I’m pretty sure I just described that scene in Dead Poets Society. I wish it had been Robin Williams but alas, it was not.
Yeah, exactly. Most people will be empathetic.
Yeah, this is something I do. If I’m going to meet someone for the first time and I’m nervous or I’m going into a meeting, it’s always nice confirming you’re not a maniac and you can have a normal conversation 
2 Likes
Aww, thanks lovely!! You’re the lovely one tho 
Aaah, I just have such a massive complex about being a bit of a thicko that I make things so much worse for myself worrying about it. I need to get over it.
1 Like
This reminded me of my planned opener for any best man’s speech / stand-up set I ever find myself doing.
“They say to combat nerves you should imagine your audience naked, but now I’m worried that I misread the dress code”
Thanks @discobot you were right to like immediately
6 Likes
You are welcome
Just put some clothes on
*runs out of the room*
1 Like
I am not condoning this but a mate of mine takes a beta blocker before he has to do public speaking (not very often) he hates it so much.
The only real way you can get good at it is by doing it a lot and practise/knowing your material very well!
3 Likes
my tip was going to be try not to memorise what you are going to say verbatim. and definitely don’t read it word for word off a cue sheet or whatever, that always comes across badly. also if you think you have an exact sentence you have to say verbatim and you forget a word or something it can totally stop you, which you obviously don’t want. better to have a solid idea of what you want to say without worrying about the actual wording. if you’re using cards as prompts just have single word reminders on them rather than full sentences. always comes across better and more natural as you’re actually just speaking not reading / performing something.
was going to say that… but if you’re fine with that bit and only struggle with unplanned questions etc then idk.
5 Likes
Also, “Can I get back to you on that?” or “I’ll have to check back in the office, but I’ll let you know the answer.”
Far better to do that than make a decision off the cuff that has to be changed later.
2 Likes
^ good advice
1 Like
our @anon45164313 always says she hates public speaking but shes great at it so hopefully this will summon her to the thread. i expect her secret is just being dead clever and knowing all this really interesting stuff that she really cares about, which is probably the best way to be really engaging. ive little bits of training and i think its much easier at certain sizes of group when i can make eye contact with people. i did one or two sessions last year where the group was over about 8 people and got weirdly nervous even though the material was the same as id been doing for maybe a dozen other sessions, and im just realising now its coz they were too far away from me and i couldnt see them properly to make eye contact and read whether they were following what i was saying or not
1 Like
yeah this is good stuff from the j-man.
I have to do this sort of thing from time to time and i’m no fan of it basically because by nature i’m quite shy. That being said I can talk myself into anything.
When I have to talk on a subject/present I do my research and write out my initial piece and then practice it loads, tweaking here and there and always timing myself. Depending on what i’m doing i’ll get a couple of good slides up there.
Anyway, personally i’ll always try and keep it short and sweet, try and read the crowd and make a joke if I feel it’s on. I guess it depends on who i’m talking to.
Anticipation of these things is worse than actually doing them, I’ve met you a couple of times now Witches and you’re a lovely person and folk warm to you, you’ll be absolutely tip top! 
2 Likes
and chances are the person asking the question was only doing it to sound clever, they don’t really care about the answer, and they wont chase you (me) for it when you (I) don’t bother to follow up
1 Like
Beta blockers help me a lot. I had some propranolol prescribed for general anxiety but tbh I barely touch them other than when I’ve got a stressful work situation coming up. I pop one 40mg on an empty stomach about an hour before I need to be Mr Cool Sunglasses Emoji and it works a treat.
Sounds rosy. This isn’t the case in my job.
I think I need to try them as I am so bad at presentations
Plenty of good advice in this thread. Another good idea is to have your talk drafted a week before and record it as a voice memo on your phone. Listen to it as often as you can. Have the talk printed in front of you while delivering it but you will find that a lot of it has sunk in and you can freestyle key passages/phrases etc. It really helps.
“it’s been an emotional funeral, even the cake’s in tiers”
*looks out to stoney silence*
*notices there is no cake on the buffet table*
4 Likes