How to handle interview nerves
By Ziad Maltiti · Updated 5 October 2026
Nearly everyone is nervous before an interview, including the people who look perfectly calm. A certain amount of nervousness is useful, because it sharpens your attention. The aim is to keep it at a level where it does not get in the way of your answers.
Most of what helps happens well before you walk in. The rest is a handful of small habits for the day itself and a plan for the moment that worries people most: going blank in front of the panel.
Preparation
Much interview anxiety comes from uncertainty about what you will be asked and whether you will be able to answer. Preparing thoroughly removes a lot of that. If you know the role or programme, have rehearsed your main answers and understand how the day will run, there is less to be afraid of, and confidence that rests on preparation holds up better under pressure than any breathing exercise.
Find out the practical details early: the format, how long it lasts, who will be on the panel if they tell you, and whether there is a presentation or a written task. Each unknown you close off is one less thing to worry about at two in the morning. Our interview preparation sheet puts these on one page.
Practising out loud
Going over answers in your head is not enough. Say them aloud, ideally to someone who can ask follow-up questions. Once you have heard yourself give an answer, the real interview feels familiar, and familiarity is calming. A mock interview is the closest you can get to taking the fear out of it beforehand.
If nobody is available, record yourself answering three or four likely questions on your phone and play them back. It is awkward to watch, but the second attempt is nearly always calmer than the first, and that difference is what you are practising for. For scholarship panels in particular, see how to prepare for a scholarship panel interview.
How you read the feeling
The physical signs of nerves, a faster heartbeat and a heightened sense of alertness, are very similar to the signs of excitement. Telling yourself that you are keyed up for a challenge, and not frightened of it, can change how the feeling affects you. It is a small adjustment, but it helps.
The day before and the day itself
Nerves feed on last-minute decisions. Moving the small choices to the day before leaves you with less to think about when it matters.
- The day beforeRead through your application once more, then stop. Lay out your clothes and documents, check the route or the video link, and set two alarms.
- The eveningDo something ordinary that has nothing to do with the interview. Late-night cramming tends to raise anxiety more than it adds knowledge.
- The morningEat something, even if you are not hungry, and keep caffeine modest. Glance at your notes, but do not start rewriting answers.
- An hour beforeLeave early or log on early. Arriving with time to spare removes a whole layer of stress.
- Five minutes beforeA few slow breaths, longer out than in. Sit or stand upright in a settled position, and run through your opening answer once in your head.
Before you go to bed the night before, it is worth checking a short list:
- Clothes chosen and ready
- Invitation, address or link, and a contact number saved on your phone
- Copies of your application and any documents they asked you to bring
- Travel time worked out, with a margin for delays
- Two or three questions of your own written down
In the room
Nerves make people rush, and rushing hides your best thinking. Slow your first answer down on purpose; the pace you set at the start tends to carry through. If your mind goes blank after a question, it is perfectly acceptable to pause, take a breath and collect your thoughts before answering. A short pause comes across as thoughtful. You can also ask the interviewer to repeat or clarify the question, which gives you a moment and shows you want to answer it properly.
Have one or two phrases ready that buy you time without sounding evasive: "Let me think about that for a moment", "Could you say a little more about what you mean by that?" or "Can I come back to the second part once I have answered the first?" Then start with the part of the question you can answer. Once you are talking, the rest usually follows.
If you notice partway through that an answer has gone wrong, you can say so and correct it: “I don’t think I explained that well. What I meant was…” Panels tend to read that as clear thinking, not as a mistake.
Perspective
The people on the panel want you to do well; they are hoping you turn out to be the right candidate and are not trying to catch you out. Keeping that in mind takes some of the pressure off. One interview is also rarely your only chance, and if it goes badly it still gives you practice and information for the next one.
Afterwards, write down the questions you were asked and how you felt about each answer while it is fresh. It is useful material for the next interview, and it turns a vague sense of having done badly into a short list of specific things to fix.
Sleep, food and caffeine
Sleep properly the night before, eat something beforehand and go easy on caffeine, which can make a racing heart worse. Arriving rested makes it much easier to think clearly.
If anxiety before interviews or exams is severe enough to stop you from applying or sleeping for days beforehand, it is worth talking to a doctor or your university’s counselling service, and you do not need to wait until it gets worse before you do.