Farhat Umar
Speaker's Craft1 min readShort read

Nervousness is energy waiting for a direction

The same energy that makes your hands shake can make your talk come alive. It just needs somewhere to go.

When people tell me they are nervous about speaking, I say: good.

Nervousness is energy. It is your body preparing you for something important. Speakers who feel nothing often sound flat. The ones who feel a little nervous have fire available to them.

The problem is not the energy. It is that it has nowhere to go, so it leaks out as shaking hands, fast speech and fidgeting.

Give it a direction. Move with purpose instead of pacing. Gesture fully instead of twitching. Put the energy into your voice and your eye contact. Channelled, nervousness becomes presence.

Share this
Found this useful? Pass it on.

The Sunday Bloom

Every new post, by email.

One idea on noticing, mindset and presence, every Sunday. Plus first word on Compass, Speaker's Craft cohorts and new books.