Dealing with nerves
Is it ever a good idea to have ‘just the one, to steady my nerves…’?
You may think you’re more fluent, confident, relaxed and amusing after a drink.
But this is you making a judgement – while your judgement is impaired.
So why do people want to drink before speaking, and what effect does alcohol have on the speaker – and their audience?
The only reason people really want a drink before standing up in front of an audience is to deal with the fear. But any performer needs to have that frisson, that ‘sense of occasion,’ the feeling that they are about to leap off the edge of a cliff. Kill that energy with alcohol and it will never have the chance to power your performance.
Alcohol relaxes muscles, yes, and being able to relax in a controlled way is important for the public speaker. But it’s control over the complex muscles that govern your breathing, speaking, diction, gestures and so on that you’ll start to lose as soon as you let some of that control out of your hands and over to alcohol. And with it will go that all-important sharp thinking and focussed concentration that the public speaker needs.
If you lose control of these to any degree you will lose control over the presentation, to the detriment of both your image and your message.
So if you want a drink, have it as a reward after you’ve given a sharp, clear-headed and clearly-delivered speech. The guests may be too drunk to notice, but you will perform better for it.
And of course any video of the event will be a permanent record of you doing well.
Speaking Well in Public offers a portfolio of public speaking courses at all levels, which address how best to deal with nerves.