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To manage my nerves, there are 5 techniques I regularly employ:

• Don’t Be Arrogant - I gave a speech once without practicing. Why? I had given the exact speech with the same slides one month before. I was sure that I remembered everything; I didn’t. The audience loved the presentation. It lead to more paid presentations. I wanted to tell the audience, “If you liked that, you’ll love it when I prepare!” Even if you gave the same speech yesterday to the same audience, don’t be arrogant. Practice. That leads to my next point…

• Practice -  When you practice, you feel more confident. Confidence relaxes you. I suggest that people practice 3 times. If you practice too much, you’ll start to get nervous. You don’t want to memorize every word. Practicing once or twice is just review. Practice so you know the material and can “free style” and just have a conversation. Audience questions won’t throw you off, and you won’t have to stare at the slides.

• Audience -  When you know the audience, you get less nervous. Are they small business owners or 3rd graders? If you are speaking to family and friends, you aren’t nervous because you know them. You know how they will react. You know what they expect. You know how to speak to them so they will understand and remember what you said. Knowing the audience limits surprises.

• Be Prepared! - It’s not just the Boy Scout motto, it’s also good public speaking advice. My computer has locked up during the presentation. The Wifi stopped working. My remote control didn’t control. Just keep going. Be prepared so when (not if) bad things happen, you keep speaking. I saw Dr. Randal Pinkett (Rhodes Scholar and winner of The Apprentice) speaking at a conference when all the lights went out. He cracked a joke about the Superbowl and kept talking. The epitome of preparation!

• Breathe –  Relax and take a deep breath before every speech or presentation. Deep breaths help slow the heart beat and regulate blood flow to the brain. When you practice breathing, it helps your body remember to breathe during the presentation. If you breathe during the speech, you’ll slow down and enunciate your words (hint: the audience likes that). If breathing works for elite athletes, it can work for you.

Remember, if you are nervous, that’s normal. It means you’re human, and there is no pressure to be a super hero. Transform your nervousness into the skills necessary for a great presentation.

Scientifically Speaking, of course.

Next Week: What To Do When You Get Nervous

The first time I got a website I was so excited! I felt like I was finally a legitimate business. I immediately told friends and family that I had arrived. My father never had a website! I had paid $1000 (pretty cheap), someone typed some code and there it was. I listed my website on my business cards, brochures and every flyer I printed.

That was 7 years ago – a lifetime in technology years.

I occasionally go to my website, but these days I direct customers to my blog, Fan Page and LinkedIn profile more often. Who will win? The old faithful website or the new kid social media?

• It’s Alive! - Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are dynamic entities. They change every day. Your Fans post things on your wall (if they have Liked you). You interact with customers in real time and conversations are generated online. By their nature, webpages are static. The code is typed and their it stays.  Some customers will appreciate this because they are comfortable it. What happens when prices change? A new product is released? How do your clients communicate with you in real time with technical support issues? Your website wasn’t built for that. Social media was.

Advantage: Social Media

• Control - It is increasingly becoming more evident that our data on Facebook is owned by Facebook – not us. When I paid $1000 for my site, I knew it was mine. Everything I put on my pages is mine. I can change the layout of my pages to my satisfaction. My branding is uniquely displayed on my website. There are no ads on my website. I control every aspect of it. The price of free social media pages is not free. Pinterest and other sites give guidelines from which all users must operate. There is a trade off businesses make to use social media: control.

             Advantage: Website