Webinar nerves are a good thing. I am serious. I am confident that by the end of this article you will agree with me.

Public speaking of any type is a huge fear for many people. Massive. Scary. Fear. I get that. I have been training people in how to improve their presentation skills for the past 12 years. In this role I have seen first hand many times how difficult and debilitating it can be for people to overcome this fear. I have helped hundreds of people conquer this fear and I cannot remember one person whom I was unable to help rise above it. I have seen very scared people produce perfect presentations. Watching their transformation is exciting and inspiring.

Nerves are not the enemy. Fear however is a potential problem. Fear stops us from doing things that might or might not hurt us. It sometimes stops us from doing things that would be enjoyable for us. This reminds me of Mammoth Falls. My wife and I recently took our 6 year old son to Wet ‘n’ Wild.  Their website describes it perfectly:

Wind around the raging rapids in mammoth four-person tubes on this 250 metre long slide.

I was a bit nervous and our son looked very nervous as he climbed the stairs. He requested some reassurance and after a few encouraging words he stepped into the tube with his parents and off we went. It was out of his comfort zone, but he loved it. We all loved it.

If the idea of presenting webinars is beyond your comfort zone then be careful that you decide not to climb the stairs and cause yourself to miss out on the fun. Being nervous is totally fine, and in fact it is a good thing for five reasons, as described in the video below and the following notes.

5 Reasons why Webinar Nerves are a Good Thing – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhsdyNs2Nhk

1. It shows you care

We only get nervous when we care about something. For this reason, I actually get nervous when I am not nervous. Huh? Let me put it another way – If I am not nervous about giving a presentation, either face-to-face or during a webinar, then for me it is a signal that I don’t care about the outcome. Maybe I am tired, a bit burnt out or distracted by other life problems. Either way, if I don’t care about the outcome and I don’t get nervous then I know I am not going to be at my best. I won’t give the extra attention required to do my very best. I am probably going to just “go through the motions” and that isn’t consistent with my commitment to helping people as best I can.

I want to care and as a result I welcome the nerves. Yes, seriously.

2. No-one will notice

When we are fearful about something we tend to presume the worst-case scenario. This is an evil trick that our brains play on us. If you are nervous it is human nature to perhaps presume that (1) everyone will notice and (2) everyone will care and (3) everyone will think bad thoughts about you. Normally, none of this is true.

I know it to be true that if you are nervous it is unlikely that others will notice. I say this because most presenters confide in me that they are very nervous, especially at the start of a presentation. However, when I ask others if they saw any signs of nervousness they almost always say no. In fact, the common reaction is for the attendees to express surprise to hear that the presenter was nervous. I see no difference in this between face-to-face classroom facilitators and webinar presenters.

I can prove this to you. Have you ever watched a Ted Talk? They present “Ideas worth spreading” through curating and showcasing short live presentations in front of substantial audiences. They are consistently very high quality and can be very addictive. After you watch Ted Talks have you ever sat there and thought “That was no good. The presenter was very nervous and it distracted me totally from enjoying their presentation”. If you ever think that please email me. I don’t expect to ever receive an email of that nature. However, I can assure you that almost every TED Talk presenter will be going out of their mind with nervousness about presenting what is potentially their most important presentation of their lives, and they know it.

Whether you are a world class speaker giving a TED talk or a relatively novice presenter learning your trade in one of my classes I can confidently assure you that no-one will notice your nerves.

3. No-one will judge you

Only rarely, but sometimes, people might notice that you are nervous. This is where your fears of being nervous should dissipate. This is because something really interesting happens when people notice that you are nervous presenting to them. Several words express people’s reaction.

Empathy. Compassion. Understanding. When you are presenting a topic to people and they notice you are nervous it evokes strong positive (not negative) reactions. If you are so nervous about presenting to them that you get nervous, then they know that you care and they will desperately want to support you. They will not judge you, hate you, think bad thoughts of you. Instead, you will win them over to you. Seriously. This is a bit weird, but true.

4. Nerves make you better

Being nerves is your body’s physical reaction to preparing itself for peak performance. Seriously. Yes.

Being nerves is your body’s physical reaction to preparing itself for peak performance. Yes, I just repeated the same sentence. I did that because it perfectly sums up the science. I am not a scientist. I figure you don’t care about the details, but if you do, google it.

Put simply, being nervous makes you better. That is why your body reacts with nervousness when you are preparing to give a Wedding speech and doesn’t do anything when you are telling your friends about the Netflix episode you watched last night.

5. Everybody gets nervous

Being nervous is not a challenge that is unique to you. Please be reassured that when it comes to presenting online there will be thousands of nervous people in the same situation as you today. From Bangladesh to the Bahamas, today there will be nervous webinar presenters switching on their audio and squirming around in their seats so they are sitting directly in front of their webcam.

Please be reassured that I get nervous and so do most (if not all) of the best webinar presenters. It is OK. It is natural. In fact, it IS a good thing to celebrate.

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• What are Webinars?
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• What are the Pros and Cons of the Webinar Platforms?
• Select the Best Platform for YOU
• Where is the Software?

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What do you think about webinar nerves?

Have I convinced you that being nervous about presenting a webinar is a good thing? Please click here to tell me and share your thoughts in the YouTube video comments.