Talking in front of a crowd

Anyone got some good nerve-busting techniques?

I have social anxiety, but I try not to let it control me. The last 3 years of my life have been about pushing my boundaries and not letting my fears hold me back. It's helped immensely to be able to feel I have control over myself but I still have one major problem. I can not talk in front of a crowd.

I'm going to do my MSc come September, and two of my modules require me to do a presentation (one 10mins long, the other 20mins). The mere thought of it makes me feel sick. I managed during my BSc just about, it helped that I knew everyone I was talking in front of. However the ridiculous thing was, as I was reading the part for my presentation for my BSc my voice shook to the point of incoherency, yet as soon as the lecturer started asking me questions - even in front of all those people - my voice immediately stopped being shaky. Before I started talking I felt pretty calm, just the usual nerves, but I was sure I could do it. As soon as I started talking it all went to hell.

What am I doing wrong? What can I do to stop the infernal shakiness?

I'm going into a profession that may require me to present findings to an audience fairly regularly - and I really don't want to make a fool out of myself every single time.

Any advice?

I've never done much public speaking - I get the same reaction that you have. I had to give a 20 minute presentation junior year in college. It was very difficult. I have a feeling that I would get used to it if I did it more often though. Are there any social anxiety support groups near you? Maybe they would let you practice speaking in front of them.

If being asked questions doesn't bother you then maybe you can pretend that someone has asked you a question and then start talking.

I have heard people say that beta blockers help with the physical symptoms of anxiety and that helps them with situations where they get uptight. Have you every tried any?

Elziba_Grey wrote:What am I doing wrong?

Nothing! This is the normallest thing ever. That's why there is a billion-dollar market in "Self-help for public speakers", ToastMaster societies and thousands of websites on the topic.

What can I do to stop the infernal shakiness?

Some basic breathing exercises might help. There's lots online but this seems like a good starting point. Having some water to sip before and during can help too, as it gives you something to do if you need a pause. Obviously, lots of practicing beforehand. Read the presentation to your own room, to pets, to family and friends.

Parador's got a good plan about pretending someone has asked you a question. Or, could you get a friend to actually ask it? Have them hide in the wings and before you go on they could ask you "so, could you please explain in some detail de dum de dum de dum." (Inserting the theme of your paper at the end, rather than singing at you which isn't likely to help. ) If pre-speaking anxiety gets really bad, you could perhaps talk to your lecturer about it and see if they can do the questions to start you off or help in some other way.

And, I'm thinking about the difference between reading and answering questions. If that were me, it would be because my brain wasn't doing much work while reading, and so it was doing the silly stuff like worrying. Once the questions started, I wouldn't be able to do that, my whole attention would have to be on the answer. So, if that's something like your mental process, perhaps keeping the spare part of your brain busy might be good. My brain could be assigned a meta-function, like taking notes to report back here on what techniques were most effective or perhaps assessing audience reaction, to anticipate where they might be interested in asking questions afterwards. Or imagining the entire audience wearing Mickey Mouse ears. Anything that's positive and moving you forward without distracting you. (I think the ears would distract me, but whatever works for you.)

Oh, and here's more sensible advice from someone I rate very highly in the "speaking aloud" department. It starts with the Bene Gesserit anti-fear mantra, from Dune and gets even better from there.
http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/journ ... ge-fright/

Thank you for your swift replies.

I never knew there were such things as social anxiety support groups, though it makes sense now I think about it. I might investigate whether there are any in my local area. Thank you for that suggestion Parador You have some good ideas - it'd certainly help me if I felt I was answering a question, rather than randomly rattling out facts, so I'll keep that in mind - but I don't know what beta blockers are. I assume it's a medication of some sort?

I'll give the breathing exercises a go Ada, though I'm not sure they'll help. I use them already for when I have panic attacks, but I feel like it's a different sort of panic (if that makes any sense) - I don't really know how. I'm eager to try anything that'll help though, so I'll definitely give it a shot and see what happens I'll definitely speak to my lecturer about it though - at least that way they know I may struggle and they might we willing to overlook some of the stuttering

I hadn't thought about the difference between reading and answering questions before - you've summed it up brilliantly. I do feel a lot more focused when I'm answering a question, and half my struggle with reading out information is that I can't concentrate due to my worrying. I'm going to give both your suggestions a shot - Mickey Mouse ears might make me giggle, but at least that'll be some positive brain activity rather than negative I'll definitely note down what works though. Thank you for your suggestions, and for the links. You've both been very helpful

unless you're used to it, feeling anxious about public speaking is considered normal. people who don't have any disorders share this with you.

practice a lot in front of people you know. i was a disaster as a speaker when i first tried as a kid. i'd drone on like a robot. i didn't know any better.

