I have to be in on a presentation. I normally don’t do that, it falls under sales, but it’s appropriate for me to be there. My team is presenting to a crowd of about 25 to 30.
I know the subject matter backwards and forwards. However I get really nervous in front of a crowd. I sweat, my voice shakes, etc. The other two are natural sales people, calm, cool, think on their feet.
Any quick tips to help me?
Tell me too. I have awful stage fright.
Some people’s doctors prescribe beta-blockers for this. The drug inhibits some of the physical reactions that are part of stage fright. I have heard of musicians who take a beta-blocker before every performance.
A few logistical tips. Write out your presentation in detail. If possible, stand behind a podium with the speech on it, so you don’t have to hold it in your hands. Keep your hands on the podium. If you’re using PowerPoint, print out your presentation so you don’t have to look around at the screen while you’re talking. Practice giving your talk in advance.
Depending on your audience, you can admit to being nervous. “Some of you may know I’m a bit of a nervous speaker. So if I pass out during my talk, I hope somebody in the front row will jump up and catch me as I fall.”
I had to do this once for work several years ago. A room of 50-60 “clients” of the company I worked for, basically people who would use our products for their own clients. It was mostly men and all of them knew their industry stuff so I felt the pressure although I was very good at my job and one of the best in my area of expertise. Like you, I definitely knew my stuff but had always felt uncomfortable in front of large groups and with public speaking. I was presenting after two coworkers who did the “road show” thing all the time and were skilled, comfortable speakers. There was no podium to hide behind. I decided to just acknowledge my nervousness right off the bat. After getting up at the front of the room to speak, I made a joke along the lines of “Sorry if I seem a little nervous. They usually keep me chained to my desk and I don’t have much experience with this kind of thing.” (which in my line of work is very true). Everyone laughed, it broke the tension, and then I just sailed into talking about what I knew and imparting my knowledge. Everyone was very engaged and I got more questions than the two guys I was with combined along with their compliments after. It seemed to have the affect of making everyone more relaxed and conversational somehow. Maybe because I wasn’t so slick? Not sure if it would work in your setting or not…
edit: While typing this, I see @Hunt has suggested a similar strategy. 
Agree with the last two. A humorous explanation of your nerves breaks the ice, and gets the audience on your side.
My D is a dancer and she jumps up and down backstage; she says it gets some of the jitters out. Not sure if this only works for physical-performance stage fright though.
I’ve been asked to give a talk at my dad’s retirement dinner at UT-Austin in May. He has been on the faculty there since 1965. Since I went to school in his department, a lot of the teachers I had will be there, along with a bunch of VIPs. The talk is supposed to be about Dad and our family. Only five minutes, but I’m petrified already!
Can you use a slideshow in conjunction with your talk, @MaineLonghorn? Congrats to your dad!
Same thing happens to me. Doesn’t matter how comfortable I am with the subject. I can even start great and end up shaking AFTER it’s over. Even if it went great and I actually enjoyed it. My body just does me in at times even though my brain knows there isn’t ANY reason.
I have considered getting a beta blocker but since the occasions don’t occur on a regular basis it doesn’t seem worth the trouble. So if anybody has any “body control” tricks besides clinging to the podium for dear life, I’m all ears.
Finding a familiar face rooting for you works. Just plowing in and pretending you are in front of a mirror works. Summoning the inner actor is great.
Admitting you are nervous as mentioned above works especially because one of the greatest fears is public speaking so nearly 80 per cent of your audience already relates to you before even opening your presentation.
Good Luck!
@eyemamom , at least you’re in great company: Baryshnikov, Olivier, Barbara Streisand, Adele, Glenn Gould, Daniel Day-Lewis …
Here’s a neat review of a recent book about stage fright, with a brief history and a summary of coping techniques: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/08/03/i-cant-go-on Some people like yoga and meditation; some find the meds help. I’m very introverted and dread having to make conversation with strangers, but I give several presentations yearly. I find that something takes me over and I just stop worrying once I’ve started the presentation; however, I never remember much about it afterwards. (It’s a lot easier to do a Powerpoint on anything than it is to have to be Hamlet.)
I really empathize with everyone’s stage fright. Almost everyone gets it, even people who do a fair amount of public speaking. Different tactics may help different people. I have had to do a lot of public speaking, the largest crowd was about 1,000, but I’ve done a number that were in the 200-500 range. But size doesn’t matter: I can get just as nervous if I’m talking to 10 people. Here are the things I do to help myself:
Hunt and doschicos are so right: I try to be myself and tell them if I’m nervous. The secret is that everyone in an audience, regardless of whether they’re potential clients or opponents, wants you to succeed in speaking. They’re 100% on your side. Think of how you feel when you’re in the audience and the speaker forgets what they’re going to say - you feel awful! In the same way, your audience is unconsciously rooting for you to do a good job. Think of them as friends and supporters, because they are.
