I still get nervous before speaking. Every time. Without fail.
I have been speaking publicly around the world for about 15 years now and I thought I’d be over my nervousness at this point in the game, but it still shows up like clockwork. I regularly get an upset stomach before speaking and literally have to run to the bathroom to do #3 minutes before game-time. (Don’t tell me that’s TMI - I just want you to understand that this is real for me too.)
Whether I am speaking before a group of death row inmates, crazy kindergartners, or before the people I serve on Sunday morning, I get the jitters…until I start speaking. Once I start, my cold feet warm up and I do what I do. I have a few secrets that I want to share with you and I hope they help you deal with any nervousness you may experience before you get up to speak!
1. I ask God for help. I’m not sure if you’re on speaking terms with the God of the Universe, but I am crazy enough to believe that God cares about our concerns and helps us in our times of need. I need God in a major way when I am speaking so before I get up to speak (and while I am speaking) I ask God to guide me, speak through me, and strengthen me.
2. I remember that I am prepared. Unless I get asked to speak at the last minute (then I really do what I say above and below), I remind myself that I have prepared myself for this moment in this place at this time better than anyone else in the world. Preparation for public speaking is like weight-training and sparring for a UFC fighter…you can go to the fight without it, but will probably regret it afterward. In the moments before I get up to speak I remind myself that I have prepared for this moment and it calms me down. Obviously telling yourself that you have prepared if you have not really prepared won’t work :-)
3. I commit to only speak in my own voice. I’m a terrible actor. I suck at role-playing. I forget lines and cues. However, nobody can beat me at being me and nobody can beat you at being you. Public speaking is hard enough as it is without having to keep up some type of act like I’m somebody that I’m not. As I get up to speak before a crowd of 50 or 5,000, I commit to speaking in my own voice, with my own style, and my own strengths. After all, this is what I do everyday all day. As I remind myself that I am not up for a show or an act, but that I am only there to speak as myself, it calms me down and may do the same thing for you.
4. I have no backup plan. This may sound a bit counter-intuitive, but I find that having or even thinking about backup plans or cop-outs or escape routes or excuses only causes me to focus on how to avoid my responsibilities as a public speaker. While this puts a bit of healthy pressure on me to be ready to rock, eliminating the option of not speaking causes me to just focus on the matter at hand and remind myself that I am the person needed to speak at this point in time.
5. I GET to Speak. Public speaking is not a burden or a chore, it’s an opportunity that we GET to do! How awesome is it to be able to just stand before a group of people and share what you have prepared with the hope and expectation that it will help them in some real way?! In the moments before I get up to the microphone, I remind myself of how big of a blessing it is to GET to speak and never think of it as what I HAVE to do. Maybe it is what I HAVE to do at that moment, but truthfully, God didn’t HAVE to give me (or you) the opportunity. We get to do what we do because of doors that have been opened up for us. Public speaking is an amazing privilege and thinking of it as such puts a smile on my face before it’s time to speak.
{ 12 comments }
I love point #3 because it's such a good pressure-release valve, especially for young preachers who are trying to find 'their voice'.
And that would be another good blog post for you man – tips to help finding your preaching/public speaking 'voice'!
Thanks for sharing!
Hey man thanks for the tips.
It's easy to get tugged by #3 to 'impersonate' the preachers you respect…One Driscoll is enough…just sayin.
Dr. Roy Hicks used to say, … preach from your overflow. In another words. Get filled. Filled with God, filled with the message of God.
He used to say, "Study til you're full, pray til you're hot, preach til you're empty!"
After 20 years of speaking, preaching, teaching I still get BIG time nervous too! I was told by a 92 year old pastor this. "Son, if you quit gettn nervous…… quit." I really believe that we NEED to be that way Shaun. One of the ways i deal with it is just before i will drink a cold ginger ale in a cold dark room with some soft music in the back ground. Thanks for all you are doing in obedience in Atlanta!
I remind myself that God wants his message to be heard much more than I do. Ultimately my stake in sharing the Gospel is much smaller than God's.
I remind myself that God's pulling the strings and he has much more to gain/lose than I do.
#3 is big for me man!
You're welcome Stephen. Are you a pastor?
Haha! I love those sayings. Tell me a little bit more about Dr. Hicks.
One thing I NEVER do before speaking is eat. I just can't. I might try some ginger ale too.
Great thoughts Adam!
Good list! If you had asked me before I read your list I would have said I prepare well and pray a lot. But after reading your list I realize I never have a back up plan, I speak in my own voice (although I have performed some monologues as illustrations) and I have always been grateful for the opportunity to speak because I love it. I am not a professional speaker but through my church and some women's ministries I have had the opportunity to do a lot of public speaking and it is one of my favorite things to do. I don't get real nervous in most situations but there have been a few and I always notice that I am oblivious to my nervousness once I start speaking. I do notice that in the few situations when I am nervous that after I am finished it almost feels like I wasn't present when I was speaking – like I couldn't hear myself – what's up with that? Maybe something to do with adrenaline?
no man, my dad is, but I enjoy speaking. maybe someday.