Why Is Presenting Getting Harder Since My Promotion?
If presenting has felt harder since your promotion, it usually isn't a sign you're not ready. When it's your turn to speak, the alarm in your brain can fire and the part that finds the words goes quiet. It's a learned reaction, which is why more experience doesn't switch it off on its own.
Why does it start, or get worse, after a promotion?
A promotion raises the stakes. The rooms get bigger, the audience is more senior, and there are fewer places to hide. For a lot of people it also brings a thought they rarely say out loud: "Did I get promoted too quickly?"
It doesn't show up in the quality of your work. You know your material, and you're good at the job that got you here. It shows up when it's your turn to speak in front of the board, the exec team or the whole company.
- Heart racing
- Mind blank
- Voice tightening
- Dry mouth
- Shallow breathing
Most people tell themselves it will ease once they've settled into the role. For a lot of people it doesn't, and some say it gets worse as the rooms keep getting bigger.
Why doesn't experience make it go away?
Experience teaches you how to present. It doesn't teach your nervous system that the room isn't a threat.
There's a well-understood reason for this. When it's your turn, the alarm in your brain fires and the thinking part, the part that finds the words, goes quiet. It's a learned response, usually tied to a belief or a specific moment from the past. That's why practice, preparation and time in the role don't switch it off by themselves.
Why don't the usual fixes work?
Most presentation help works on delivery: where to pause, what to do with your hands, how to structure the slides, rehearsing until you can say it word for word. Those are useful, and if you're experienced you probably already have them.
If the delivery is already there and the words still go when it's your turn, the problem isn't the delivery. It's the reaction underneath it, and that needs a different approach.
What does help?
There's a technique called EFT, sometimes called tapping, that works directly on that automatic response. In sessions we work on what's behind it for you: doubting you belong in the room, needing to be perfect, the fear of being judged by people more senior than you. Each time, the link weakens, until it stops firing.
The aim isn't to turn you into a different presenter. It's for you to walk into the room, approach it like any other part of the job, and show the expertise that got you promoted.
What does the research say?
When your body treats a room as a threat, it releases cortisol, the body's main stress hormone, and researchers use it as a standard measure of how hard that response is running.
EFT has been tested in nearly 100 randomized controlled trials. In two studies that measured cortisol, one session brought it down by roughly 25 to 45 percent.
Two points to keep it honest: cortisol also dips a little when people simply sit quietly for an hour, so the comparison groups matter, and in both studies they fell by less. And the studies came from researchers within the EFT field, although the second was a different team repeating the first.
Sources: Church, Yount & Brooks (2012); Stapleton, Crighton, Sabot & O'Neill (2020).
Questions people ask
Is it normal to feel this way after a promotion?
It's common among the professionals I speak with. Being good at the job and dreading the moment you present it are often true at the same time.
Will it go away on its own?
For some people it eases. For a lot of people it doesn't, and there's no fixed timeframe. Waiting for it to fade is the most common thing people have tried before they get in touch.
Do I need to believe in EFT for it to work?
No. I come from nuclear power, and I don't take things on faith either. You don't need to believe in it for it to work.
What happens on the free call?
It's a 30-minute call on Zoom, one-on-one with me. You tell me what happens when it's your turn, I explain how I work, and I tell you honestly whether I think this is right for you. Sometimes the answer is no.
If you recognize yourself in this
You can talk it through with me on a free call.
Book a free call Free, on Zoom. By the end of it you'll know whether this is right for you.Written by James, The Tapping Journey. I spent 15 years in nuclear power, where performing under pressure wasn't optional. I now work one-on-one with professionals who know their material inside out but whose body takes over when it's their turn to present.
Last updated 17 October 2026.
