So you’ve just finished your big speech. You think you covered everything. You hope you did a great job. You think you’ve done a great job. People start coming up to you and telling you, “You did a great job!”
Finally, you relax. You really did a great job! And to think you were so nervous. Now you can relax…the tension has been relieved.
In fact, when the conference organizer comes up to compliment you after you speak, you can’t resist confessing “I’m so glad that speech is over. I was a nervous wreck.
Stop! This is a big mistake. You’ve just spoiled your whole image as a successful, poised professional.
In theory, everyone loves a candid, non-pretentious individual. But as human beings, we can’t help but be shaped by the last thing we hear from someone. And if the last thing we hear from someone is that they are scared and wallowing in self-doubt, then that is what we remember about that person.
Best practice advice: act as though you thoroughly anticipated that your speech would be successful. Act poised and confident at all times. This is not the same as acting smug or arrogant. Then, when you leave the conference or place of business and arrive home, you may confide to your best friends and loved ones that you were a nervous wreck.
It is critical that you keep your game face on until you have long left the arena.
