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Anyone here familiar with public speaking?

A

Arkitech

Diamond Member
I have about a five minute discourse/presentation coming up soon and I'm already shaking just thinking about standing in front of an audience. I'm curious if anyone else on ATOT has to do public speaking from time to time. I need some tips on how to keep calm.

I'm trying to make sure I know my information backwards and forwards, but just in case I forget something I'm developing an outline with a few relevant facts pertaining to my topic. I'm also practicing in front of the mirror to make sure I have good eye contact with my audience. But despite all of the preparation I'm still a little freaked out about being the center of attention. So if any of you toastmaster experts out there want to share some advice I'd be glad to hear it.
 
i could never figure out a way to overcome the initial nervousness, but i know from presenting enough times that after 30 seconds, it's gone.

good luck, it sounds like you have prepared enough - i think you'll do just fine.
 
It's always like that for the first 10 seconds or so and then it melts away.

What kind of speech is it? Is it appropriate to start with something funny? That usually breaks the nervousness pretty quickly for me.
 
I always get nervous if I have to speak in front of other people too. Hell, I even get a bit nervous when doing it over the phone in a conference call. It's not nearly as bad as in person though.

I think the answer is just to keep doing it. Eventually you'll just get over it, I guess.
 
You sound prepared, which is the important part. 99% of people get nervous, it's normal. Once you start, you will be fine. At least, that's what works for me.
 
Make sure you know the material inside and out. Try to find a comfort spot to look at if you lose your spot or start to stumble; you have to make eye contact when speaking, but I just make sure to have somewhere I can look to compose myself should I start to get lost.

Also practice practice practice.

Good luck!

KT
 
Just try to remember that people only pay half the attention you think they do. It is an actual statistic that you may feel like they are noticing everything, but really they only notice about 50% of that. Don't start in on me about the whole... statistics are made up on the spot BS. Look it up if you don't believe me....
 
I know this isn't really orthodox, but I used to be really nervous before presentations and found that a small amount of certain liquids would get me through the first minute or so, which is really the hardest part.

I'm taking a speech class right now and the practice is definitely helping.

Good luck
 

Preparation is the biggest help, also if it turns into a question/answer, prepare questions you think an audience member will ask.

other than that, think of how you will celebrate after its over. :thumbsup:

I usually have a couple of beers, or more when its over. :beer:
 
I never get nervous, depending on the situation.

If it is something that I'm presenting that I do not feel comfortable with or do not like, I won't be comfortable fielding questions, that sort of thing. Most of this happened in my speech classes in college - usually some stupid topic that I didn't care about.

Now, if I'm talking about a topic I enjoy, etc. then I'm fine. Photography, computer related crap. I do talks at a camera club off and on covering various topics and there's no nervousness at all when doing that.
 
Originally posted by: child of wonder
It never goes away. You just have to learn how to deal with it.
Click to expand...

Nah, that's not true. I do public speaking for a career, and yeah, while at first it can be nerve-wracking, after awhile you become much more confident and the nervousness goes away.

That's really the key is being confident, because if you are confident in yourself and what you're going to be saying, then that confidence shows while you are saying it and the people listening will be much more receptive to your message.

So, OP, just have faith that your presentation is good, and it will more than likely turn out well.
 
Thanks for the advice guys, guess I'll just keep practicing. Hopefully after I get a few more presentations under my belt I should feel less like a frightened deer.
 
Originally posted by: Slick5150
Originally posted by: child of wonder
It never goes away. You just have to learn how to deal with it.
Click to expand...

Nah, that's not true. I do public speaking for a career, and yeah, while at first it can be nerve-wracking, after awhile you become much more confident and the nervousness goes away.

That's really the key is being confident, because if you are confident in yourself and what you're going to be saying, then that confidence shows while you are saying it and the people listening will be much more receptive to your message.

So, OP, just have faith that your presentation is good, and it will more than likely turn out well.
Click to expand...

If you don't mind me asking what kind of company do you work for? Are you in public relations or marketing?
 
You never get rid of the nervousness. You just practice so that the words you need to say are always at the tip of your tongue. First 30 seconds will always be the toughest.
 
I definitely have to agree with Slick5150 that confidence is key. I used to get nervous whenever speaking in front of a group of any size... even a small group of friends, if I were practicing something I had to say. Then one of my jobs caused me to need to give direction to groups of people -- sometimes it was teaching a class of people some kind of material. Sometimes it was something along the lines that we had 50 or 60 people all doing assigned tasks in a specific part of the building, and I would have to stand up and bring everyone to an immediate stop while some procedure was being re-worked (and shortly thereafter, give them an entirely new set of instructions).

It was confidence in myself, not confidence about the subject matter, that made me get through it just fine. I personally got a little bit of a thrill out of it when I was working with one of my superiors in front of the public (public being radio station reports, TV cameras (live or delayed), attorneys representing more agencies than I'd ever want to think about), and I'd be able to recognize the look of panic in their eyes just before most people would notice, so I was able to take care of the questions/procedures/whatever, without any problem. Afterward, I usually got a very grateful "thank you" from my superiors, for taking the pressure off of them -- and it really didn't bother me at all to take care of it, it's just like another conversation. If you truly, deep down, think that you're going to do well, then you will. That's all there is to it.

As far as being confident in your subject matter, if you don't know the answer to someone's question, find a way out of it -- tell them that you'll get back to them, tell them that their question is irrelevant to the topic at hand, or whatever the situation calls for. If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit. 😉
 
Another vote for what Slick5150 said. Be prepared, be confident and SLOW DOWN. If you're not used to it, everyone starts rushing, which leads to stumbling, which leads to stuttering and "umm"ing. Nobody expects you to be perfect, but if you carry yourself smoothly through and keep them engaged, it'll be better than if you said every word correctly.

I used to travel as a narrator for the auto shows, I've done a lot of street-level marketing along with facilitating professional classes. Some people are just born to be a good speaker, which I seem to be, apparently.

So - be confident. be prepared. slow down. talk to them and not at them. I could help you more if you'd like, feel free to PM me.
 
Knowing your material is the best way to get over the fear. I used to have to present information to co-workers and company execs. If you are confidant in what you are telling them it becomes much easier. Over time it will just become another thing you have to do, and you will breeze through it.
 
I think preparation is most important. Look to the audience and keep them involved... the most boring sessions I have ever been in was someone (in our division) who spoke for an hour off of slides, head buried in the laptop, reading every word and stumbling over the transitions because she copied / pasted and never read a thing beforehand. Think back on all of the public speaking sessions you have been in. Many of the speakers are probably people who would ask the same thing you do, so think that just having a confident frame of mind already gives you a step up over all of those sessions, and your audience should see it. Carry some heavy tools to throw at people who are falling asleep too.
 
Originally posted by: Slick5150
Originally posted by: child of wonder
It never goes away. You just have to learn how to deal with it.
Click to expand...

Nah, that's not true. I do public speaking for a career, and yeah, while at first it can be nerve-wracking, after awhile you become much more confident and the nervousness goes away.

That's really the key is being confident, because if you are confident in yourself and what you're going to be saying, then that confidence shows while you are saying it and the people listening will be much more receptive to your message.

So, OP, just have faith that your presentation is good, and it will more than likely turn out well.
Click to expand...

True, but since the OP isn't a professional speaker and probably won't give speeches very often then that feeling will never completely go away.
 
Confidence, level of knowledge on the subject matter, familiarity with the audience....just be arrogant.
 
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