Pick out a friendly face in the middle of the audience, one on your right amd one on your left. Ignore everyone else and talk to those two people. The people on each side of the audience will feel included. More importantly, you’ll sound more natural because you’re talking to real people, not just “giving a speech”.
It may work for Hunt to write out his speech, but it never works for me. I write out my first paragraph or at least the first 3 sentences so I never have to fear being introduced and blanking out. Once I get into my material, I’m okay not reading word for word. It sounds more natural. (If this is a very formal or legal setting, reading word for word is okay.)
Then I put my major points in bullet form, but again I write out the first sentence for each point to give me a good start. Then practice. For important talks, I practice saying it out loud at least 2 or 3 times. Since I use bullet points, I don’t use the exact words, but I get used to what I’m saying amd how to phrase it. No reinventing the wheel in front of the audience.
if you are not a natural comedian, don’t tell jokes.
Context may not be appropriate, but normally you do best starting your talk with “WIIFM” -What’s in it for me, meaning the audience. Tell them why they want to hear you in terms of a benefit for them.
Best of luck to you! Please tell us afterwards how it went.
Thank you all! Great suggestions, I really hope there is a podium! I was going to mention my nerves off the bat, something like the being chained to my desk.
Here is my problem, I seriously have trouble breathing naturally when I talk. I find suddenly I’m out of breath when Im talking. How do I handle breathing and talking?
If you are using index cards or some other reminder, put a reminder to breath every few cards.
One thing women do without realizing it is play with jewelry - so you may want to make sure you’re not wearing anything that lends itself to inadvertent nervous fidgeting (like a long necklace or bracelets).
Can you have a team member in the back who can give you cues if you need to speed up, slow down, talk more loudly?
Do you anticipate taking qs from the audience?
Take a big breath and smile. Audiences really are on your side. Good luck!
Make a real effort to slow down. Most people who are nervous about public speaking talk too quickly so my guess is that’s why you have the issue with breathing and talking. Remind yourself to pause occasionally. It will probably make you a better speaker in addition to helping you breathe!
^Boy, that’s the truth! There were student speakers at an accepted students day event we attended this weekend, and they talked SO FAST! It was literally hard to understand them. I’m a naturally fast talker, but I’ve really trained myself to slow down more than I think I need to when I speak publicly.
Practice a lot. I used to have to do a fair amount of public speaking (I am a natural introvert) and it got easier the more times I did it. I still don’t love it, but the practice really helped. Remember that everyone in the audience is glad they are in their seat and not up on the stage, so you have their sympathy. Also, they didn’t pay to hear you speak, so you don’t owe them any entertainment!
One trick that really helped me was to look at a few people and think of them as individuals, not as a collective “audience.” I imagined their hangups, their horrible inlaws, their children with disabilities, their hurts, etc. This helped me to realize that I was speaking to human beings, not robotic judges.
I agree with practicing in front of a mirror. Try not to focus on the amount of people in your audience because that number can be daunting. You are not facing a panel of East German judges in an Olympic event, they are just like you, and many of them also dread being on stage.
Avoid eating anything that could potentially upset your stomach , sometimes worse when you are nervous. It will be a few minutes and then it will be over.
I still do not like to speak in public and I think it is the case for most people. Do you really need to speak? Could one of those other salesperson do the presentation and you can be there be the subject matter expert (SME) to answer questions or add to the presentation when needed? If you don’t feel pressured, you may have more to say.
I hold many meetings, but I am often the moderator and have others present. I let them know what they should present, and I just orchestrate it.
Being president of the PTA for two years pretty much cured me of stage fright. My main advice is what dh told me every time. Talk slower. Talk louder. I’ve now been before the local zoning board so often they know me. Luckily they also know I won’t ask for anything unreasonable.
The better you know your material, the more you can focus on other things like controlling your breathing (what you describe, @eyemamom, sounds like hyperventilating, so slow down your breathing and inhale deeper, exhale completely).
Practice your talk 50 times or so 
Practice in front of a group of stuffed animals, then graduate to practicing in front of friends/family if you dare. Beta Blockers are great, but they won’t take the place of preparation. What they do is help to tame all the physical effects of fear - such as shaking, hyperventilating, etc. And for some people, that makes a world of difference.
Edited to add: reading back over your original post, I think maybe you should try beta blockers if being ultra prepared hasn’t worked. Once you have a few successes under your belt with beta blockers, you can probably drop them. Just be sure to do a test run with them to make sure they don’t have any effects that you dislike.