One reason you get nervous is because you're conceptualizing yourself giving the presentation and fumbling your words, having a shaky voice, screwing up.

You then find yourself getting nervous about it, feeling the symptoms of increased heart rate, butterflies, etc--which reinforces those thoughts and fears. And you think subconsciously; "I feel scared, so it must be true" ...that you'll screw up.

Why the fear of screwing up trigger such strong emotions? We all have a primitive craving to be accepted, and fear criticism like death. That's why public speaking isn't easy.

I overcame fear of public speaking by simply learning to be aware of my thoughts.

Put your total focus and attention on your physical symptoms of anxiety the hours and minutes leading to your speech. You'll come to realize quickly they're the exact same symptoms of say--exercising.

And that it's your thoughts--not reality--that provokes those symptoms.

Kinda like a little kid who falls and scraps his knees. Crying only after looking down and seeing a little blood.

With practice, you'll learn to spot anxiety-inducing thoughts and make them vanish by simply narrowing your focus and realizing it's all irrational, silly thoughts, nothing solid behind it.


Good luck!

If you PREPARE far enough in advance and go over your "talk" often and question everything you are going to say:
Is what I am saying making sense?
Does this make my point?
Is there a better way to say this?
Am I too repetitive?
How is my pacing?

Have a trusted friend(s) listen and then answer the above questions.

You'll be fine.

As Lady Deberg says in one of my favorite movies "Pride and Prejudice", "No excellence can be acheived without practice".

If at all possible, do a run through with a friend who is willing to be very honest with you about your presentation. Also, I always find that intentionally slowing my pace, and picking 1 person every 10 or 15 seconds to make eye contact with is helpful, even though you can't expect that you will get the same responses from those persons ie. head nods, smiles, that you would from normal conversation. It does get better with practice, and take stock in the fact that you actually did it. Bravo!

Business communications... essentially 'how to give a presentation' was one of the best classes I ever took.

How you felt, I know that exact feeling.

I wouldn't waste any money on books. Just practice, it gets easier, I promise.

being nervous before doing a public speech is natural.. on the physical aspect of things, the body triggers the brain to release natural chemicals like adrenalin that makes your heart pump more blood to the body in anticipation of the speech.. more blood, more oxygen to the brain.. adrenaline also makes your mind sharp..

on the self-esteem aspect, many people feel this nervousness because of a mistaken belief that may be the audience might not like the presentation.. but most of the time, if you have prepared yourself, this mindset is proven wrong..

a simple yet effective way to overcome this is to practice in front of the mirror several times until you deliver your speech perfectly.

Try getting your body to work for you. If at all possible, workout before your presentation. Physical exercise combined with deep breathing is great stress relief. Some speakers, like Ted Nicholas jog up the stairs and onto the stage. It's energizing and helps you get focused.

Visualize your audience enjoying your presentation and do it over and over again and you'll be much more likely to nail it. How you are introduced can also set you up for a knockout presentation. Know your topic well and have fun with it.

Like others have said, the more you do it, the easier it is to deliver and the better the result.

NLP + self hypnosis is one of the fastest ways to overcome this type of problem. The training I did helped me with this tremendously. See my WSO (signature) for a link. It's not my product, I just sell it online exclusively and it rocks.

If you're going to have to give presentations frequently I'd strongly recommend joining a Toastmasters group. You will learn so much about how to appropriately structure a speech/presentation and how to control the fear that comes along with it that it'll be more than worth your time. Plus, it's a great networking opportunity.

I'm one of the lucky ones that doesn't have a problem getting up and speaking in front of people - probably since I started when I was 15 - but Toastmasters made me so much more polished and comfortable it was absolutely worth my time.

Good luck!

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I trained as an actress and have spoken in public countless times both in and out of character! Here are a few practical tips to help:

Stand with your feet slightly apart, one further forward than the other. Most people find putting their right foot forward works better but experiment. As you speak, push into this front foot slightly so that it is taking around 60% of your weight. This will help you feel more stable and physically steady your nerves.

Try to breathe into your lower ribs rather than your chest. Chest breathing only results in a shallow intake of air which makes your voice sound thin and actually stokes your nerves. Practice by placing your thumbs on the front of your lower ribs, pointing towards one another across your torso with your fingers wrapping around your back. As you breathe in, try to push your thumbs apart, hold the breath for a count of one and then relax as you exhale. These are the basics of back breathing which is used by both actors and opera singers to sustain a long, steady breath (useful when you have long Shakespearean lines or an aria to deliver!)

If you are speaking from notes, place one thumb next to the first line of those notes and run that thumb down the page as you read through so that you always have it anchoring the appropriate place. That way, you won't be nervous that you'll lose the thread of what you are saying. Try to read the line first then look up and deliver it. This makes it far fresher for your audience and conveys more sincerity as they can see your face as you speak. If you don't want to look at the audience, try looking slightly over their heads. If you falter, force yourself to smile. It instantly relaxes your jaw muscles. Then simply take a breath and start again.

There's a ton more I could say but hope that helps for starters!

Amanda

It's perfectly normal to be a little nervous before a presentation for some it's harder even... public speaking it's hard but when you prepare enough and be aware that you KNOW what you're there for, and KNOW your subject, you'll do fine!.

Keep on practicing, you'll do better with practice.

Kevin

my advice: avoid eye-contacts with audience, it may weaken you. Instead of looking at the audience right in the eye, look at them ears so you wouldn't look too nervous

I third Toastmaster's. Joining a group proved to be absolutely invaluable to me.

