Anxiety attacks and public speaking... help!

[Enerchi]

How about an update?! Hope it went well!

Thanks DS!

Yes, I survived it. Day 1 opened w a filmed introduction of ourselves, followed later by 2 more impromptu 2 - 3 minute talks. Then, we had to prepare a TEN minute presentation for the following day (I thought it was only a 2 minute thing!!). I had all of your suggestions in my mind - I didn't have a coffee, I ate a banana, I was pushing on my abdomen, deep breathing, thinking calm thoughts, had my talking points numbered, dressed appropriately and then hoped for the best. I was surprised at how quickly and how slowly 10 minutes past! But I made it thru without breaking down so I was very proud of myself. Feedback from the group was all positive so that helped too.

I am in NO HURRY to ever do that again, but I faced a fear of mine and I got thru it. Must say - pretty proud of myself for even trying! Hoping this never becomes part of my regular job, but if I do have to do at least one more, I feel slightly more prepared than this time last week.

Thank you all for your support! I really appreciate your suggestions!

 

[packrat]

That's awesome Enerchi, good job! You SHOULD be proud of yourself for facing your fears!

(not to sidetrack your thread, but we have four performances done now, four more to go, and I have had a banana before each one, and have been doing the calming thoughts/I can do this/it's just X amount of time for this scene, then X for this etc, so this thread was very well timed!)

 

[Enerchi]

YAY Packrat!! it is NOT enjoyable to experience that fear, but look at you!!! you are also pushing yourself to face a challenge - CONGRATS to you and I hope the next/last few performances become that much easier for you to get thru!! Good job!

 

[marcy]

How about an update?! Hope it went well!

Thanks DS!

Yes, I survived it. Day 1 opened w a filmed introduction of ourselves, followed later by 2 more impromptu 2 - 3 minute talks. Then, we had to prepare a TEN minute presentation for the following day (I thought it was only a 2 minute thing!!). I had all of your suggestions in my mind - I didn't have a coffee, I ate a banana, I was pushing on my abdomen, deep breathing, thinking calm thoughts, had my talking points numbered, dressed appropriately and then hoped for the best. I was surprised at how quickly and how slowly 10 minutes past! But I made it thru without breaking down so I was very proud of myself. Feedback from the group was all positive so that helped too.

I am in NO HURRY to ever do that again, but I faced a fear of mine and I got thru it. Must say - pretty proud of myself for even trying! Hoping this never becomes part of my regular job, but if I do have to do at least one more, I feel slightly more prepared than this time last week.

Thank you all for your support! I really appreciate your suggestions!

Glad it went well for you Enerchi!

 

[pregcurious]

Great job, Enerchi!

I agree with the suggestions above. I follow these:

1) Accept that you are nervous. Every good speaker I know well still gets nervous. Use that nervous energy to be enthusiastic and dynamic.
2) Practice
3) The more public speaking you do, the better you will be at it. You know that you've done it once, and you can do it again!
4) Focus on explaining something to your audience. This helps to talk to them, not at them. It also helps you with a logical train of thought, which makes for a smooth talk when you are putting it together. If it doesn't make sense logically when you are putting it together, it won't make sense to the audience, and it will be hard to follow. You can also lose your train of thought and freeze if the presentation is not logically organized.
5) Focus on 1 take home message, and carry that message throughout your talk.

I used to physically shake when I had to give a talk, and my mouth would go dry. I would even have stomach upset the morning or night before.

I still get nervous, but I have a job that requires that I present several times a year. Now I know I can do it, and I can do a good job.