Public speaking

I am in my Senior year of college and am still terrified of public speaking. I have weaseled my way around having to give a lot of presentations by taking classes that do not require it. However, to graduate, I must take a class next semester that focuses public speaking. Everyone else seems to be able cope with the anxieties of public speaking really well. I, on the other hand, crash the plane into the mountain every time. I never look at the crowd because I cannot imagine giving any eye contact. I read directly from notecards because I am unable to think with such high levels of anxiety. I shake and forget to breathe. (....and one time I cried) please help! how do I prepare for the next semester?

Can you use Powerpoint or slides/overheads or handouts or anything to give the audience something to look at besides just you? I have heard that public speaking is the number one fear of most people.

Does it help you to realize that no one will remember your name? My friends always used to tell me, oh we saw this great comedian last weekend - yeah? Who? - oh I forget their name but... - and that was the good ones. So just practice as much as possible so you know your material.

Sorry to hear, and I can totally relate! The only thing that help me with public speaking was taking a benzo right before my speeches! Best of luck!!

thanks for the advice guys. definitely will want to use powerpoint. imagine if you didnt have powerpoint and everyone just staring at you! ... i am not sure if it is better or worse, but everyone that will be in my classes have been in the same program as me for the past few years. If I do badly everyone will know. I will try taking a benzo before to ease my nerves.

I took the speech class in college.......hated talking in front of people & yet I could perform with my flute & do recitals.

I found that topics I could start out with something humorous & get them chuckling to start with was always the best way....or having something that really grasps their attention so they are thinking on that rather than on me.....was a great way to do it.

It's a good thing I got better at it because I ended up in an engineering career where I always had to give presentations to the military......& then moderate groups. I hated that position but not because I minded the moderation...but I hated feeling like a glorified secretary after so many years as a technical engineer....

Also, I found that subjects that I KNOW better than the back of my own hand.....was really the best....because then all the information was already in my brain & I just had to outline the order I needed it to come out.

Now.....I'm really comfortable talking in front of people......which is really strange because I never thought it would be possible.

I take a benzo as well. But before I took them, I would also use a PowerPoint. If I'm reading off of something it makes it easier. Using a PowerPoint can also divide the audiences attention, so it's not like 100% of the attention is on you, so include lots of fun pictures.

Your first experience with public speaking might not turn out to be the professional outing that you had hoped for. Possibly it could even turn out to be a complete failure in your own eyes.

I am the same. I've skipped school for a certain amount of time just so I don't have to do a presentation and I kept doing that until the end of the term/year so I would just get an F on my report. I'm still terrified of it.

You face difficulties because you're worried about what the audiences are thinking of you. Rather, while speaking public, try to concentrate on what are you actually doing, that is, concentrate on your speech. And remember, audiences are waiting to listen you, so deliver it. You may practice in front of mirrior, or in front of your close friends. This will help, I hope.

I used to be TERRIBLE at public speaking. My hands and voice would shake, and people in the audience would whisper about it or laugh. Occasionally I would forget what I was going to say. I came off as very unconfident. It was something I dreaded. I'm still nervous about it now, but I learned a lot of great tricks from taking a public speaking class in college actually (I'm a Senior too!).

The most important thing is to practice. If you're nervous, the best thing to do is to endlessly go over your presentation until you have it down backwards and forwards. Talk it out with your cards first, and then without your cards (though during the actual presentation day, use the cards as a back-up). Practice using gestures and modifying the tone of your voice. It really does work because when I'm nervous, I immediately go to autopilot; I'll do whatever comes naturally because I can't think when I'm nervous. And your speech will (usually) come naturally if you practiced it a ton because you're used to doing it. I know that sometimes you might still forget what you wanted to say or not say it perfectly, but this really does help a lot.

Good luck with your class, I hope it goes well. The most important thing is that you get up there and do it, whether you do "well" or not!

I like a lot of the suggestions here and you can certainly know that you're not alone. I too have had to take public speaking classes and it was not my favorite thing, since I'm bit of a shy introvert. Let me add another strategy which you could consider trying: pretend you're an actor giving a performance, that way, the audience is listening to and viewing the actor and not you. Take it a step further, imagine you have a favorite actor, say it's Tom Hanks. Just imagine, if you were Tom Hanks, how would he deliver a speech? I'm not suggesting doing a complete impersonation of Tom Hanks (or whoever you like as an actor or actress). I'm just saying, try to pretend you're a confident, graceful actor. That's an idea, act as if you're confident, until that confidence finds you. If you have some time before you take your public speaking class, say an affirmation several times everyday, perhaps something like, "I'm am proudly a confident, intelligent, well spoken person who can give an excellent speech." I say various affirmations everyday, regarding different areas of my life I want to improve and this method does do some good, as there's evidence to me and family/friends that I'm changing for the better.

Can you talk to the professor ahead of time? A lot of people have this problem. Everyone was really understanding and supportive in the public speaking class I took. There were definitely some people who started off not making any eye contact and reading from note cards, but we all improved over the course of the semester.

I feel your pain monstermash. I have this issue also. I had been in my last job exactly one week and my boss asked me to give a presentation to the local Chamber of Commerce - YIKES! I got up on wobbly legs to speak and one empathetic woman recognized how nervous I was and asked me some questions which was just what I needed - it diverted my attention and I relaxed. The remainder of my talk went well. Don't know who she was but I will always be grateful to her for that. Hugs.

You guys all have such great suggestions. thank you thank you thank you! just knowing that there are a lot of people that are in the same boat really helps. I have a presentation next tuesday and I am going to talk to the professor tomorrow to hash out my presentation so i can be confident and and less anxious on tuesday. things are getting better! woohoo!

Everyone here gave you some great advice. The first time I was in college, 23 years ago, I had the same issue. I quit college because of my fear of public speaking. About 10 years ago a friend of mine gave me some great advice. He said to scan the room from corner to corner looking just above your audience's heads. It will give the illusion you are looking at them without actually having to do so. Along with visuals and props, you will be fine. God bless you on your endeavors in public speaking. You will be glad you did it!