Do you agree that breaking bad habits is merciless? Would you also agree that nervousness due to public speaking is equally grueling to overcome? I certainly do.  

You want to know what will make it even more painful?

Not getting enough sleep.

You’ve probably heard about the importance of sleep your entire life. Perhaps from mommy or daddy? Your doctor? Tooth Fairy? Usually it goes in one flap of cartilage and out the other. And who wants to be told what to do anyway?

It’s like how we know junk food is bad for us. Right…we know how that goes. You’re probably scarfing down a churro right this very second. [Excellent choice!]

Well, there are a few reasons why skimping on sleep is a bad idea. We’ll go over a couple. The obvious one, we’re going to be tired. This means our productive output is going to suck because we’ll want to take a nap or hit the sack as soon as freaking possible, leaving little desire nor ability to produce.

The other reason is a bit more insidious.

We only have so much mental power—or willpower. It’s not unlimited. So when we set out to change things in our lives, be it diet, being more focused on productive work, changing our thoughts (think happy thoughts!), or overcoming the “excitement” that takes control of us before a presentation, we only have a limited amount of mental power each day to dedicate toward making these things a reality.

Let me ask you something. Is it easier to say no to that Snickers bar when you’re fully energized and rested? Or, is it easier when you’re closing the book on a long, dreadful day’s work? What about going to the gym? Do you still want to go then? I think not.

But if you’ve got the energy, it’s easier to stick to your goals. I notice this all the time. Some days it’s easy for me to stay disciplined; others I feel like a vampire swimming in an ocean of blood which I’ve been told not to drink.

The major differences in these situations? I’m either tired or hungry. Or both.

On the matter of calming the nerves before delivering a presentation…First, see graph below:

(Made-up stats for your viewing pleasure. Equally awesome is my book that launched earlier this year. Go here and get it!)

At that particular juncture, before a presentation, you want (think need) to have as much mental strength as possible, because fear is not petty. It’s strong and deep-seated, especially when you first start out as a spectacle tossed in front of a “scary” audience.

This is when you must focus on implementing your series of control methods to combat nervousness and anxiety. It requires some serious effort. Sleep is the first component. Those mental resources will come in handy come speech time. Trust me.

Let’s recap. Sleep: The first step to changing habits, and a crucial step in overcoming pre-speech nervousness. Well damn…it’s actually the first step for doing anything that involves swimming upstream—whatever task which forces you out of your safety zone.

Jot it down. Or, better yet, why not set an alarm each night as a reminder to start winding down? What’s enough sleep you ask? For me, 7-8 hours is a full tank. Some people work well with 6. You know yourself better than anyone; go with your magic number.

And finally, just like mommy and daddy used to tell ya, “TAKE OUT THE TRASH!” er wait, this one: “GO TO BED DAMMIT!!!”

***P.S. Please don’t forget to grab a copy of the new book. And just think, it might even be good! A stretch? Perhaps. But, I promise that I did my best. If you suffer from intense nervousness before speaking to an audience, I know the book can help you. And besides, if it sucks, at least you’ll have the power to give it a nasty review 🙂

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