I get nervous still sometimes. I was a high school teacher for 4 years out of college and I did some adult training... which is similiar but alot easier because it is an interactive situation and you loosen up once you learn your crowd... But on occasion I have had to give a speach or do a reading (church services) and for those I would still get the jitters...

#1 if you take a beta-blocker that will make you calmer... and not get the jitters as bad... concert pianists and orchestra folks take them... they are on the banned substance list for archery and other aiming type events in the olympics... BUT I wouldn't recomend it... (I take them for blood pressure)...

#2 ok you have heard take a deep breath before beginning... well do that because the 1 thing that can really get you is shallow breathing... you take a tiny breath... say 2 words... take another tiny breath say 2 words... and just don't relax enough to really breath in enough to say more than 2 words at a time... it can be exhausting... So take a good breath... try to speak just a bit more slowly than you feel like you want to... and repeat the same breath... and speaking... It really helps...

the last time I had to give a reading was at a funeral and it was very stressfull because I didn't want to loose it up there reading in front of everyone... my hands were shaking so bad I could hardly read the sheet I was reading from but focusing on my breathing and regulating the speed I was talking.

Another thing that has helped me in the past is if you can memorize part of what you are going to say.. (if you are reading)... not the first 2 or 3 sentences... the ones right after that... when you reach the peak of your nervousness...

Another is a planned pause... "today I am here to tell you about the benifits of eating an apple every day." pause (everybody expects a pause there... hold it for an extra second and take your slow breath in...

Don't think! Don't think about your audience... think about what you are doing... what you are saying...

OK and my number 1 suggestion... Know you will get nervervous and accept it and practice dealing with it...

Believe it or not throwing competitive darts has helped my ability to deal with being nervous and public speaking. Learning to overcome your nervousness and tenseness to throw the game winning bullzeye... on command helped me learn to relax in other settings...

Practice this... like you are watching your favorite team and it is a critical time in the game... you feel your muscles tightening up ... try to relax... take a deep breath and try to live the moment... outside the moment... like you are in a "zen" state... or take up darts and play people for money to practice relaxing in pressure situations... :-)

Good luck...

in general, people fear public speaking more than just about anything besides death. in a word, my suggestion : "Toastmasters" - look them up online - there is bound to be a group near you - check them out. It's great for networking as well as learning leadership and most importantly, public speaking.

Did you ever watch the Brady Bunch. Marsha Brady imagined everyone in their underwear and started luaghing. She was calm enough to give her speach. All kidding aside I feel the same way and have struggled with this in work. For me it only happens in large groups of my peers? I have not found a solution but not drinking coffee like another member helps. I have trouble turning my mind off too. Going fisrt and getting it out of the way always makes me feel better too. Good luck.

Gwad this thread is almost a year old movie man

Any particular reason you posted in it again?

I didn't see the date on the thread?

Well a year has passed, maybe Tony should update us on his progress of public speaking.

hOw has it been tony? i know what you mean no matter what you think or how confident your mind is your sympathtic nervous system does its thing. Yeah i would think B blockers would pretty much do it but they rnt over the counter are they?

I am actually taking Effective Speaking, Interpersonal Communication, and Social Issues this semester in college. Effective speaking is more or less speech. We did song reading and a persuasive speech so far. I didnt do so well on the PS, not because of anxiety, but because I didnt practice enough WITH my powerpoint. It seemed unorganized I was told. This coming week we begin our impromptu speeches.

I am doing the same speech that I just did (with more practice) for my Interpersonal Communication class Monday. Its actually about the need for stricter regulations on weight loss products and pills

I dont really get nervous when speaking, so much as I do before the speech. They call this pre-performance anxiety. I am joining my local toastmasters to gain greater confidence and skill.

I used to have this problem, my solution that works for me is to picture all the girls in the class naked, and it works.
Serious.

So how do you concentrate on what you're saying?

Good point
Thats probably why I am not that great at public speaking...

Cancel the thought lol

Took public speech too, don't think it has changed me much but it does alleviate some of the anxiety when you have a guided technique. I'm not the most sociable person to begin with and speaking in public is right up there w/ phobias. I guess with more practice, it gets better. One thing I learned from that course is that before you get up there, you need to really know your stuff, do a thorough research of subject at hand...and when the initial jitter fades, knowledge of topic takes place.