8 Easy Ways To Calm Your Nerves Before and During Virtual Presentations

how to preparation presentation tips public speaking public speaking anxiety virtual presentations Mar 03, 2021

Have you ever had a rush of nerves before giving a presentation?

Even though public speaking and conferences look different nowadays, the nerves we experience beforehand haven’t changed. I mean, after all, we’re still speaking to groups of people — even if it is through a screen.

As a professional public speaker and presentation coach, I’ve come to know throughout my career that nerves and anxiety surrounding public speaking are completely normal, common, and aren’t something we should feel ashamed of or run away from.

In this blog post, I’m going to explain why nerves are actually a good thing and how you can use them to your advantage. I’ll also go over some of the best practices to prepare, get into the present moment, and deliver a virtual presentation more confidently and with ease.

1. Recognize that your nervousness is fuel — embrace it!

You might not realize that feeling nervous before a presentation or speech indicates that what you’re saying matters to you. If you’re not nervous, that often means you’re indifferent or that you don’t really care about the outcome.

So, having butterflies before you present is awesome because it means you want to do well! And having all that energy means you can convert it into fuel that you can carry into how you interact with your audience.

Something to keep in mind is that your audience wants you to do well — they’re rooting for you. That means that all you have to do is your best. If you want to learn more about what to do when you get nervous while public speaking, check out this video and blog post I uploaded a while back that explains this concept more in-depth (1).

2. Prepare, prepare, prepare

If you’ve been following Connect To The Core for a while, you know the emphasis that we place on preparation for your presentations or any important communication situation, really. A lot of people believe that preparation ruins the spontaneous aspect of presenting.

In reality, preparation allows you to take even more risks and go “off script” because it means you’re well versed in your information, meaning you can handle any surprises that come up (2). Preparation is arguably even more important on platforms like Zoom. We use way more technology nowadays than an in-person presentation, which means you need to know the ins and outs of the platform you’re presenting on.

Knowing your virtual presentation and going through it a few times with any accompanying technology is bound to ease those nerves and make you more confident in the process.

3. Exert some energy beforehand

After you’ve prepared and it’s getting close to the presentation, you’ll want to exert some of that nervous energy. One of my personal favourite ways to get rid of jitters is to go for a quick walk before I present. It doesn't need to be long, even five or ten minutes will do the trick.

Light exercise (bonus points for fresh air) will help clear your head, send fresh oxygen to your brain and burn off some of that excess fuel we spoke about earlier (3). If you’re pressed for time, you can also do some push-ups, jumping jacks, etc. The goal here is to get your body moving, take your mind off of your presentation for a bit and get you excited to present.

4. Meditate to bring you into the present moment

Now that you know what you need to do to effectively prepare for your virtual presentation and you’ve exerted some energy, it’s time to get into the present moment. I would highly recommend doing some sort of meditation or mindfulness exercise either a few minutes before you present or whenever you feel that your body needs it the most leading up to the presentation.

Meditation is an incredible tool with so many benefits. It can help calm your nerves and heighten your awareness so you go into your presentation or meeting feeling refreshed, calm, and ready to go. While you’re meditating, do your best to visualize your success (4). Feel the emotions and sensations you’ll experience after you nail your virtual presentation.

5. Get to know your audience

The next strategy is to get to know your audience before you present. If you can, mingle with your guests prior to the presentation. Chat with them, join in on conversations and listen to what they're saying. This isn’t always possible on platforms like Zoom, and even a bit of small-talk beforehand can help you get a feel for people’s interests, senses of humour, needs, and goals.

This way when you begin speaking, your experience will be different because you’ve already taken the time to connect with them. It will help calm your nerves and reinforce the fact that it’s real people you’re speaking to.

6. Breathe

I uploaded a video on YouTube a while back called The Secret to Delivering a Better Presentation (5). If you’re curious about what the ‘secret’ is, you might be surprised when I tell you that it’s to breathe. You read that right.

Breathing is something that a lot of people forget to do when presenting, yet it’s one of the most important. Shallow breathing happens to everyone as a result of our nervousness. When we only engage in shallow breathing and forget to take deeper breaths, it won’t be as effective at delivering oxygen to our brain.

So, when you’re presenting, remember to take deep breaths. Pausing is one of the things that can help with this. If you take some time in between your points, not only will it help with your breathing and slowing down — it will also help with your presentations’ effectiveness as it will make it easier for your audience to catch up with what you're saying and follow along.

7. Engage with your audience

Another great way to calm your nerves during a virtual presentation is to engage with your audience (6). Ask them questions and get them involved. Not only will this make your presentation more memorable and captivating, it will also take some of the pressure off of you if part of your presentation is a dialogue rather than a monologue.

It will help lighten the mood and humanize your audience even further from your interactions with them before your presentation. If it’s appropriate you can even refer to a conversation you had while you were mingling to draw the crowd in. Getting your audience involved in whatever ways you see fit is a win-win.

8. Accept imperfection and be yourself

The last way to calm your nerves during your presentation is to realize that mistakes happen to everyone. Even the best presenters in the world trip over their words occasionally and forget what they were going to say. It happens!

Understand that perfection doesn’t exist and that it isn’t something you should strive for anyway. Focus on giving the best presentation you can, and most importantly — be yourself. Your personality and who you are at your core will shine through and is what your audience will remember most in the long run.

The Takeaways

There’s no doubt that delivering a presentation (virtual or otherwise) can be stressful. Feeling nervous or anxious before you present is completely normal and is actually a good thing because it means you care. Embrace those butterflies and turn them into fuel to deliver the best presentation possible. Make sure that you’re well prepared and know your information and the technology inside out.

It’s also important to exert some of your energy beforehand, whether that’s in the form of a walk or light exercise, and to meditate to help bring yourself into the present moment. Before your virtual presentation, mingle and get to know your audience. This will help calm your nerves and get a feel for who your audience is, which will ultimately help you deliver a better presentation. You should also engage with them during your presentation to take some of the pressure off of yourself and make your information more memorable.

Remember to take deep breaths to help get more oxygen to your brain, and to remind yourself to slow down and pause. These are both great tools that will add to the effectiveness of your presentation. Finally, embrace imperfection and be yourself! If you make a mistake, keep going. Understand that your audience is rooting for you and wants you to succeed.

If you combine all of these tools and strategies before your next virtual presentation, you’ll be well on your way to feeling calm and confident in your delivery.

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