The Nervous and the Liars: John Zimmer's 10 Tips for Managing Presentation Nerves
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- 4 min read
Introduction: You're Supposed to Be Nervous
Mark Twain once said there are only two kinds of speakers: the nervous and the liars. In his Present to Succeed closing keynote, John Zimmer — international public speaking coach, former UN lawyer, and co-founder of Manner of Speaking — takes that as his starting point. Nerves aren't a sign that something is wrong with you. They're a sign that you're human. The question isn't how to eliminate them. It's how to use them.
Why We Get Nervous
Our brains have evolved over thousands of years to keep us safe in small, familiar groups. Standing alone in front of a large crowd — or a camera — is about as far from that as it gets. The fight-or-flight response kicks in because, from an evolutionary standpoint, being isolated and exposed is genuinely dangerous. Knowing that doesn't make the nerves disappear, but it does make them make sense.
A Basket of Tips For Nerves
Tip 1: There's nothing wrong with you.
The nerves are coming whether you like it or not. As Florian Mueck put it earlier in the day: a problem that cannot be solved is already solved. Once you accept that nerves are inevitable, you can stop fighting them and start working with them.
Tip 2: Reframe nerves as excitement.
The physical symptoms of nervousness — increased heart rate, trembling, butterflies, dry mouth — are identical to the physical symptoms of excitement. The only difference is the story you tell yourself. Studies published in the American Psychology Association Journal suggest that telling yourself "I'm excited" shifts your perspective toward what could go right, rather than what could go wrong. Try it.
Tip 3: The audience is on your side.
In almost every context outside of politics, your audience wants you to succeed — for your sake and for theirs. They've given you something they'll never get back: their time. Do the calculation: your speaking time multiplied by the number of people in the room. That's the real time at stake. Treat it with respect, and remember that the people in front of you are rooting for you.
Tip 4: After it's done, people move on.
We replay our mistakes like films on a loop. The audience has already forgotten and moved on to their next thought. This doesn't mean you shouldn't care — it means you shouldn't catastrophise.
Tip 5: Prepare.
John is a lawyer by training and spent 17 years in the UN and WHO systems. He knows what preparation looks like. His message: if you have genuinely prepared — thought about your audience, crafted a relevant message, structured your talk — you have done everything that can reasonably be asked of you. Trust that. The nerves will still be there, but you'll know your material better than you think.
Tip 6: Visualise.
Elite athletes visualise their performance before they compete. Skiers at the top of the run close their eyes and ski the course in their minds before they push off. John does the same — visiting the room in advance, walking the stage, and in the days before a talk, drifting off to sleep imagining himself on stage, comfortable and in flow. When he walked in today, it felt familiar. That familiarity is available to anyone.
Tip 7: Sleep.
Get half an hour more than usual the night before. That extra sleep will serve you better than any last-minute slide tweaking. And if you have a presentation in the evening, a morning workout works too — endorphins last 12 to 14 hours.
Tip 8: Warm up physically.
Before you go on, get the body moving. Wrist rotations, shoulder rolls, stretching, voice exercises. You're not warming up for a marathon — just enough to channel some of the adrenaline and give yourself the physical energy you'll want on stage.
Tip 9: Breathe.
Box breathing — inhale for four counts, hold for four, exhale for four, pause for four — is used by Navy SEALs before missions. It floods the body with oxygen and calms the mind simultaneously. If you're in a full panic, try the double inhale: breathe in fully, sniff in a little more at the top, then exhale slowly for 10 to 12 seconds. Even once can shift the feeling.
Tip 10: Arrive early — and say hello.
John calls this the airport approach: stop cutting it fine and start building in buffer. Arrive early, walk the room, meet the tech team, check the stage. And when the first audience members arrive, go and talk to them. You'll almost always discover the same thing: they're just people. People with hopes, fears, and pressures, just like you. That realisation, John says, is one of the most consistently comforting things he knows.
Bonus tip: Eat a banana.
Rich in B6, potassium, and magnesium — all of which support the nervous system and help with muscle relaxation. Have one about an hour before you go on. You'll thank yourself.
When Things Go Wrong
They will. Pause. Think. Have a sip of water. Check your notes if you need to — typed, large font, bullet points only, and please don't make a big deal of it. If you don't draw attention to the stumble, neither will anyone else.
Join the Conversation
Which of John's 10 tips are you going to try first? And do you have a technique of your own that didn't make the list? Share it in the comments!
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