By: Stanley Popovich
Do you find it difficult to speak to a large group of people?
Fear and anxiety can sometimes overwhelm you when you give a presentation.
Fortunately, there are ways to manage the fear and anxiety you may experience.
Signs That You Get Anxious When Speaking
- Shaking
- Blushing
- Pounding Heart
- Shortness of breath
- Upset stomach
- Dizziness
- Trembling hands or shaking
- Sweating
- Rapid heartbeat
- Dry mouth
- Butterflies in the stomach
- Squeaky voice
How To Get Ready for Your Presentation
1. Choose a topic that interests you: Choose a topic that you are excited about. This will ensure that you are engaged in your topic and motivated to research and prepare. When you give your speech, others will feel your enthusiasm and be interested in what you have to say.
2. Be familiar with the venue: Visit the conference room, classroom, or banquet hall where you will be presenting your speech. Being comfortable with where you are speaking at will make it easier when giving your speech.
3. Practice early and often: The closer you can come to recreating the speaking experience, the more effective you will be. Stand up when rehearsing and actually speak aloud. You can practice with an audience after you’ve done a few run-throughs on your own.
4. Use Self-Visualization: Sometimes, we can get anxious over a presentation that we will have to give in the future. When this happens, mentally visualize yourself giving your speech by using your imagination. By doing this, you will be mentally prepared when it comes for your presentation.
Managing Your Anxiety When Speaking
You will feel a little anxious when you give your speech. This is what you can do to help relax before your presentation:
1. Arrive early: Arrive at least half an hour early so you aren’t feeling rushed, and so you have time to check your equipment and get your notes laid out ready to go. That gives you time to breathe and relax before you go on, knowing everything is as set as it can be.
2. Carry a small notebook of positive statements: A technique that is helpful is to have a small notebook of positive statements that makes you feel good. Before you give your presentation, open your small notebook and read those statements. This will help calm you down before you give your presentation.
3. Be yourself: To be yourself in a speech, focus on authenticity, let your personality shine, and connect with your audience by sharing relatable experiences, while maintaining a confident demeanor. Be yourself and stick with what feels comfortable. Imitating others’ speaking styles can make you overthink each gesture or appear unnatural and insincere.
4. Deep breathing: Take your time to breathe to get rid of your anxieties. Breathe in through your nose, pause for a few seconds, and breathe out gently through the mouth. Repeat this process to help reduce tension.
5. Manage your negative thinking: Sometimes, you may encounter some scary thoughts before your presentation. Instead of getting upset, remember that these thoughts are exaggerated and not based on reality. Get into the habit of ignoring these negative thoughts and focus on something else.
6. Release your stress: Secretly squeeze your toes or lightly squeeze your thumb and pointer finger together in your non-gesturing hand. Do not forget to breathe when you’re doing these stress activities. These exercises can help you to rid yourself of excess energy during your presentation.
7. Focus on a few people: During your presentation, focus on one person as opposed to the entire audience. Find some friendly faces in the group that you can look at to relieve your anxieties. Do not forget to smile in order to establish friendliness with your audience.
8. Pace Yourself: Talk too fast and the audience may not be able to understand you or grasp the topic. Speak too slowly and they can become bored or frustrated. The trick is to pace yourself. You could find yourself speaking quickly even though you didn’t plan to do so. To help slow yourself down, you can add pauses into your notes.
9. Remember your purpose: Think about why you’re there and focus on your purpose. Doing so might get you out of your head and into the situation at hand so you can concentrate less on your anxiety and more on accomplishing your task just like if you were going out on a date.
10. Speak from your heart: The more passionate you are regarding your topic, the better you will be in giving your speech regardless of the number of people in the audience. Speak from your heart and you will find that your speaking anxieties will disappear as you give your presentation.
Learn How to Improve Your Public Speaking
Chances are you will have to speak in public in your career or personal life. Take the time to find out what you did wrong after giving your presentation. You should do the following:
1. Get some feedback: Get better at public speaking by asking your audience for feedback. Depending on the setting, this can be done formally or informally. Identify the areas you know you can improve and make small changes in each speech.
2. Learn from your experiences: When you give a speech, try to learn what you did wrong so that you can improve the next time. Learning from your experiences is a great way to improve your speaking anxieties in the long run.
3. Take a public speaking class: Your local community college or a local business group can provide classes where you can improve your public speaking. Overcoming your fear of public speaking will take some work, but you will get the hang of it.
4. Get some help: Talk to others on how you can improve your public speaking. A mental health counselor can help you to manage your fears and anxieties when giving a presentation. Finding ways to manage your anxieties and fears will help you when you give a presentation in the future.
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