Anyone who thinks that giving an effective briefing is easy has either been giving the same tired talk for a very long time or is lacking in emotional intelligence.

In 1999, the National Communication Association commissioned Roper to survey how well Americans believe we communicate. Only 24% of the respondents report feeling "very comfortable" giving a speech or other formal presentation. (See http://www.natcom.org)

Those respondents who report feeling very comfortable about giving a formal presentation probably remember three important ideas:
1. The audience doesn't know that you are nervous;
2. You have the knowledge that your audience needs; and
3. It's much easier to talk about your area of expertise than it is to give a talk on something that is unfamiliar (like a toast, an acceptance speech, or an impromptu talk).

Physiological Reactions
Many speakers find it useful to understand the physiological reactions to communciation nervousness. Your body responds to stressful events (e.g., speeches, interviews, first dates, arguments with your spouse) in the same way it responds to physical danger. Your body springs into action preparing you for fight or for flight.

More specifically, the hypothalamus flashes signals through the nervous and endocrine systems of your body to produce a surge of chemicals into your bloodstream. Over the short term, this can be exhilarating; over the long term (i.e., if you give several talks daily), it can be exhausting.

Psychological Reactions
If you believe that you must be a perfect speaker, then you will fail. If you watch yourself on video, you will notice that you look more composed than you feel. This is heartening!

Don't try to be perfect; rather, try to have a good conversation with your audience so that they will benefit from your talk.

Don't act. Be yourself and demonstrate to your audience that you care about their needs more than you do your own level of comfort.

There are three ways to deal with nervousness
- Expect it
- Accept it
- Manage it

There are two types of stress:- - Eustress is positive
- Distress is debilitating

Just before your talk:

- Breathe deeply (think yoga)
- Remember that you are an expert, not a victim
- Keep in mind that your audience wants you to succeed
- Remember that you will not die
- Work off excess energy with isometrics