Cool as a cucumber or sweaty like a racehorse?

In his book "The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking" Dale Carnegie (author and guru of the enormous self-improvement empire that bears his name, including the classic book "How to Win Friends and Influence People") says,

"Many professional speakers have assured me that they never completely lose all stage fright. It is almost always present just before they speak, and it may persist through the first few sentences of their talk. This is the price these men and women pay for being like race horses and not like draft horses. Speakers who say they're 'cool as a cucumber' at all times are usually as thick-skinned as a cucumber and about as inspiring as a cucumber."

Someone in a forum asked me this yesterday, "Do you ever really get over nerves if you speak regularly, or is it something many deal with on an ongoing basis?" Here is what I wrote in response (thanks to Mikki for the updated research material):

There are differing opinions regarding nervousness. I belong to the school that believes a small amount of nervousness is normal, and even beneficial to a speaker, the way athletes use adrenaline to propel them to run faster or jump higher. I think a little bit of nervousness keeps me on my toes, keeps me sharp and edgy.

I am always nervous before a presentation. It's not because I think I'm going to do a bad job, and it's not debilitating nervousness that makes me want to run and hide. It's less anxiety and more excitement, and a little "fear of the unknown," I guess. Once I start meeting people (I always greet people as they arrive; it helps me feel connected), I start to relax, and once I start speaking, I'm not nervous at all any more.

I think of it like riding a roller coaster. Logically, we know roller coasters are safe and we're not going to get hurt. But there's this fear mixed with excitement that people just love. For me, speaking is like that excitement of riding a roller coaster.

There have been various studies, by the way, about athletes and how they perceive performance anxiety. Elite athletes are more inclined to consider this anxiety facilitative, while non-elite athletes consider it debilitative. I find this fascinating because elite and non-elite athletes both go through the same rush of adrenaline and performance anxiety. But it's the elite athletes who take the anxiety and use it to improve their performance.

Individuals who see their anxiety as facilitative are also more likely to use coping strategies (like the ones I share with my clients - relaxation, visualization, etc.). I find the research on athletes and performance anxiety to be really applicable to speakers and performers.

The key here is in reducing the anxiety so it's manageable, either by performing physical exercises like progressive relaxation and deep breathing, or mental exercises like visualization, focus, and goal-setting - or both.

There are some people who will tell you that you can completely eradicate performance anxiety, and that may be true, but I don't think it's necessary, or even desirable.

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