourself. Saying that confidence is important certainly isn't the most groundbreaking thing to hear but knowing exactly WHY it's so important is what really gives people the push to develop it.

After last week's episode discussing why you need to have more self-confidence in what you already know, this week we're going to talk about displaying that confidence. Believing yourself good enough is completely different than showing that you're good enough and both parts are required to give the idea that you are credible.

So stick around and learn just how important displaying confidence is and some tips on how to go about doing it.

Show Notes: People Judge Your COMPETENCE by the CONFIDENCE That You Show

(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/people-judge-your-competence-by-confidence-that-you-show/)

Every speaker wants to become a subject matter expert on the topic they present, but here's the truth these people aren't realizing:

Regardless of what industry you are in or what expertise you have, you are the expert. The knowledge that you have on a specific topic is valuable to somebody, and that's really all that matters.

Becoming an expert on a subject doesn't come with some magical recognition of feeling worthy, an expert is just a person knowledgeable enough about something to speak and teach it. Many of us think just because we have more to learn that the knowledge we already possess is useless.

In today's episode, I'll be going over how to grow confidence in the knowledge you have, permeate that confidence so people trust you, and navigate situations where you don't know something and still want to maintain credibility.

Show Notes: How to Prove You’re an Expert (Even If You’re Not)

(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/you-are-the-undisputed-expert-so-now-prove-it/)

What are the most important qualities of a good public speaker? What makes a great presenter? Just what are the fundamentals of a good public speaker that allow one orator to get up in front of an audience and mesmerize the crowd while another fails?

When I first started teaching the Fearless Presentations ® classes, I did so because I knew from my own experience that the more self-confident a presenter appears to an audience, the more respect that the audience will have for that presenter. In addition, chapter one of my first book on public speaking was about enthusiasm, because I knew that out of all of the qualities of a good public speaker, enthusiasm was the absolute, most important.

Over the years, though, our instructors have worked with over 20,000 presenters. Some had a natural presence in front of groups. Others, however, had to develop presentation skills in order to be perceived as being a great public speaker.

Find out what what qualities every great presenter from those 20,000 had in common and how you can start incorporating them into your own life!

Show Notes: 7 Qualities of a Good Public Speaker Every Presenter Needs

(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/7-qualities-of-a-good-public-speaker-that-every-presenter-should-know-and-emulate/)

In the past few weeks we've covered a couple of the best entry points into public speaking from wherever you're starting at, but what do you do if you're starting with nothing at all. If you're not already in an industry that is looking for more speakers and you've tried to apply to some public speaking companies to no avail, it can start to feel hopeless.

Luckily, so many of the best speakers out there started exactly from where you are right now. Stick around to hear exactly how those same great speakers got out of the rut of beginning!

Show Notes: Start Your Own Public Speaking Company from Scratch

(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/start-your-own-public-speaking-company-from-scratch/)

Over the last 2 weeks I've been going over the best ways to get started as a public speaker, and today we're delving into what I think is the easiest of those ways. Speaking on topics you already know and are passionate about takes so much of the stress away. Having real pedigree in something you're speaking on and the ability to go off-hand whenever you need to is something that eases the anxieties like nothing else.

Stick around and hear how to make that transition from being someone who's knowledgeable to someone who can also share their knowledge.

Show Notes: Become a Professional Public Speaker by Speaking within Your Current Industry

(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/become-a-professional-public-speaker-by-speaking-within-your-current-industry/)

Last week, we went over a few of the best ways to get into the public speaking industry. There's a few different entry points and over this episode and the next couple, we'll be covering, in more detail those three different ways to get started.

The first one I'm covering is joining an already established company. If the prospect of entrepreneurship daunts you and you want to go the more hands off/luck-based route, this is really your best option. There are a few big pitfalls many trip into and a few simple things they never seem to do when taking this road, and by the end of this episode you won't have to worry about either of those things!

Show Notes: Become a Certified Speaker for an Established Presentation Company

(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/become-a-certified-speaker-for-an-established-presentation-company/)