I have never spoke to a group of people before, in fact i have actively avoided it for all of my working life until now.
Next week i have to speak in from of 30 ish people (on MS teams) and i am dreading it.
I have this anxiety thing about talking in front of people where i forget to breathe, have a swirly anxiety feeling bubbling in my chest, am hyperaware of myself talking and generally crap myself.
Does anyone have any advice on how i can keep myself together as a functional person for 30 mins?
6 comments
How long before the presentation?
Best thing I have found are grounding techniques. Like putting your energy in your feet. Listening to songs that pump me up helps too.
It took me so many years to get through this. I specifically took speech in HS during a summer class to avoid a semester of it and I remember having to talk to the professor individually because I couldn’t even properly do that without my high anxiety.
Naturally when I went to college, it got better somehow. Those four years of presentations here and there (not only in class but all of my clubs and activities that meant a lot to me) helped me overcome it and then throughout my career, it felt much less anxiety-inducing. I will still avoid it if I don’t have to lol but I feel comfortable enough to even speak for a couple minutes impromptu.
Here are my tips:
-I think the having a presentation on Teams is awesome, especially if you have to screenshare. People will be looking at your screen more than you and just listening to you talk.
-Be prepared on what you’ll say for each slide, you can keep a notebook next to you (if sharing screen) and look at your notes. When you’re confident about your material, the anxiety goes away
-Maybe some people will be zoned out lolol sorry, jokes aside sometimes it makes me feel better on virtual calls that not everyone is really always going to be present for a few min here and there so allow yourself grace
Wish I had more tips about the anxiety part. I had to give a 15 minute presentation virtually last week and thankfully it wasn’t on video because I was nervous but all went really well. Maybe envision yourself getting through the presentation with ease and everyone commending you. Positive thoughts ✨
Hope some of this helped!
I get like this too, and Propanolol (beta blockers) helps a lot with the physical sensations of anxiety. I only take it before interviews but it really helps me not get stuck in the anxiety feedback loop.
The best way to deal with this is practice, practice, practice. Increase your confidence in your presentation as much as possible! Have your voice ever so slightly louder than youd expect, and speak ever so slightly slower than you think you should be! Good luck youll smash it.
Toastmasters is a social club where people practice public speaking. Perhaps they have a website with some tips on how to get better at it.