Cope With Never
How often have you listened to or watched a speaker who really messed up? Chances are, the answer is "not very often."
When we have to speak in front of others, we can envision terrible things happening. We imagine forgetting every point we want to make, passing out from our nervousness, or doing so horribly that we'll lose our job. But those things almost never come to pass! We build them up in our minds and end up more nervous than we need to be.
Many people cite speaking to an audience as their biggest fear, and a fear of failure is often at the root of this. Public speaking can lead your “fight or fight” response to kick in: adrenaline courses through your bloodstream, your heart rate increases, you sweat, and your breath becomes fest and shallow.
Although these symptoms can be annoying or even debilitating, the Inverted-U Model shows that a certain amount of pressure enhances performance. By changing your mindset, you can use nervous energy to your advantage.