Get Nervous Standing Before Groups? Try This Instead

I Still Get Nervous – Here’s How I Manage It

the Lazy Facilitator Episode 06

Let’s talk about nerves.

If you stand in front of a group and often feel nervous, maybe you’re new to this, or maybe you just don’t feel confident, I want you to know something really important:

You’re not alone.

I’ve been leading groups for over 40 years, 30 of them professionally, getting paid, and yet people still come up to me and ask, do you ever get nervous?

The answer is emphatically, yes, I still do. But here’s the catch.

Unlike my early days, I’ve got a bunch of strategies that help me manage those nerves, and I want to share three of the most important strategies with you now.

First, be prepared. Even though it may look like I’m just making it up as I go along, I rarely just wing it. I’m always prepared because I know it’s the most powerful way to settle my nerves.

Second, always have a bunch of fail-proof, no-prop, low-supervision activities in your back pocket. These are your go-to experiences you can pull out at a moment’s notice, you know, when you need to build energy or keep your group busy or divert attention away from what you’re actually doing. When you do this, you know you’ve got these safety nets up your sleeve. You’ll feel calmer.

And third, build energy ASAP. Here’s what most facilitators don’t realise.

Building energy in the room doesn’t just help your group, it helps you. Once people start warming up, interacting, sharing, the energy in the room goes up and your nerves go down.