Presentation anxiety, friend or foe

Simply put, some anxiety is good. It's only bad when you are so nervous that its visible to the audience and prevents you from communicating clearly. All good presenters suffer from some level of anxiety, even if it doesnt show, I guarantee you that they are anxious inside before a big talk. And lets face it, we value our pride, dignity and the respect of the audience, and what we really fear is failing before an audience in any shape or form. When I ask my students what they fear, the list is fairly predictable, forgetting lines, being boring, equipment failure or even being regarded as a fraud! But the good news is, our fears rarely see the light of day and even less so if you prepare. So, research your audience, minimise the failure of equipment by testing everything and having backups, understand your topic thoroughly and REHEARSE, and your anxiety will be kept to a minimum.