I'm so nervous during presentations and meetings, how can I improve my public speaking?
164 Answers
Last Updated: 02/16/2021 at 9:38am
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Top Rated Answers
Anonymous
December 12th, 2015 10:19pm
From my own experience I can say that it helps to feign confidence. The more you give a presentation, the easier it will be over time.
"Fake it til you make it!"
Don't try to focus on how many people there are, and if you make a mistake smile and keep going. :)
Practice with someone or in front of a mirror. Most importantly know you are going to rock it!!!!!!!
Be confident in yourself. You were invited into the room/to speak for a reason. The more secure you feel in the material you are covering, the more confident you can be in the information you deliver. Try techniques to practice your information beforehand such as talking to a pet, mirror, or family member/friend.
Anonymous
December 16th, 2015 9:53am
Do it more! Public speaking makes even the best speakers nervous. The only way to get past it is to do it more. Join a toastmasters club or something of the like.
Just understand that the people you're presenting to want you to suceed!
Good question! First, do it a lot in good company, such as by trying improv or other low-stakes non-professionally. Second, recognize that everyone is nervous. When I was working on my anxiety in giving research talks, I would take a note of anyone I see giving an amazing research talk, and I would ask them later about it: it turned out every one of them was nervous and prepared a great deal beforehand. I found this to be a little disconcerting - so, there is no point at which the anxiety goes away :( ? - but I try to use it instead to remind myself that this is a very common experience, and that others can extend a considerable amount of empathy.
Maybe you could practice when you're alone in front of a mirror it'll help you see your actions or you could practice it in front of a few friends and ask them their opinion.
Practice! I use to be extremely nervous during speeches. Then, I started to record myself before my presentations. I would do it multiple times--I would find the spot that made me nervous and worked on those. Eventually, I started to pretend that I was an actress in a play--my speech was my monologue. Before my speech, I would get into character and enter the stage with my lines on point.
Anonymous
December 17th, 2015 7:54pm
Being nervous is your body's natural defense against the unknown. Being an unskilled public speaker can certainly feel very unnerving and unknown. Learn to use this heightened sense of awareness to your advantage. Having a feeling of nervousness can increase your and maximize your performance in stressful situations. Just remember, than even the most accomplished public speakers are nervous at some point.
I empathize wholly with those afraid of public speaking. To be frank, there are always three things I tell myself before going in front of a crowd:
1) Each of the people that are going to be looking at me today have, at some point in their lives, pooped. Someone out there may need to go right now!
2) Everyone in the crowd is dealing with some sort of personal issue. For some, just getting out the door to come to this briefing, may have been a challenge. If they could get here, I can speak.
3) Not one person in the crowd is any better or any worse than I am. We all have to eat and sleep. We all fret about life. But I'm the one standing in front of them. That must count for something.
Take the chance to speak in public more often make videos or have others record your public speech n as always YouTube videos...
What helps me is knowing that people really dont care what you say, you could go up there and as long as it sounds kinda right th3y would be fine. Co workers rarely as co workers questions, they will grill management, but they get a trill out of that, at least the ,anagment at my work does. Do you even listen during meetings? Probably not, so im sute most are zoning out too.
practice practice practice! the more familiar you are with your material, the more comfortable you'll be with presenting it.
From personal experience, be sure to practice presenting multiple times in order to ensure you know how you will present. Also, ask a teacher, classmate or friend to critique how you present. The feedback they give you will become very beneficial for you to know what you did well on and what you should practice more. Also ask the people who critique you if there is anything they think you should add that is missing or should elaborate less on so you will not get TOO carried away.
Everyone feel nervous during public speaking. You just be confident with the topic (do a thorough research on the topic covering all the aspects) and the questions that may be asked.
Do a lot of preparation. When you talk, try to concentrate not on your surroundings, e.g. how people look at you, but on the content of what you are saying. Speak calm, make your point sentence for sentence. If you can't help looking around, try to find a point to rest your eyes, maybe on the opposite wall of the room. Change it from time to time so it doesn't look like you're staring at something. Find a good position to rest your hands. If you don't know where to put them, that will only make you more nervous. Make it a ritual - being in a familiar position will calm you down.
In order to face this situation the most important thing is talk, talk, talk and talk. This thing improves with repititions. More number of presentations the more you get confidence.simple.
You can join groups like Toast Masters to improve your public speaking skills, practice with a friend, or practice in front of a mirror.
Start small - maybe just record yourself speaking, view it back, and odds are its nowhere as nervous as you think! Then, maybe practice for a friend, and then a couple, and you'll soon be ready to speak to a group.
Practice makes perfect. Practice infront of a mirror and friends.
Look at your listeners foreheads heads rather than their eyes. It actually helps alot and removes a heavy part of the stress factor :)
Improve your public speaking by maybe practicing your speech in front of family or a few close friends first, then maybe combine the two groups together to create a larger group so it's easier for you to speak in front of a large number of people! Also, to avoid uncomfortable eye-contact, fix on a focused point in the back of the room while you speak, preferably one just above everyone's eyeline. That way, it seems like you're looking at the audience when you could just be talking to the wall! :P
I think nervousness is mostly to do with being focussed on "me" and "what they will think of me". When giving a presentation I remind myself before I start that it's not about me, it's about what I have to give the audience.. I'm only doing this because I think I have something valuable (some knowledge or a message) to give to the audience. And that's all I'm giving them. I'm not giving them myself. I'm not there to perform, to get anything from them, or even to be admired. So my mind is all on what I have to offer, not on myself. If I'm passionate about what I'm offering them, then I will get carried away by that passion and forget all about myself and any reasons for being nervous.
Anonymous
January 3rd, 2016 6:50am
Know your subject and if you have a choice pick something that you enjoy learning about. The best presentations are when you can be enthusiastic about sharing your unique knowledge with an audience. Be confident in your research, and that you are bringing something new and interesting to the meeting or presentation. Also, remember that getting nervous is very common, most people have some sort of anxiety before presentations, and your audience has most likely been in your position before!. The more you present, the more opportunities you'll have to turn presenting into a positive experience!
speaking at your self on the mirror cuold really improve your skills. then try to test your speech befor with your friends and when you are on the stage try to imagine to be alone or the audience wearing only their own underpants, it 's really work!
Repetition and mirror practice (or with friends/family). I do a lot of public speaking and still get super nervous. But I've found the more I know of the topic and the more I know my speech/presentation the more confident I feel when I have to do it.
Anonymous
January 9th, 2016 7:07am
practicing in front of a mirror, or family/friends in advance always helps!
Face your fear when you are on a public speech you are leading the situation and if you have trouble facing the audience find some good faces from the audience and talk to them only never mind others
There are many things you can do. Most important thing is to practice it, the more you speak publicly the more you will show your amygdala that nothing bad will happen. You can take some notes in your hands (I suggest Din A5), so you have something to do. Walk, use your hands, move. Movement makes you less nervous and you won't look as nervous. Go through your speeches and give them to your teddy.
presentations and public speaking in many settings causes a lot of anxiety for people, there are many ways to work on your confidence and your ability with these tasks. your doctor may be able to prescribe you medication to help you relax and feel less anxious. or you may just want to use other coping mechanisms such as breathing exercises, or practicing in front of small groups and people you feel most comfortable about to gain confidence.
That is my teacher's advice is that ıf you have to make a speech you think like that everybody is a cat. If you make this you can be relax. I think that is rihgt.
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