How to deal with discomfort in presentational settings? You know the feeling. I certainly do. It manifests in different ways… sweaty palms, increased heartbeat, trembly hands, butterflies. You wish it would just go away, but it never does.

My upcoming Instagram LIVE broadcast this Monday, June 4th, gave me this topic idea. Because I’m totally uncomfortable about doing it. You see, with these live video broadcasts, which you can now do on certain social media like Facebook and its relative, Instagram, there is no way to test the platform first. You can’t try it out in advance to see what buttons to push or how to hold the camera device. It immediately broadcasts and then stays there for awhile (I don’t know yet if I can even take it down if I truly screw it up). And if you know me, you know I’m a prep freak, including the tech prep, and if there is no way to include that part, then I’m in my least favorite place.

So, how to deal with discomfort? There are things you can do, that I am doing and will do to limit the impact of those awful feelings…

Develop content. I’m only giving myself a short time, so I’ll work with the end goal in mind. Create notes or an outline. I’ll use them during the broadcast. If you’re there, you’ll see me referring to them. No one should work without a net. Read up on the platform. I want to learn from experts. Surprises don’t work for me. Practice out loud. Making sure the words flow and transitions are smooth is the best thing I can do to ensure my discomfort doesn’t undo me. Time myself. I want my part of this to be a max of 10 minutes. Since my internal clock is deficient, I’ll use a countdown timer.

I’ve read once you’ve ended an Instagram Live broadcast, it disappears. If not, I’ll review it. Though it pains me to do so, I know it’s the only way to improve. I’ll also ask for feedback from people I trust.

Over time, I’ve shifted my mindset about pushing through discomfort. I used to procrastinate or hide. Now, I take action anyway. I hope you’ll join me on Instagram LIVE on Monday at 11am Eastern. You’ll know that behind whatever I’m saying is a high level of agita. And I also hope if you are there, you’ll give me feedback when it’s done.