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I have a presentation in college next week and even though I'm prepared, I still can't stop the nerves so I take 1mg of valium or a beta blocker like propranolol.
People say avoid drugs as they're only a crutch but I believe that some people get nervous no matter how many times they practice. The drugs don't make you better at delivering the speech, just stop the anxiety from making it a trainwreck.
I wonder though what is the purpose of the fear. Is it evolutionary?
I've been giving lectures for 35 years. I still get anxious every single time even though I've done it hundreds of times. Irrational fears include worries about blanking out, losing my place, stuttering (I don't stutter), falling down, being asked a question that I can't answer, being challenged that the information I'm presenting is inaccurate, among others. None of these things have ever happened which makes them irrational fears and even though I know that, I still get anxious. It's hard wired in the brain.
Solution? Know your material, don't read off your slides (if you plan on having a power point), you'll lose the audience. If you don't have slides, have basic simple notes in front of you that help you stay on track and remind you of the take home points for your talk. This is considered to be your "peripheral brain". If/when you freeze, you look down, find your place and resume your talk. The most important advice: rehearse your talk. Talk out loud as if you were giving your talk in private and you'll hone it. It will be different every time you rehearse which is fine. You can rehearse just walking around your residence, while you're driving, etc., and you can also desensitize yourself by becoming familiar with the place you will be speaking.
About medication, propranolol is a "beta blocker", it blocks the sympathetic nervous system which causes racing heart, sweating and voice cracking. I used it for years, and it's a popular medication that performers use as well. But it only takes you so far and is no substitute for knowing your material and rehearsing. I would discourage the use of benzos (Valium), they can cause you to present yourself as sedated, slow, reduce your spontaneity, negatively impact your memory and it takes away that edge often caused by anxiety that helps you give a good talk as long as you've done your homework before your talk.
The worst talks come from people who read off their slides, or read their notes, don't know the material, and speak in a monotone sleepy way. The audience can read your slides, your job is to talk around the main points to make it interesting. You don't have to have every issue up on a slide. Humor helps as well to relax the audience and peak their interest. If you follow these guidelines, you'll do fine and the anxiety won't kill you, but may help you give a more interesting presentation.
I have a presentation in college next week and even though I'm prepared, I still can't stop the nerves so I take 1mg of valium or a beta blocker like propranolol.
People say avoid drugs as they're only a crutch but I believe that some people get nervous no matter how many times they practice. The drugs don't make you better at delivering the speech, just stop the anxiety from making it a trainwreck.
I wonder though what is the purpose of the fear. Is it evolutionary?
I don't know if it's evolutionary.
Apparently the fear of public speaking is more common than the fear of death.
Perhaps there's something to it.
I used to do public speaking a lot and didn't think twice about it after a couple of times.
I think people get very nervious b/c they're not used to it.
Focus on your objective, your message and NOT yourself.
Don't be that self-conscious.
If eye-contact with the audience distracts you or you think it will, look above their heads.
I have a presentation in college next week and even though I'm prepared, I still can't stop the nerves so I take 1mg of valium or a beta blocker like propranolol.
People say avoid drugs as they're only a crutch but I believe that some people get nervous no matter how many times they practice. The drugs don't make you better at delivering the speech, just stop the anxiety from making it a trainwreck.
I wonder though what is the purpose of the fear. Is it evolutionary?
I guess it depends on how you see it. If you are focused on how a presentation may bore people, how you could fail, or not be funny or serious enough, then all these small and logical worries accumulate.
But you know what? If people are gonna be bored, they are gonna be bored. It's a presentation, it's not stand up comedy. You just want to go out there and share a subject you find interesting with other people who find it interesting.
The sense of fear can also be translated as excitement in a way. But relax. You're not gonna die. It's not gonna be the most important thing in your life. And if someone doesn't like, it doesn't mean you failed, it doesn't mean you're useless - it just means that someone doesn't like it.
Do it for you. It's fun to share things you like with others
I have a presentation in college next week and even though I'm prepared, I still can't stop the nerves so I take 1mg of valium or a beta blocker like propranolol.
People say avoid drugs as they're only a crutch but I believe that some people get nervous no matter how many times they practice. The drugs don't make you better at delivering the speech, just stop the anxiety from making it a trainwreck.
I wonder though what is the purpose of the fear. Is it evolutionary?
The answer is... because their state of being is one of fear.
Its not possible to affect your state of being with chemicals.
Wherever you place your reliance, that is your God.
There is no God pill, thats how addicts get started.
I have a presentation in college next week and even though I'm prepared, I still can't stop the nerves so I take 1mg of valium or a beta blocker like propranolol.
People say avoid drugs as they're only a crutch but I believe that some people get nervous no matter how many times they practice. The drugs don't make you better at delivering the speech, just stop the anxiety from making it a trainwreck.
I wonder though what is the purpose of the fear. Is it evolutionary?
Well, the reason you take the drug before performing does matter. If you have convinced yourself you can't perform without altering your physiological state it IS a crutch. If you understand and accept the physical symptoms of nervousness for what they are and let them run their course, you probably won't need them. Heightened awareness, focus, extreme attention (all parts of nervousness) can be beneficial things. I would always question whether the drug actually improved the outcome. If you never test that, you'll never know what the drug contributed to your effort and what YOU did. IMHO, never knowing what you can and cannot do when operating under your own steam seems worse. At some point you have to ask yourself what's the worst that will happen if you flub something. Will the world as you know it cease to exist? Nope. You are not some elected official with your finger hovering over a button that will fire a nuclear missile. You are talking to an audience who will probably forgive a mistake because they would feel just like you do under the same circumstances. Perspective helps.
Well, the reason you take the drug before performing does matter. If you have convinced yourself you can't perform without altering your physiological state it IS a crutch. If you understand and accept the physical symptoms of nervousness for what they are and let them run their course, you probably won't need them. Heightened awareness, focus, extreme attention (all parts of nervousness) can be beneficial things. I would always question whether the drug actually improved the outcome. If you never test that, you'll never know what the drug contributed to your effort and what YOU did. IMHO, never knowing what you can and cannot do when operating under your own steam seems worse. At some point you have to ask yourself what's the worst that will happen if you flub something. Will the world as you know it cease to exist? Nope. You are not some elected official with your finger hovering over a button that will fire a nuclear missile. You are talking to an audience who will probably forgive a mistake because they would feel just like you do under the same circumstances. Perspective helps.
I have a presentation in college next week and even though I'm prepared, I still can't stop the nerves so I take 1mg of valium or a beta blocker like propranolol.
People say avoid drugs as they're only a crutch but I believe that some people get nervous no matter how many times they practice. The drugs don't make you better at delivering the speech, just stop the anxiety from making it a trainwreck.
I wonder though what is the purpose of the fear. Is it evolutionary?
Tons of actors/musicians/entertainers, etc. take them to calm their nerves on set, etc. I see no reason, as an aid in short term, that there'd be a prob w/ taking them to get through a hard situation for you.
I had a doc in 1st yr med school who told me she took Xanax the night before her board review exams ONLY & she WAS/IS a practicing physician at the time & still is.
For the long term, consider taking a public speaking class.
Besides having to practice in front of your class, the instructor will offer standard tricks of the trade to help you as some of the people above did. However, the instructor will present this material in a manner that is more organized and easily retained. With practice, you'll get better, you'll know you are getting better, and you'll know you are better than the majority of people and that will calm your nerves.
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