Adrenaline – your body’s way of helping you when you need to do something special.
Such as give a presentation, or go on a job interview. Yet most of us find it to be our worst enemy. Because we don’t understand what happens to us when we become nervous. If you can pre-empt the effect adrenaline will have on you personally, you won’t feel so out of control. This has a huge impact on our comfort and confidence levels.
So what happens when we get nervous?
• The body releases adrenaline, this has a physical effect on the body. Our heart rate increases, we sweat, blush, get butterflies, fidget, pace , dance on the spot, the list goes on. You need to know what you personally do! So that when it happens you have more control over it.
• We stop breathing. The first thing we do when we get nervous is hold our breath. If you were swimming and saw a shark. The fright would take your breath away. So we stop breathing properly and this has it’s own set of fallbacks. We may stammer, forget, our bodies may feel uncomfortable.
We tend to then find a comforter, some people rock , others move their feet
around uncontrollably. Pacing, fidgeting are also common. I personally play
with my hair when nervous. Others bring their teddy bear or comfort blankets
on stage with them in the form of a notepad. They clutch on to it for dear life
but don’t read from it once. They didn’t need it for their presentation, they
needed it for comfort only.
So what can we do?
Relax and take deep breaths, slow down your breathing, get it rhythmical.
Remember adrenaline is causing your physical effects.
You are not nervous you are exited, change your mindset.
Identify and control your comforter, Root your feet to stop movements. Pay attention not to fidget with your hair , ring , pockets , etc.
So NERVES are good if we learn to control them. Adrenaline helps us perform better, it is our bodies own natural stimulant. Adrenaline junkies spend a fortune to get a rush.
When presenting or in an interview yours is FREE. ENJOY THE RUSH!
Delia Thompson holds an ATCl & LTCL form the Trinity College of London in speech training. She has been active for over 10 years in Public Speaking and Communications Training. She founded The Communication Academy to assist people with improving their communication skills