Simon Hall, course lead for Compelling Communication Skills, a 6-week online course from the University of Cambridge, provides his top tips for calming the nerves when you’re presenting:

When I teach public speaking and presentations, one question comes up time and again:

How do I deal with nerves?

Some people get so badly affected they can hardly speak, others manage to cover up the tremors inside, but still struggle. So, to help, here are my five top tips to nail the nerves in public speaking and presentations.

Because I am a tease, I’ll reveal them in reverse order, with the golden secret, hot hint number one last.

Five top tips to nail the nerves for public speaking

5. Don’t just be punctual, be early

The last thing you need when you’re presenting is to be rushed, or fear you’re in danger of being late.

Always arrive early, to make sure you’re as calm as you can possibly be, given the moment.

If it’s a really big presentation, and it’s a long way from your home or office, consider staying the night before somewhere nearby. It’s worth the investment in terms of the reward for making you more likely to perform well.

4. Get to know the venue

This is another big advantage of arriving with lots of time to spare. Because an added way to deal with nerves is to be clear what you’re getting into. If you’ve seen the room, lecture theatre, or arena where you’ll be performing in advance, you’re likely to feel more comfortable.

When I’m working with a company that is pitching for millions of pounds of investment, I normally insist on arriving at least a couple of hours early. That way we can work out where is best for the speaker to stand to be seen by everyone and to dominate the space.

They can start to imagine themselves presenting, and that familiarity really helps. We can also test the IT equipment, to make sure the presentation plays perfectly.

All this acts as a great reassurance, and helps to soothe the nerves.

3. Get some air before you perform

Most people find the nerves get worse and worse the nearer you are to your big moment.

This might sound counterintuitive, but getting out of the venue for a few minutes before you’re due to begin can really help. Best of all is to find some outside space, look up at the sky, breathe deeply, and get some air into your body.

Then return just a few minutes before you’re on, and you should find you feel more comfortable and ready to perform at your peak.

2. Slow down

The tips we’ve discussed so far are all for the run-up to your presentation. But this one is critical for when you are actually speaking.

Nerves tend to make us speed up, to get this scary moment over and done with ASAP, if not sooner.

Don’t let them.

Slow down your usual speaking speed by about 10 or 15%. This will help deepen your breathing and get more air into your body, which eases nerves.

It also makes your voice projection more effective and your style more authoritative. You might think you’re going strangely slowly, but your audience won’t.

Don’t believe me?

When you practice your talk beforehand, prop your phone or tablet up in a corner and record yourself going a little slower than normal. It won’t take you long to see the difference this trick can make.

And that brings us nicely onto the golden secret of controlling nerves and making your presentation a success…

1. Preparation and practice

There are so many sayings to support this. For example:

It’s not what you wish for, it’s what you work for.

Or my favourite…

The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.

All of which goes to show there is simply no substitute for preparation and practice. The bigger the talk, the more you should prepare and rehearse.

If I’m giving an important talk, I’ll start preparing weeks in advance, and leave myself at least a month to practice. It may sound extreme, but it’s the most powerful way of maximising your chances of success…

And it sure helps ease the nerves to know you are super well prepared when you step onto that stage.

Find out more about Simon’s course here.