It doesn't have to mean anything.

I'm NOT talking about your message, I'm talking about your nerves.

"I’m terrified that I’ll get up there and my mouth will go dry."

A client recently said this to me—echoing a fear I’ve heard hundreds of times from people I have the privilege of coaching.

The phrasing changes, but the facial expression is always the same: wide-eyed terror, like just saying the words summons a vision of certain doom (or at least, public humiliation).

And every time, I offer the same advice:

It’s okay if your mouth goes dry. Just bring water on stage with you.

That’s when I get the look.

The You clearly don’t understand look.
As if I haven’t seen the infamous clip of Marco Rubio lunging off-camera mid-speech for a sip of water during a live rebuttal to the State of the Union.

Oh, I’ve seen it. I understand.

But here’s the truth:
You are not Marco Rubio.

You’re likely not delivering a live rebuttal to millions of Americans on national television. You’re a human being having a perfectly predictable physiological response to stress.

For you, it might be dry mouth.
For someone else, it’s sweating.
Or a quivering voice.
Or—my personal favorite—splotchy skin.

Here’s the good news: