The document provides tips for reducing nervousness when giving presentations. It recommends rehearsing extensively, using humor to engage the audience, dressing professionally to boost confidence, familiarizing yourself with the environment, talking to audience members beforehand, memorizing difficult sections, accepting nervous feelings, practicing pauses, avoiding overreliance on PowerPoint, improving posture and expressions, and failing often to become desensitized to mistakes.

2. …BEFORE YOUR PRESENTATION.

3. THEY WON’T NOTICE
Think of any nervousness you feel as
being your private secret and most of the
time it will be.

4. REHEARSE LIKE A MANIAC
I practice in front of a mirror several times
before I go on stage.

5. UNFREEZE THE AUDIENCE WITH
HUMOR
If you can start the audience
laughing before getting into more
serious matters, that will dissolve
much of your fright.

6. LOOK GOOD
Dressing somewhat more
formally than the rest of
the audience can do
wonders to boost your
confidence.

7. SCOPE OUT THE
ENVIRONMENT
Be comfortable in the room you are
about to speak in.

8. TALK TO THE AUDIENCE
Have a chat with a few members before
you speak

9. MEMORIZE THE STICKY
SPOTS.
Reword and memorize the difficult
sections so they don’t drag you
down during your final speech.

10. ACCEPT THE FEAR,
DON’T FIGHT IT.
Accept any nervousness you feel just as
you would accept that the carpet is blue
or the walls are white.

11. … FOR YOUR FUTURE PRESENTATIONS

12. PRACTICE THE ART OF PAUSES.
When you’re nervous, your instinct will be to fill
any dead air with words.

13. AVOID THE POWERPOINT
CRUTCH
Most people use Powerpoint as a way of directing
attention away from themselves and onto a
screen.

14. WORK ON POSTURE AND BODY
LANGUAGE.
There are studies where researchers discovered
that moving their face into smiling or frowning
positions actually made them feel differently.

15. FAIL OFTEN.
When you realize that the worst that can happen
isn’t that bad, it zaps your butterflies for good.

16. GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR PRESENTATIONS!