Blushing during presentations

[Looby*]

Ive got to do a presentation at uni next week and im so nervous already and can feel my heart beat beating faster and faster. Sitting here talking about it now i can feel my cheeks starting to burn.

Its not that i hate giving presentations its the fact that i start blushing really bad! Its a vicious cycle with me thinking please dont let me go red, im going to go red and then by the time i start my presentation my face is on fire! Its not only presentations that i start blushing, i blush for no apparant reason all the time even when im on my own but its easier to hide when your not stood in front of people giving a talk.

Has anyone got any advice on how to get through the presentation?

Many thanks
Looby

 

[x000x]

Well, just remember to try to keep you breathing and speaking at a normal pace. And just think about the things that you are saying. That's what I do. I don't know if it will work for you, but it works for me a little bit. That's all I've got. If I find anything else out, I'll post it here.

 

[madmike]

Try to prepare for it as much as you can, and just before it do something to calm you down a little(maybe some simple breathing exercises) so that you go in there clear headed. I've found this to work for me during the actual presentation, but i still get really panicky for days before it lol. Best of luck!

 

[lithium]

I have the same problem. My face gets real hot, and I just feel devastated. It's really hard to focus on what I'm saying in front of everyone, when I'm so focused on what my face looks like. I have a presentation this upcoming Friday, and I'm nervous as hell. I would advise you to practice what you're going to say and if you're allowed to have some notes written down to refer to. That's what I'm going to do. Good Luck =).

 

[Stuckwithme]

Pop a couple of Inderal and you should be set.

 

[Smiley face]

I can't tell you to make notes or breath because those things don't even come to mind when I'm presenting. The only thing I can think about is how much I'm sounding like a fool by stuttering and sweating and blushing and repeating words. And since these actions are completley autonomic and controlled by chemical reactions there is nothing notes or breathing will do to help you. I suggest fighting these chemically induced feelings with other chemicals (I mean mood enhancers). Try: st. Johns wort and 5-HTP. They are cheap and available at any vitamin aisle.

 

[klytus]

For some people it's actually very useful to imagine that the whole audience is naked. All of them, entirely naked. That makes the situation appear much less formal and much less intimidating and perhaps helps you to calm down and minimize the blushing.

 

[lurknomore]

For some people it's actually very useful to imagine that the whole audience is naked. All of them, entirely naked. That makes the situation appear much less formal and much less intimidating and perhaps helps you to calm down and minimize the blushing.

I think if I used this technique during presentations my face would get redder and/or I would start laughing... which would probably not be appropriate for the topics I tend to present on... and I would probably forget my lines while trying to engage my dead imagination trying to figure out what certain people would look like... so I'm not sure if this strategy would work for most people.

My advice would be to just make sure you know your topic well enough that the presentation itself doesn't have to seem scripted... and maybe just pick a spot in the room to stare at for the most part... or if eye contact is necessary, try to keep it to the teacher/professor, or perhaps a classmate or two that you would feel comfortable glancing at. I'm not sure if this advice would really be helpful for you though. Probably depends on the reason you blush... whether it's because people are staring at you, you don't feel entirely comfortable talking about the subject matter, or whatever else might cause you embarrassment.

 

[klytus]

I'm not sure if this strategy would work for most people.

I said for some. Not for most. Perhaps for most whose reason for blushing is not a state of severe anxiety. The alternative method would be, as lurknomore said, to know the topic well enough to feel entirely comfortable about it, and to know that no matter how harshly one will be judged, there won't be any mistake for the judge to notice.

[...] and I would probably forget my lines while trying to engage my dead imagination trying to figure out what certain people would look like

If it's "lines" you present, which, additionally, you can forget, the presentation wasn't well prepared and you don't know the topic well enough.

Do you actually have to answer to questions from the audience or what kind of presentation are we talking about?

 

[alana]

allot of people blush during a presentation, its pretty normal. Even the most confident, easy going people sometimes have problems with presentations as well as blushing... I go to a school where there are constant presentations... So i see conifedent people become nervous and blush pretty frequently during presentations... People understand and can relate... hmmm maybe it would be a problem if you were a politician or world leader

 

[alana]

another hint is to accept that you feel the way that you do... i guess use it to your own advantage

 

[Ashiene]

In such situations I imagine that I am doing a presentation to a class full of puppets.

 

[tgates209]

I am a blusher too and this post is particularly pertinent to me. It is the area I struggle with most where it causes the most emotional duress. I have to facilitate and hold meetings often and the blushing is a real downer though in the end I;ve learned that people don't care about your blushing, but rather what you say and how it affects them in their own little world. Still, it is a sticking point for me. I also blush when I bump into someone while I'm out or in close quarters with people like at a dinner. I'm getting better slowly though through a lot of "thought pattern re engineering" as I like to think of it.

I disagree with some here that I don't think it has as much to do with preparedness as it does the mental patterns in your head when you get up there or get called on to speak. It has to do with your mind at that moment and how you process your thoughts on the spot while in front of others.

One thing I would highly recommend for those who blush in meetings or while giving presentations is to join Toastmasters. It will push you to overcome this problem. It's helpful because everyone there struggles in one way or another with speaking in front of others - you'll see some freeze completely, stutter, slur words, say words that aren't even words, blush HEAVILY, and many other things. That helps to ease the tension and get you more focused on getting in front of others with greater ease. I've mentioned in another post about how they do this thing called "table topics" where someone introduces a topic and randomly picks people to speak on it without any time to prepare. This is directly in line with our issue and it has really helped - in many facets of life. I would recommend joining a group and giving it a shot. It just may help you out. One thing is for sure, if you do nothing, nothing will happen in the way of overcoming this issue.

Best wishes.

Tom