People love to tell me that they are good public speakers, and maybe they are. But often the only evidence they give is this: “I don’t get nervous!”
One of the great misunderstandings about public speaking is this: not being nervous doesn’t mean you are serving your audience well.
And this works in both directions. Most of the great speakers you’ve seen have been managing some level of nerves or anxiety, and often the folks who are congratulating themselves for being so confident didn’t spend enough time preparing. (The Venn diagram here of “I don’t get nervous” and “I do best when I wing it” has lots of overlap.)
When you’re talking to other people, it’s about them. Full stop. The level of nervousness of the speaker is relevant, but only if it affects the audience.
Reminder! I’m getting ready to do a post that answers reader questions. Send ’em to me!
