We’ve all had that feeling of nervous anticipation before a big challenge in our working lives – a crucial client presentation, a difficult negotiation, or even just too much to do in too short a time in the week ahead.
It’s the same in sport before a big match, and as all football coaches will tell you, it can be a good thing because it “gets the adrenalin running” and makes you play better. It can in sport and business also so cripple a player or participant with worry that they don’t sleep the night before and never turn up for the big event.
The crucial thing is not that nerves happen, because they do and to the experienced and accomplished as well as to the novice. Mark Twain once said: “There are only two types of speakers in the world: the nervous and liars”. And nervous stress can be quite damaging to our ability to function effectively. See this an article on how anxiety can adversely affect a negotiation.
What matters is how we manage and approach the inevitable stress we all experience in our working professional worlds day in day out. We all have the ability to take some conscious steps to manage difficult situations, and to turn nerves to our advantage. "The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another." - William James, American philosopher and psychologist.
Here’s a good article from the Harvard Business Review about how to “Conquer Your Nerves Before Your Presentation” which focuses on thorough preparation. I’ve found rehearsing a presentation at least three times however well you know the subject makes the actual event go so much better and helps nurture a calm attitude.
I also think it really helps to rise above the anxiety and to realise that all of these work and sporting events are there to be experienced and actually enjoyed – not worried about. The greater the challenge the greater to opportunity. The great tennis players seem to be able to rise above their nerves and to really enjoy the big occasions such as the finals of grand slams and actually to look forward to them. John McEnroe once commented on Roger Federer’s ‘joie de vivre’, saying that he’s ‘never seen someone love playing as much as Roger’.
It also really helps to get stuck in and get on with the pressure situation, recognising all of the nerves and stress and working through them in practice, rather than worrying. The American business man Lee Iacocca commented: "In times of great stress or adversity, it's always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive."
It’s the same in sport before a big match, and as all football coaches will tell you, it can be a good thing because it “gets the adrenalin running” and makes you play better. It can in sport and business also so cripple a player or participant with worry that they don’t sleep the night before and never turn up for the big event.
The crucial thing is not that nerves happen, because they do and to the experienced and accomplished as well as to the novice. Mark Twain once said: “There are only two types of speakers in the world: the nervous and liars”. And nervous stress can be quite damaging to our ability to function effectively. See this an article on how anxiety can adversely affect a negotiation.
What matters is how we manage and approach the inevitable stress we all experience in our working professional worlds day in day out. We all have the ability to take some conscious steps to manage difficult situations, and to turn nerves to our advantage. "The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another." - William James, American philosopher and psychologist.
Here’s a good article from the Harvard Business Review about how to “Conquer Your Nerves Before Your Presentation” which focuses on thorough preparation. I’ve found rehearsing a presentation at least three times however well you know the subject makes the actual event go so much better and helps nurture a calm attitude.
I also think it really helps to rise above the anxiety and to realise that all of these work and sporting events are there to be experienced and actually enjoyed – not worried about. The greater the challenge the greater to opportunity. The great tennis players seem to be able to rise above their nerves and to really enjoy the big occasions such as the finals of grand slams and actually to look forward to them. John McEnroe once commented on Roger Federer’s ‘joie de vivre’, saying that he’s ‘never seen someone love playing as much as Roger’.
It also really helps to get stuck in and get on with the pressure situation, recognising all of the nerves and stress and working through them in practice, rather than worrying. The American business man Lee Iacocca commented: "In times of great stress or adversity, it's always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive."
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