Leadership Presence Tip: Turn Anxiety Into Excitement

One concrete example of how to use the positivity training to manage stage fright: When you feel anxious, think of it as excitement. Here’s how it works for me: Before a presentation, I feel tension in my stomach. I understand now that it’s just a physical thing–I can then decide how I want to label that feeling-I have a choice here of calling it anxiety or excitement. When I tell myself I’m excited, it reminds me to connect to the audience with the energy I’m generating, rather than repressing it. I also remember to keep breathing rather than hold my breath. I’ve tested this strategy during high stakes presentations in front of large audiences– it’s working. What is your relationship with pre-presenting jitters? How can you focus that energy into leadership presence?