I am an enthusiastic hand talker. In fact, some days, my fitness tracker shows that I’ve taken way more steps than ever possible, because it registers my arm waving as steps taken (wouldn’t that be nice?). As a hand talker in everyday life, it naturally translates into my presenting, but in the presenting realm, hand talking can easily come across as a nervous tick that distracts the audience.
Every presenter has a nervous tick — a safety mechanism to fall back on when the stage starts to feel uncomfortable. I once knew a presenter who would play with his wedding band every time he was nervous or uncomfortable on stage. Another presenter would shrug his shoulders at the slightest bit of uneasiness. No matter how hard they tried to stay focused and seemingly put together, these small tells let the audience know they were feeling the pressure.
So, how do you identify your nervous tick and eventually overcome it to ensure that every audience you stand in front of will see just how strong and confident you are on stage?
The first step: identify your nervous tick as you become self-aware in your everyday life. Chances are, how you respond when you are in situations that make you nervous in real life is very similar to how you’ll respond when presenting. Take note of what your hands do when you become uncomfortable; look at what your posture or body does; focus on how you speak. Identify your top three initial nervous responses, and make a note of them.
The second step: allow a trusted adviser to observe you while you are presenting. Share with this adviser the three responses you have already identified, and ask them to be on the lookout for any semblance of those responses. Ask them to keep a scorecard, marking down each time you show signs of a nervous tick. It’s important to ask this adviser to focus solely on those nervous ticks; sometimes they are slight, and if they are focused on other parts of the presentation, they can easily be missed.
The final step: add up your scorecard and compare all of your notes. Look at which of the behaviors you identified are most prominent in your life, and narrow down which one appears to be the most evident when you become uncomfortable while giving a presentation. By narrowing your focus, you will set yourself up much more effectively to overcome the nervous tick since you’ll be aware of what to look for.
Nervous ticks can quickly become distracting for your audience and make it difficult for them to follow your presentation. If you are not aware that they exist or how they present themselves, you run the risk of detracting from the overall message of your presentation as well as looking sloppy and unprepared. But don’t worry, you can tackle your nervous ticks as you become more self-aware and observant. Conquer your nervous tells, and take your presentation skills to another level entirely.
Tune in tomorrow as we look at some key steps to overcoming nervous ticks.
Sometimes overcoming nervous ticks and elevating our presentation skills takes a mentor’s help. Check out the Presentation Mentor online course to get an in-depth training session from our very own presentation expert, Scott Schwertly.
