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723 Conducting OSH Training
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The Problem: Stress-Induced Anxiety

Every trainer has to conduct training the first time. We call this "paying your dues". You can't get around it so you may as well not delay it.

You'll normally experience some degree of anxiety about unanswered questions as you prepare for the session, when a room full of people will focus their attention on you. Thoughts about having too much or too little time, how you look, or how your audience will "like" you, may cause symptoms of stress.

Symptoms of stress include:

  • nervous stomach
  • sweating
  • tremors in the hands and legs
  • faster breathing
  • increased heart rate

The good news is that every time you present a topic, it gets easier because you become more familiar with it; we call that developing a mental script. Eventually you're so familiar with the topic, most feelings of stress disappear.

Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.

2-2. Presenting training gets easier with time because the trainer _____.