I'm giving a presentation - what can I do to calm my nerves?

Question

When I talk in front of people my voice shakes and I feel I can't breathe properly (ironically this is even when I am not necessarily nervous, but ends up making me nervous!) - what can I do or take to help me? thanks!

Answer 1

Every year I have to make a presentation to one of the local mothers' clubs and to career day at two local high schools (I am a pre-school director).... I have been speaking to these organizations for 7 years!!.....I get nervous every time I am asked to do it!! People say that the more experience you have in public speaking, the less nervous you become before making your presentation...hmmmmm, maybe. I find that the more prepared I am, the less apprehensive I am and once I get going, the nervousness diminishes. Try not to be too hard on yourself and realize that you have something of value to be heard by your audience. Good Luck!

Answer 2

Just before starting and out of site, breath in and out with a brown paper back over you nose and mouth. Do this for about 10 cycles. This will reduce the oxygen in your system and slow down your breathing for a while. This will settle you. At the start focus on one person to talk to and only look away and look around to the others present as you get into the talk. Another thing is to practise your talk over and over so that you are very familiar with the contents and the order. Have a set of cards with headings on to keep you on line and put the top one to the bottom of the pile as you deal with that section.

Answer 3

Set up a video camera, and make your presentation to that as practice. Then watch it, it will not appear as bad as you imagined. Then do it again. After that, do a run through for one or two people if you get a chance.

Even if you are a bag of nerves on the day, most people either feel the same way, or remember it, and will be very understanding.

Answer 4

to be nervous in front of a crowd is very normal...a lot of people think speaking in front of a crowd is more frightening than death!

just try to relax, picture your audience as friends instead of critics (some suggest picturing your audience in their underwear, but that may only make you start to laugh! lol)....

do a lot of positive self-talk...if you're prepared in your presentation (meaning if you've understood your topic and can talk about it backwards and forwards) then you should have no problem, and that's what you can tell yourself

Answer 5

Try to prepare your presentation well.
Ask yourself, what questions the audience can ask you.
Prepare some standard answer. Here in germany bosses can be very nosy. So be on the scratch.

If you are well prepared, you can relax.

Tip 2: Who is listening ? Who is there? Every department has own possible questions.

Answer 6

Level 1 - Practice before mirror till you become very fluent with what you want to say and your body language
Level 2 - Then practice before your friends and ask them to make as many interruptions and rude gestures as possible

Once you are through this, you are ready for anything.

Answer 7

YOU CAN BUY HERBAL TRANQUILIZERS,JUST GO TO THE PHARMACY AND ASK.TRY ALSO TO DO SOME DEEP BREATHING AS THIS CALMS YOU DOWN.CLOSE YOUR EYES,TAKE A DEEP BREATH THROUGH YOUR NOSE,HOLD IT FOR A COUPLE OF SECONDS,THEN LET IT OUT SLOWLY THROUGH YOUR MOUTH. REPEAT THIS A FEW TIMES IT WORKS.

Answer 8

practice in front of your friends several times before the real thing.

Also keep yourself busy before hand so that you don't think about it too much.

If it is a long presentation then take a bottle of water.

Answer 9

Rescue remedy, and relaxing deep breathing exercises

Answer 10

i have done that before trust me there is nothing u can do. just relax deep breaths and u be great. i mean why u so nervise, is it because u done ur presentation bad. no its ussuall don worry about it. u be oki trust me.