Keep in mind the spectators are farther from you than during normal conversations. you can be more demonstrative with your nonverbal communication than usual but it will look normal to them

Elziba_Grey wrote:Anyone got some good nerve-busting techniques?

I have social anxiety, but I try not to let it control me. The last 3 years of my life have been about pushing my boundaries and not letting my fears hold me back. It's helped immensely to be able to feel I have control over myself but I still have one major problem. I can not talk in front of a crowd.

I'm going to do my MSc come September, and two of my modules require me to do a presentation (one 10mins long, the other 20mins). The mere thought of it makes me feel sick. I managed during my BSc just about, it helped that I knew everyone I was talking in front of. However the ridiculous thing was, as I was reading the part for my presentation for my BSc my voice shook to the point of incoherency, yet as soon as the lecturer started asking me questions - even in front of all those people - my voice immediately stopped being shaky. Before I started talking I felt pretty calm, just the usual nerves, but I was sure I could do it. As soon as I started talking it all went to hell.

What am I doing wrong? What can I do to stop the infernal shakiness?

I'm going into a profession that may require me to present findings to an audience fairly regularly - and I really don't want to make a fool out of myself every single time.

Any advice?

Same with me... talking in front of a crowd is a no no.. Iv'e made plenty of progress in other areas.
Welp, I have just about risked death not to do so, and "exposure therapy" (school) doesn't seem to help very much with many types of situations involving presentations. When teachers even mention it, I get clammy and nervous.

I have decided I don't want a job where I do it anyway, anxiety or not. I really do not think it should be forced or trained, if someone really needs help with it on there way to a career, let them do it in a course type thing like other college choices. I'm not holding myself on 90% of jobs or anything just because I can't do this- it depends on what you want to do, so putting really anxious people through this isn't justified...

Er anyway done ranting.

I don't know, all I've got is pop something before you do it and make sure you don't have to do it often so that you're not taking anything daily... and take care.. nothing addicting like those fast benzos.. (xanax etc).. I really cannot imagine what would help.


...Except one thing I haven't tried actually. Affirmations. Some claim it works for them. At first, when you say the affirmation, it sounds wrong in your mouth; untrue. That's normal- if it lessens its working... it usually takes a while though.

Never use negatives in your affirmations (idk the hwole science behind it but I dont want to suggest people do it and then get opposite results because of me just in case); negatives meaning "I do not eat junk food"- supposedly the NOT is ignord. Instead "I eat healthy foods". and No future tense- "I will eat healthy foods" is a no no for example- it will ALWAYS be future's news.

You should look up more on affirmations.

Hi Eliza

I am very similar when it comes to presentations, when it comes to me talking or explaining something I used to mumble and lack confidence in what I was saying yet when it came to questions from tutors and other students I would become very calm and actually very articulate with people often commenting that I gave great answers.

For me I think that the presentations felt more like a performance and I hate the idea of performing in front of people, the attention is something I never liked where as q&a feels more like a conversation where I could just talk about my project.

I have gotten very used to presenting and am now rather good at it (well good for someone with social anxiety) I think it helped that my degree course in architecture meant that I had to present once a week my designs to two tutors and the rest of the students. At first it was terrifying and my presentations felt like car crashes but the experience really helped.

A technique I have used to help but maybe isnt particularly healthy is that I often dont sleep the night before a presentation because of stress, I work hard to make sure my project is good and that I can answer any questions, I find that the lack of sleep makes my brain think less about what could go wrong and worry less about criticism and just concentrate on getting my ideas across. The only problem is I look like a zombie.

Hope that helps

Next time you go see a doctor, you could try asking for beta blockers or something similar with less side effects. If you take them, you will still be nervous, but at least you will not be choking with high heart rate

I used to choose my college classes based on which ones didn't require me to give presentations, unfortunately sometimes I could not avoid it. What worked best for me was to write out a script and practice it a lot before hand and basically memorize it, it made me more confident come presentation day. Also, if there are multiple people presenting, I think it helps to go first if you can get up the courage to do it. Otherwise you have a lot of time to psych yourself out and get nervous as you watch everyone else present and compare yourself to them (at least that is what I do).

I don't do much public speaking either. Whenever I be a public speaker, the best thing I can do is to be honest and have a sense of humor. If you go up there for public speaking, blurt out that you are nervous and maybe even exaggerate it for humor. I find that when I do that, it helps me relax. It takes the pressure to perform off, and in many cases, it helps people become more comfortable with you.