Sunday, December 27, 2009

I get really nervous and start to shake when I speak in front of people. Any advice?

it took me a long long time to be Un terrified or even un excillerated infront of a group of even more then 5 folks.





This was a baptisim to let it get less.. and less bad.. over two years.. and I tried taking a shot or even decongestiants to relax.. But I figured out that self esteem is a big factor.. and confort.





If your infront of a group of people In acting you simply doing what you love to do.. if it is your passion to do it living with it will eliminate that pressure completely.





If you lecture like I do either infront of a class or a group then you should probably be speaking about a subject you know alot about.. something your an utter neard about.. something that polarises you to not wanting to shut up.





Speech classes and small voluntary duties are the worst because for folks who arent really familiar or used to speaking to a group will LOCK onto thier notes and .. .. well for fear of going off script or seeing all the blank staring faces.. wanting to see your talking one.





Making it up in your mind that.. ';They want to hear what you have to say.'; is the only thing.. thats ever got me through nerves.I get really nervous and start to shake when I speak in front of people. Any advice?
Practice, practice, practice. I get so nervous I swear I am going to die, butthe more I do it, the measier it becomes. Know this, everbody gets nervous before speaking. So learn to work with your nervousness. Look into ';Feel the Fear'; by Susan Jeffers. Good luck.

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I get really nervous and start to shake when I speak in front of people. Any advice?
If what you are doing is a presentation practice in front of a mirror for as many times as needed in a way that will convince you that the person in the mirror is sure of what he/she is saying. Use a video camera or a voice recorder so you will be able to evaluate your self and improve what you think needs to be improved. This helps a lot because once you have put a ';good show'; that will make you feel secure when you talk in public. You don't want to be seen as a sad improviser.


If your nerves get in your way when remembering your ideas or the order of them, make your self some flash cards with the order that you want to lead the presentation. These are not for you to just read out loud to the audience and hide your eyes from them. The flash cards should have a key phrase that will lead you into the next section of your presentation.


You can also start writing down the whole thing (yeah, even if it takes 10 pages) and go minimizing until you get to the two or three word flash card.


Do not try to impress anyone with artsysmartzy language, simple and precise is better than a bunch of words no one will understand.


Ask a friend or relative to sit down and listen to you. That way you can practice going from the flash card or what ever you choose to the persons eyes. they will also give you good feedback.


Do not be afraid to be expresive change the tone of your voice accordingly, you do not want to sound like a robot reciting, right?


Practice a good standing posture, that will cause a good impression to your audience and their response will make you feel secure.


Wear something that makes you look your best, according to the occassion of course.... put sometime into your hair and make up (if it applies to you)Wear also your favorite perfume or cologne. You want to look. Even if other poeple can't smell you from the distance you will know you're hot and you deserve to be the center of attention.


Please!!! and this is very important wear confortable shoes (no huge pin heals if you are a girl or strapless clothes. You do not want to loos your concentration because your feet are bothering or someone may be looking at your cleavege instead of you.


If you know you will start shaking, do not wear a short skirt or tight pants. Bend your knees a little and hold the podium with your hands, if there is a podium and your hands are shaking. You can also hold your flash cards all the time.


Last thing, usually people who are attending an event are sympathetic with the speaker/performer, they want you to do a good job, they go already thinking they will go there to listen to you.


Hope this helps, and good luck!
Oh that happens to me too!!! High five!





Do what I do, I just relax and focus on something in the room or just make eye contact. It's hard to look them in the eye, yes, but it shows you've got good skills if you can do that. ;)
If you are over 21 years have a shot before going up, it has always calmed me down. If not, practice practice practice, it's really the only way you can get over stage freight.


The girl above me is right eye contact is good, but try looking at their forehead or nose, they wouldn't tell the difference and it won't make you as nervous.
i've been in a bunch of plays and have had to speak in front alot of large groups and the best thing to do is just imagine its not you. if your acting, think that its just the character and not really you. another good idea is to not make eye contact with anyone. if you look over the tops of their heads it gives the impression that you are looking them in the eye when you actually aren't!!!
Try and do it more often and think of why you feel like this. What are they gonna do? Nothing can go wrong..and yeah, do it more often so that you get used to being in front of people. Mind you a get scared something rotten when i sing in front of an audience but half way through the song i think ';hey! this is fun'; and i start enjoying it.
-Imagine they are all naked,


-Look at one person at the time and think that its the only audience you have,


-Remember, long faces do not means lack of interest, think about it, when you are listening and interested, may be your face shows the contrary,


Smile but don't laugh while talking


Try this trick


Use a board with three figures, a square, a circle and a triangle, ask the audience which one likes more rising hands, then qualify the answers with, who chose the triangle are smart and focused, the square are neat, and at the end, the circle you love buzz and sex, then you'll get their attention.
It麓s a good idea to find one or two persons to look at while you are talking (preferably someone who seems to really listen to what you麓re saying). Then you don麓t have to worry about the other persons there. Whether it麓s someone at the front or the back of the room I think depends on how big the room is. I usually look at the people at the back row and forget about the people at the front. Remember that when you麓ve finished the speech you麓ve done something that was hard for you to do and therefore going through with it is a success in itself. Also remember that the people you麓re talking to don麓t see you as being as exposed as it feels for you when you麓re standing up there in front of them. They don麓t have any negative feelings towards you at all. I totally recognize your situation from myself. The more you practice the better it is. I also think drawing or writing something on the blackboard or showing slides is good cause it takes some of the attention away from you. Good Luck!
Imagine them all naked with Bowler hats on or other ridicoulus headgear--and focus yor eyes on a friendly face or a block of stone or a picture--These people all go to the bathroom just like you and me
All of the above except 'taking a shot'.. that never really helped anyone. May sound stupid but remember to breath, just keep it nice a slow and relaxed. It will help calm you and make your voice sound a lot better. Trust me I'm an actor...

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