I stumbled all over my words when talking about vote counter. I was "uming" everywhere and had trouble connecting with the audience. I felt I had way to much coffee before class which increased my anxiety, that is what made my heart beat like crazy, and made me even more nervous then before.
I also did not practice before I came to class, I should of used the drawing method. Which would help my visual memory, which I am really good at. Also my wife attended the class, which threw me way off. But that is not an excuse.
What I take out of my failure experience is the opportunity to grow and bee aware of my weaknesses.
- Get a good nights rest.
- Make sure not to drink coffee before, try calm tea.
- Practice speaking with visual memory.
- Start creating note cards that are written well, where you can just take them on the go
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ReplyDeleteA few helpful tips:
ReplyDeleteEat lightly. Do NOT skip food - butterflies are stronger on an empty stomach. Avoid heavy or greasy foods, which will make you queasy. Light carbs like muffins or bagels are fine because they break down slowly. Fruit and juice are actually bad; their sugars are processed very quickly so you spike a sugar high (see caffeine below), then crash midway through your presentation. You end up feeling like a wrung-out rag by the time you're done.
Caffeine makes your hands shake, and can make you more nervous and excitable. You don't need any help waking up because your adrenalin will be pumping. Don't drink coffee within an hour of the presentation. See above re: juice. Drink water.
Practice on some other people. A mirror is a last resort - it just looks nervous right back at you. You don't feel any more confident because you don't know it's actually going just fine. And don't do it in front of your wife or husband. They're wonderfully supportive, which is exactly the problem - deep down, you know they wouldn't tell you if you were actually terrible, so you think you're terrible anyway and they're just not saying so. Co-workers are good, as are casual friends.
Make sure your presentation text isn't on your slides! Bullets are fine, but keep it to 3-4 words each. Do NOT read your text right off your slides (or put your verbal text in your slides)! Bullets are only there as memory points - the presentation is from YOU, not the SLIDES. The attention needs to be on you. I know, if you're nervous it sounds strange, but people can read faster than you can speak. They'll read your slide, then get distracted while you drone through repeating it. You will FEEL that boredom and get even more nervous and anxious as you go. If your bullets are just teasers, their attention is on you. When you make an interesting point, you'll FEEL that too. It feels good, and helps settle you down because you know you're doing well.
Don't try stupid tricks like imagining people with their clothes off. They're people, you respect them, right? They'll respect you the same way. Imagine yourself in the audience and one of them up at the podium. What are you doing as they're talking? Listening politely, right, even if you're a bit bored by some bits. Well, they are, too. What's a stupid trick? Does it sound stupid or silly, something you know won't help YOU? If so, don't bother. If you don't believe in it, it won't work.
Relax! I know, it's impossible. Actually it IS impossible, chemically impossible, because if you're nervous you'll start pumping adrenalin as part of your flight-or-fight survival mode. So, just accept that and settle down as much as you can, knowing half your nervous feeling is just biochemical. Take a few deep breaths, get up there, smile at your audience, and you'll do fine!
How to Reduce Anxiety and Fear of Public Speaking
ReplyDeleteThe dreaded anxiety may come suddenly on the spot before you must give your presentation. This is often experienced by individuals who never give any public speaking before, or individuals who think that their speech is very important for their life or their business. However, every fear and anxiety of public speaking will always make you nervous and feel unpleasant. In this article, you will discover effective tips to reduce anxiety and fear of public speaking on the spot. Here are the tips:
1. Don’t drink coffee during three hours before your presentation
Caffeine is a substance that may affect your nervous system, making your heart to beat faster and cause nervousness. If you consume caffeine during three hours before your presentation, you may have sudden anxiety attack before you go to the stage. So, it is recommended for you not to drink any caffeinated drink during three hours before your presentation to avoid this effect.
2. Think the benefits you will get from your presentation
People often focus on their nervousness rather than the benefits they will get from their presentation. From now, start to ponder about the benefits of your presentation rather than thinking about how horrible it will be on the stage. It will give you much more relief if you do it this way. First, just think about how this presentation will affect your life or your business in a good way. Next, just keep it in your mind before you go to the stage.
3. Take a deep breath and avoid excessive talking before presentation
If you want to keep calm and reduce anxiety before your presentation, you should take a deep breath and avoid excessive talking before presentation. Excessive talking may drain your energy and make you lose your concentration during your presentation. When this happen, it will only give you more fear of public speaking and anxiety. So, in order to keep your mind calm and collect your energy, take a deep breath and avoid excessive talking before your presentation.
4. Understand what you’ll say
If you only remember word for word of your presentation, then you may easily get stuck in the middle because of your nervousness. The key is to understand you material, and the words will flow smoothly, even during anxiety. If you have passion in your message and you really love to give your message to the audience, then in any case you will be able to reduce your fear of public speaking instantly once you get in the stage. So, you need to understand what you’ll say.
5. Know that your audience won’t kill you once you make small mistakes
Generally, the cause of any fear of public speaking is the reaction from the audience once you’re on stage. This is, most of the time, what you need to change. The perspective and negative thoughts about your audience should be eliminated just before you bring your presentation. Know that your audience is not as extreme as you think. They won’t kill you once you make small mistakes in your presentation.