nervous wreck

LegacyUser

hi there,

first time posting here so not sure if in the right place, problem is I have a presentation for work to do in a few weeks time, I'm only in the door and I'd like to make a good impression on my co-workers and bosses...

the thing is I get really nervous when talking in front of people, like sweating, talking at the speed of light that i make no sense and stuttering.. basically feel (and probably look) like a fool...

I've done presentations before and tried all the hints, (preparing what im going to say and know it off by heart , trying to remain calm etc..) but nothing works..

so what im asking if anyone out there has any advice for me or been in the same situation and what they did..

any advice would be helpful

thanks

dame

Why are you looking for advice? You say you've tried all the hints and advice before and nothing works. That's just your own negativity. Remember these people have never seen anything bad of you before so there're not expecting you to cock up and will be sitting in front of you giving you positive vibes.

Try thinking positively....I'm prepared, I know what I have to say, my presentation is ****-hot, etc. You know exactly what to do and what to expect. It's only yourself that's making you speak fast. You just need to make the decision to speak more slowly and be positive.

shalom

If I were you I would go see my Doctor. There may be something to calm you down before hand..... especially if you tried the all the other things. It isn't a very nice thing to happen to someone. Try and get it sorted.... professionally . That would be my advice

dame

Medecine doesn't have to be the answer for everything. I'd try something like Rescue Remedy and positive thinking before I'd go to a doctor about nerves making a presentation! Provided that's the only area you find nerves bothering you (as in if nerves don't rule your life), then there should be no need to resort to drugs.

LegacyUser

dame, thanks for the advice, but it's easy to say 'make a decision and speak more slowly' once i get up there, my mind seems to go blank and i can barely think never mind remind myself to speak slowly.. the only think i do is think 'get this over with asap and outta here'

shalom, i never thought of going to see a doctor mainly because i didnt think it was a medical problem as such, one of my friends told me he used a herb called rescue remedy just before he had to give presentations in college.. said it's supposed to calm you down - I may give that a go

sweet-rasmus

yeah, rescue remedy is worth a shot. even certain bach flower remedies advised to be taken by a person in the know. i know it helped calmed my nerves alot in very nerve wrecking situations.

try practicing your speach in front of friends. or even just practice speaking in front of a group of people... somehow. like if you were out with friends, instead of keeping quiet try to address the whole group or something. the more experience you can get of public speaking the better. if you have any young relatives you can practice your speaking by reading them books! i know it's a bit random, but reading a couple of story books aloud would be a start!

good luck!!!

shalom

Hi I agree with Dame that medicine doesn't need to be the answer to everything. But I also think that we have been sold a bit of a dream with the alternative medicine. As I've gotten older I perfer to nip something in the bud and move on. I guess it all depends on how big a thing this is. Hopefully you'll get it sorted. Have you spoken about it before to your friends or is this your first time confronting it?

limklad

I used to nervous too. Especially when I knew I would be scrutinized. I put it as an experience.
,
Suggestion number #1
Every time I began to feel nervous before the presentation. I paused, and I began to remember every exam, every interview and every other situation that I was nervous. I then remember that I survived and got on ok. So know your audience. See them in you mind before the presentation, and run your presentation in trial run. Then you get used to their presence.

Suggestion number #2
Use your fear to improve your presentation rather than be rule by it (rather than letting it get the better of you). Use fear as a tool to improve your presentation to improve it. It will let you know if something is wrong or not quite right. For some this works.

Suggestion number #3
Practice before the presentation, and imagine them in front of you. Think of the worst situation you can think of. Use you imagine to it full capacity. Pause and acknowledge that you are feeling nervous. You will notice the felling disappearing.
Do this over and over again.

People are there to listen to you. They want to get to know the information you are delivering. So speak to them as equals and good luck.

dame

12345678 wrote:

once i get up there, my mind seems to go blank and i can barely think never mind remind myself to speak slowly.. the only think i do is think 'get this over with asap and outta here'

Cue cards. Write out what you want to say word for word. Put a red mark after phrase and it will remind you to breathe there. Each breath will slow you down and calm you down.

Practise. The more practice you get at giving your presentation the better you'll get and may not have to read word for word when you get up there on the day. Practice in front of anyone you like but make sure you practice.

Remind yourself you're not going to get fired for one presentation. It's not the end of the world if you make a little slip up. Try not to make such a big deal of it in your own head and you'll be more relaxed and less nervous.

Final advice: Pay heed to advice. You sound like you've heard it all before and you're not even reading posts properly (I suggested Rescue Remedy earlier), but the truth is you're not putting into practice what you've been told before. You say you've tried everything but if you had you'd have a solution by now.

bug

I dont know if this is helpful or not, I suppose it depends on what your subject and audience is but:

I always book or use a room that holds less than or up to 20 people.
I generally sit with the group rather than standing during my presentation and make it more informal.
I mostly give handouts and examples rather than relying completely on a PowerPoint presentation. It's a lot more personalised, serves the purpose of making people think and talk about the subject in question and takes the focus away from the presentation (and you being the main focus of attention) whilst still giving them the information they need at a much more interactive level.

I'm given a fair bit of lee way in my presentations, but, if you can work management around to your way of thinking as above...making them see the point that smaller audience presentations with "workable examples" are much more informative. You can also do them more frequently and get used to presenting with smaller groups and therefore building up your confidence with larger ones when needs be.

It also proves to improve the quality of the presentation for the next group. Since the questions asked amongst a smaller group can serve as good input for your next similar presentation.
All good arguments to put to management to make the situation easier for yourslef until you get as used to it as taking a p*ss

nikolaitr

Here are a few tips.


1 Make your voice deep, as it will force you to speak slowly and clearly, plus it will make you sound confident
2 This will pobably sound OTT, but before hand psych yourself up. Yell,shadow box anything. t gets your adrenaline flowing. Seriously try it, it works....a bath room might be the best place for it though



I had a huge problem with public speaking a couple years ago. So much so that I did it once and I literally froze on stage. Then told a terrible joke. Do you know the worst reaction you can get to a bad joke is not nobody laughing but one person laughing sympathetically.


Chances are it won't go anywhere near perfect but it'll be better the next time. Just bite the bullet.

Black Swan

sweet-rasmus wrote:

try practicing your speach in front of friends.

Good suggestion!

LegacyUser

'hey guys,

thanks a million for all the responses and advice, after reading yer posts i'm feeling more positive already.. I'm going to put in a major effort to put them into practice for my presentation.. and try and kick this fear once and for all

will let ye know how i get on

thanks again'