For many, the idea of speaking in public is daunting. While a little nervous energy is healthy, excessive public speaking anxiety can be crippling. Being charismatic and engaging doesn’t necessarily come naturally, even to successful business people and world leaders. Whether it’s a keynote speech for hundreds of people or a simple team meeting, it takes a lot of effort to be a great speaker, starting with controlling your nerves.

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Learn how to manage your nerves and boost your confidence so you can confidently conquer public speaking.

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1. Get into the Zone

Focusing mentally before a public speaking event will allow you to give your best quality output. Make sure you’re comfortable with the venue by arriving a little early to get a feel for the set up. If possible, do a brief run through with the microphone. Whether it’s a small breakaway room or even the parking lot, find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed and take a moment to focus. Different people need different things, so you’ll need to learn what works best for you.

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2. Warm Up

Public speaking can feel like a workout. Get yourself physically ready by doing some vocal exercises, which will help you project your voice and come across more confident in your delivery. Now, strike a power pose. Amy Cuddy, a body language researcher at Harvard Business School, suggests power posing to ease nerves before a presentation or public speaking engagement. According to Cuddy’s research, simply putting your hands on your hips or striking the CEO or Superman pose for two minutes will reduce your levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. This will give you a boost and make you look and feel powerful.

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3. Work on Your Body Language

Public speaking isn’t just about what you’re saying, it’s also about how you’re saying it. The way you convey yourself—your body language, your facial expressions, and even your gestures—can affect the impact of your delivery. It’s important to be mindful of these nonverbal cues. Simple things like keeping your posture upright and expanding your chest helps. Smiling and making eye contact will put your audience at ease even if you’re speaking about a more serious topic.

You can read more body language dos and don’ts in our blog, 8 Common Professional Body Language Mistakes to Avoid.

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4. Memorize Your Content

Memorizing the sequence of your slides or your note cards—whatever you’re using to prepare or presenting visually—will help you to feel in control and allow you to anticipate which slide comes next, making you look more professional. Start by memorizing key points and you’ll slowly begin to weave a story line. It will also reduce the likelihood of you getting off track should you feel overcome with your public speaking anxiety.

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5. Tell a Story

The more data-driven your content, the harder it is to keep your audience engaged. Telling a story with your content is a good way to connect with your audience. It will help them understand where the concept comes from and what it means. The key is making sure you have a thread that links the different ideas and concepts throughout your presentation.

Structure your material so you start and end strong. Don’t waste time with a longwinded introduction, especially if you have a time limit. You may even consider starting with a personal anecdote or provocative question—something that will make the audience feel they can relate to and connect with you.

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6. Rehearse

The best way to boost your confidence is to rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. This will also help you memorize the material. Ideally, rehearse in front of someone. If that’s not possible, you can use a mirror. Always time yourself while rehearsing to ensure you don’t exceed the time you’ve been allocated. If your presentation includes a question-and-answer session, you can prepare some model questions and answers ahead of time to help ease your public speaking anxiety.

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7. Pace Yourself

Be mindful not to lose your audience. There’s a fine line between speaking too fast and too slow. Speaking too fast can make you come across as nervous. You can manage the pace of your public speaking by including pauses before or after key statements. This will make them stand out and have the added benefit of giving you a breather.

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8. Stay Hydrated

Drinking warm drinks before your engagement will soothe your throat. Nerves can make your mouth go dry, so keep a bottle of water nearby to keep hydrated.

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Like most things in life, practice makes perfect when it comes to combating public speaking anxiety. The best way to build your confidence is to take up every opportunity you can to speak, no matter how small the audience. The more experience you have, the more confident you’ll be and the better you’ll become at managing your nerves.

We reward Olympic athletes with gold medals for setting records. We value the person who is able to compete and win on their own terms. But athletes don’t win races on their own: these exceptional people train every day and work with coaches who teach them how to perform under pressure.

Think of yourself as an athlete in your own life. When you’re entering a time of increased pressure you need to continue to train. You also need to share what’s going on with your team at work and your family and friends.

As we take on more assignments we begin to feel pressure, and that pressure brings on stress that’s bad for your health, destructive to your productivity, and complicates your personal life. Here are some strategies for handling pressure at work and at home from Cydcor. Experiment with these tips, and over time, you will develop your ability to achieve success under pressure.

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Be a Good Communicator

Alert your supervisor when you’re entering a stressful time. If you decide that you’ll have a problem completing your assignments you must inform your supervisor. If you’re unsure about getting something done you need to be responsible and professional enough to ask for help. Be proactive and raise a red flag when you see trouble on the horizon—not when your ship has started to sink.

Control Your Emotions

Problems will arise and pressure will grow depending on time, resources, and the difficulty of the assignment. We often react emotionally when we start to experience pressure at work. Some of us perceive pressure as a challenge while others might experience it as a threat. While emotions make it hard to think clearly and limit your ability to solve problems, know that it’s okay to feel the emotions. Transform them into the energy required to complete the task.

Make a Plan

Climbing a mountain seems impossible, but taking one-step forward is a much more manageable goal. Get the pressure you’re feeling out of your head and onto paper. Break it down into smaller tasks. Be specific. Assign a time frame for each of the steps. If possible, delegate tasks. Make notes about the process once the task is complete so you’ll have an even better plan the next time a similar situation occurs.

Cultivate Bravery

Sometimes, pressure appears seemingly out of nowhere. When something goes wrong you need to be brave. It’s time to change your thinking. Instead of choosing panic, recognize the problem and then tell yourself, “Well, that’s inconvenient, so it’s a good thing I have my notes and I’ve practiced for this situation.” Bravery comes from practice and experience. Imagine what could go wrong and develop some possible responses. Write them down. Visualize yourself completing the tasks in a calm and relaxed manner.

Take Care of Yourself

During times of high pressure it’s easy to get distracted and forget to take care of yourself. It’s at these times that you need to be most aware of your health. Avoid fast foods or unhealthy comfort foods. Eat a balanced diet, drink lots of water, schedule short breaks during the day, get plenty of sleep, and try to get some type of exercise everyday. It relieves stress, lowers your blood pressure, and improves your mood.

Check out other blogs full of business advice from Cydcor, including Building and Maintaining Customer Relationships.