0910 – How The Audience Reacts To Your Nerves

2023.06.29 – 0910 – How The Audience Reacts To Your Nerves

How does the audience react to your nerves?

Nerves not only affect you; they also affect your listeners. They want to feel taken care of, that they are in safe hands. They’ll feel comfortable, if they think you are.

If you sound nervous, they may:

·        Question your competence – “why is she nervous if she’s supposed to know what she’s talking about?”

·        Feel sympathy – “that poor woman, this must be so awful for them…”

And you don’t want people to wonder about your credibility or to worry about you (yours should be the trusted voice of information or entertainment). Nervousness in a speaker will affect the benefit they will get from listening to you. 

I often use the analogy of the coach passenger who’s anxious if the driver uses the wrong gear, clips the curb and doesn’t know the route. They’ll want to get off! In the same way, listening to a radio or podcast presenter who can’t operate the studio gear, clips the start of songs or doesn’t know the way through an anecdote will want them to turn off!

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