I mumbled and get really really nervous when I do public speaking?

Question

When I first moved to Canada, my gr.8 teacher laughed and joked about my English in front of the freakin' whole class. So ever since, I mumbled and get really really nervous when I do public speaking like a presentation. I haf mumbled ALL of my presentation during 4 yrs of high school. There just doesn't seems to be a way to for me stay clam. This is my last yr of high school and I really have to do good on those presentations to get into an university. Any suggestion to help?

Answer 1

As, I think it was George Carlin, a comic pointed out, that more people fear public speaking as the worst thing to have to do. It even exceeded Death. So, for most people, they would rather be dead in the coffin then giving the Eulogy.

You are not alone.

Answer 2

Think of teaching something or helping the audience. Don't think so much on the performance of the presentation. Shift over to the idea that you get to help or teach the audience. Forget the teacher that laughed at you. That was very immature of them to criticize you. Realize that that experience can not define YOU. Only you can define you. People often have bad things to say no matter what we say or do. Embrace that. Use it to your convenience. On your next presentation, realize that even if you mess it up completely, it's not the end of the world. It is perfectly OK to make mistakes. Also notice that unless you allow people to see that you "messed up" they often don't know. Be free to make mistakes. It will get better. Practice makes perfect. I dropped out of high school and dreaded giving presentations in college. Now I love speaking to people. I love the idea that i have the privilege to plant seeds of hope into people's lives. See it as a learning experience. You will do well. I am sure of that.

Answer 3

When you go before an audience to speak, explain to them before the presentation that your 8th grade teacher teased you about your English and since then you have had a problem speaking publicly. Tell them you are determined to get over that, so you want them to be patient with you while you do your presentation. After saying that, go ahead and do your presentation, making it a point to speak loud enough for the person in back of the room to hear.
Explaining something to your audience before you speak is a good way to calm yourself down. Keep trying. You will succeed eventually.

Answer 4

you need some help with physically calming down, and emotionally getting over the fact that you were made fun of.

i would take a public speaking course at a local community college or something. look into the topic online too (see the link below for a recent story on CBS) -- there are many people who have this problem (my brother being one of them) and it really is all in your own head. if you can turn around the way you think about it, you'll gain confidence and your mumbling with stop.

the good news is that you are still young and have the ability to turn this thing around.

good luck!

Answer 5

I really saw this on tv. They had people who were nervous presenters and had them put their face in a bowl of water and hold it for a while. Their heart beat became normal when they got up to speak, although I dont remember why...perhaps to make your mind be elsewhere other than the speaking you are gonna do. Your 8th grade teacher sucks for making fun of you but you can overcome this. I might practice talking loudly in front of a mirror at home at what you are going to say, I used to do this whenever I got nervous just thinking about getting up to talk. But now Im not so nervous as before.

Answer 6

Your first experience was bad.the teacher shouldn't have laughed at your vocabulary.....rather , he/she should have encouraged you to do better next time.You should have been advised as to how be more effective and fluent in public speaking.
That's over long ago.
From now on while you go for addressing a gathering , imagine the listeners around you are fools and go "free". Acting "free" all along while speaking before a gathering is the basic secret to successful oration.Be confident and never think that you are surrounded by a lot of wise people .

Answer 7

Your not alone - and I also used to shake from head to toe. First, you must realize that you are being too self-conscious. If you are too aware of yourself - your thoughts, your feelings and your actions, you lose the concentration you need to be able to focus on your presentation. You have to lose yourself completely in your presentation, feel the passion and let it carry you away; and you do this by focusing totally on the achievement of this goal and blocking everything else from your mind. It's not easy to do and it takes practice, but once you get the hang of it, it's not as hard as you may think. Second, have confidence in your presentation, know you have given it your best and ride on that confidence.

Also, a little humor goes a long way - make little jokes to yourself, laugh at yourself - you need to, to be able to relax. I would imagine the worst that could happen and turn it into a joke with my friends. Don't take it or yourself too seriously. Nothing is more crippling than anxiety or putting too much pressure on yourself. I had a little mantra that I would say to myself over & over and that was focus, focus, focus - until that was the only thought on my mind until the moment of my presentation - then it was focus, focus, focus, GO and I was on!

Your story about your grade 8 teacher reminded me of when I started school with a scottish accent in grade primary. My gradmother was from Scotland and stayed with us (in my bedroom with me) every summer here in Canada and I was practically her shadow. So I picked up her accent and had it when I first started school. I had nuns as my teachers and for some reason I will never understand, they made a big deal out of this. I was painfully shy and every day they would make me stand up and repeat sentences over & over until I lost the accent! I was mortified and would go home many days in tears. And on my first report card, under special comments, my teacher said that she thought I had an inferiority complex - now I wonder why I would have had that!!

Good Luck with your presentation - and don't worry, you WILL do well, just BELIEVE that going in. I belieive in positive thinking and have practiced it for years, it works - I also believe in the law of attraction; if you are in a positive state of mind, you will attract the positive; if you are in a negative state of mind, you will attract the negative. And remember focus, focus, focus, then GO!

Answer 8

Practice practice practice.
Find a stage you can practice on regularly and rehearse. My school, for instance, has an ampitheater that no one ever uses, and my daughter and I visit it regularly and sing and dance on it when no one is around. By standing on the stage and speaking your piece outside to the wind, the birds, the imaginary audience, and the insects, it makes standing up on a stage much more easier and you are much more comfortable. Try to stand up and dance silly and get over your embarrassment of being silly on a stage before you have an audience. Speak each and every word of your piece slowly and clearly. One thing I do with a speech is get up on my mini-trampoline and speak my speech one word at a time one syllable per each jump I do while exercising making sure to enunciate (pronounce every consonant in each word clearly), then do my speech the same on the empty stage the same way, so that it is clear in my head.
I still get nerves in front of an audience but they are reduced so much more by practicing more.
One day my daughter and I went to a concert at that outdoor ampitheater that was canceled at the last minute. My daughter wanted to do our singing anyway, even with a few people still hanging around while the others were leaving. So we stood up and did our singing to an audience of 3 strangers who loved her little songs with her additional interpretive dances (she's 6) and I discovered once I got over how weird it felt it wasn't so bad - we even got some unexpected applause.
Get over the feeling of looking stupid and practice on an empty stage, so when it's time to go you will be ready.

Answer 9

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Answer 10

#1 you have to learn to roll with the punches. If they laugh at your accent just tell them, "if you think my accent is funny you should hear how your accent sounds to me".

#2 Practice your presentation out loud by yourself. DO it a couple of times. Pretend there is an audience in front of you. The more you practice the better because when you are nervous your body will follow its training. It is the same in combat. Your body follows the training. So, make sure you practice right because if you get nervous it will come out.