I remember being 19 years old when I applied for a job to work at a Bank. There was a job ad that I had come across that was advertised by a recruitment agency and in The City, you had to apply through them. This meant sitting through aptitude tests, personality profiling as well as group activities!

I was blown away at what we had to do in order to get through to the next stage of the recruitment process. It felt like I was Maxwell Smart walking through door after door after door just to get into the inner sanctum to find another door that needed opening!

It was the group activity that I found the most interesting. People seemed to be split pretty evenly down the middle, with 40% being SUPER quiet and not interacting unless spoken to with the other 40% of the group being distinctly over bearing. The remaining 20% of people were like me… asking questions of the quiet people, then offering opinions and then confirming with the others. I didn’t really realise what I was doing at the time… I was running on instinct.

I honestly didn’t think I had a chance of getting to the next phase. I was super nervous. I was young. I thought everyone else was more qualified than me. I thought everyone else was better than me. But I put my best face on and figured I’d just be me and see what happened.

And somehow I got through! The next stage was an interview with the branch manager of The Bank that the agency was recruiting for.

The funniest thing about this was that I had no idea what bank it was! I didn’t know where. I didn’t know if it was full time or part time. I just said ‘yes’ and went to the interview!

Nervous? Hell yes!

Worried I’d stumble on my words? Um. Yes.

You see, I have this weird thing sometimes, where when I’m nervous, my jaw kind of ceases up. It’s so weird. And it’s like I stutter a bit, but it’s not a stutter…. And sometimes the wrong word comes out. The only thing that I can think that is like, is a bit of panic attack type of thing.

Yes. It still can happen even to this day.

I was hoping, desperately hoping, that it wouldn’t happen on this day.

But it did. I laughed it off and carried on with whatever it was that I was saying.

It’s something that I notice still comes up even now.

When the nerves kick in, I have this weird throat, jaw stutter thing that I notice… I don’t know that anyone else does.

But the good thing these days is this: I know about it. I’m aware of it. And I can mitigate as best I can around it.

Nerves have a really funny way of showing up.

I also get migraines before an event.

I normally get super nervous before the first module of a new program.

I sometimes still have the nervous flutters before a livestream.

It’s not just at work. It’s also at Roller Derby!!

It’s very frequent when I’m with a group of people I don’t know.

My natural response tends to go one of two ways: I get super quiet and just observe (this tends to be the response of choice these days) or I end up being a bit more loud! I don’t like the second option! In my head, it’s like I laugh way too loud, talk way too fast and end up feeling like a weirdo!!!!

For work, I have strategies that work.

I PREPARE.

I know this goes against the whole ‘follow the flow’ type of scenario, but actually, preparing makes it easier for me to flow. It’s just how it is!!!

I know the stories I’m going to tell.

I know the key messages I’m going to deliver.

I know who my audience is!

I know my stuff inside and out.

I have a structure and a process that I know works and I rely on that.

My voice still sometimes does funky things but it doesn’t always phase me.

So if you’ve ever felt nervous, worried or anxious about speaking, heading to an interview, sharing yourself with others, then my 2 cents is this:

• Prepare.
• Practice.
• Practice again.
• Trust your instincts.
• Be yourself.

If you follow these steps, there’s nothing that you can’t do!

Presenting, showing up, meeting new people, all it takes for you to overcome anything that could get in the way of you fully showing up are these 4 (plus the repeat of #2!) things will help you along the way.

Now, go gettum!

Nic