I made a blog post about it a while ago, if you're interested:

An ode to Toastmaster’s… :

I gotta tell ya, nervousness is common during public talking. And if you have a normal social life and are confident, with repetition (speaking in front of people repeatedly), you'll soon get used to it and it will become an easy task. BUT, if you have an unusually disturbing time with it and it happens every time you publicly speak, it's a tough one to get rid of.

It's because, with any habit you have, it is ingrained in your sub-conscious mind. The physical neural pathways have been set. That's not to say they cannot be reversed BUT it will take diligence and hard work (and patience).

In essence, you must retrain your mind to not go that way when your habitual tendencies get stimulated.

We have a thought like, "I can't do this!" and then IF we buy that thought hook line and sinker, our emotions will get triggered and here we go again.

BUT

If we train our mind, at a certain point, we'll be in control. I know all this because I am a practicing Buddhist with the Diamond Way. You really learn a lot about how the mind works.

It is not a get-better-quick any more than it is a get-rich-quick system. It is a slow and steady process and I can attest to that. Results come but it takes time (in general).

But in order to have results, it really takes practice. You practice bringing your mind to the highest good - just like positive thinking accept with Buddhism, there is a much more practical and complete system in place to get you where you want to go.

Just as a disclaimer, I don't mean to preach anything but I wanted to put in my 2 cents for what has worked for me.

Thanks

Acknowledge the fear and understand that it is normal to be a bit anxious, but make it serve you. How can you do that?

1. Focus on how you want to "feel" rather than how you don't. It's important to begin practicing and imagining the way you want to feel before you do your presentation.

What you described seems to be how you might perform under pressure.

2. Secondly, don't try to overcome it all at once. That usually does not work. Take it in steps. For example, you might want to focus on breathing calmly to start. Deep calm breaths. See yourself doing this even when you are not speaking. Get a few photos or images of calm to remind you of this and reinforce the image in your mind. Recall it when you think of speaking. It will then act as a trigger.

3. Imagine that you will have a great time. See yourself providing helpful, informative, interesting and entertaining information to your audience. Expect them to like the presentation. Practice the "feeling" this gives you.

4. Whenever possible arrive at a speaking event early and talk to the audience. Getting to know a few people personally helps you to be more comfortable in speaking to them and may even provide a great point of interest, illustration and segue in your speech. Sometimes the enthusiasm alone which comes from that connection gets you excited and feeling more confident.

5. Obviously be well prepared which eliminates most nervousness. Remember, it's okay to be a little nervous. That keeps you sharp. Control it by practicing the feelings you want to experience both while you practice your speech and when you don't. If you make this a habit, you'll always default to it, not to the nervousness because you will have trained your subconscious to perform the new behavior.

6. Find objects to use as "people" when you're practicing. Give them personalities and hold conversations with them during your speech. Walk over to them and engage them. You'll have no fear of them and that confidence will transfer to your live presentations.

Well my friend even public speakers who've been on the circuit for a number of years still get nervous. Look at your nerves as being a sign that your ready to perform/present. That's how I get over mine.

- Sam

Like you, I get terribly nervous before speaking. Not that I'm necessarily recommending this option; but my doctor prescribed me propranolo, which basically controls your heartrate from going crazy and helps you focus when you're nervous. It's helped, but not nearly as much as practice practice practice. I went to meetup.com and found some toastmaster type groups that have really helped. Good luck!

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I'm not sure where your located but there is a course you can do called toast masters. This is one of the best courses you can do to improve public speaking. If you google toast masters international maybe you can find a session being held close to you.

Quick tip - have a glass of water near you when you give a presentation. Have a quick sip of the water while you are being introduced to the audience. It moistens the mouth and tongue and avoids that dry mouth feeling. When your body is in "fright or flight" mode, you get a dry mouth (so you don't choke on saliva if you have to run). When you are nervous, you get a dry mouth. Taking a quick drink of water gets your mouth to send back "it's okay now" messages to your brain and you automatically relax. Try it and see.

I am another fan of Toastmasters! I used to dread the thought of public speaking, but Toastmasters really helped me overcome this!! Just the ability to practice that skill in front of supportive people was a big plus for me!

I've read most of the responses in this thread. Your answer is in
this thread; but in bits and pieces.

For instance, the very practical solution of having water nearby
is an excellent practical way to combat dry mouth. Which by the
way, you will get. Especially if your nervousness lingers for an
extended period.

Don't be alarmed, dry mouth is normal. Being nervous is normal.

I've been speaking in public for years. Unfortunately, being
nervous is part and parcel of public speaking. The very first
time I spoke publicly it was a disaster.

But I hasten to add this, don't allow a potential disaster to stop
you from accepting speaking engagements. That's how you get better.

However, when starting out, there are some things you do need to be
mindful of.

Very briefly, saturation. Immerse yourself in your topic. Totally.
Eat, sleep and drink your topic.

Organization, organize your speech in a well thought out sequence.
Have a logical order. Your speech laid out in a logical organized
way helps.

Then practice, practice, and then practice some more. You'll be glad
you did.

Audio tape yourself actually running through your speech. I know,
I know ...you sound funny. Don't panic, you'll grow on yourself.
It's important not to beat yourself up. Give yourself a break.

Laugh at how you sound. Wanna see something funny? Video tape
yourself giving the speech.

Now, that's funny. Anyway, easy on yourself. Make sure to practice.
That's where your self-confidence comes to the fore.

Tell you what, grab my short FREE report on Practical Public Speaking.
It's chock-full of practical advice on public speaking.

Follow this link: Public Speaking

Warmly,
Clef