Speech/presentation at school...

[despise]

i have to do a self portrait for art. im doing this thing..where i have wings and im in a dark room and theres a small window with light through it that im turning towards. and in the darkness are all these eyes watching me. anyway, what i have to do is explain it and talk about symbols and i have to talk about myself: likes, dislikes, passions, hobbies, relationships with family and peers. and well..im totally fucked! it has to go for 5 mins, and my idea is mostly based around the fact that im a very paranoid person and i want to escape. im not sure if i want my whole entire class knowing that im scared of each and every one of them. or that i have SA or anything...and i hate speeches...
i was just wondering if anyone had some advice for me at all? i need it... and this is all due tuesday or wednesday or something...anyway, very soon! please help?

 

[Stella]

I also have -

this extreme fear of talking "in public", and have worked hard to overcome it, or rather; /deal/ with it. And I have news for you, you can learn to cope If you fear public talking strongly there is no way you`re ever going to /love/ it, but you sure can learn to handle your fear so that it does not keep you from doing what you sometimes /have to/. Giving a presentation, making a speech etc.

To me /preparation/ is the keyword You have to prepare your "speech" in detail, so there is no doubt as to what you are going to say. (And you have to write it down, so that if you suddenly go blank, you can read your message - which of course is boring, but not disastrous And if I were you I would try to learn the speech by heart, so that if the experience turns out to be somewhat less scary than you thought, you`re able to actually look your audience in the eyes while your talking.

And remember - leave perfection to those who struggle less than you and me. Take pride in "surviving" the speaking-session; and do not forget to congratulate yourself on behalf of the fact that you did something you feared strongly

I`ve found it much helpful to kind of "meditate" on my appearance in "limelight" - by first doing some relaxation-excersises, and then visualize in detail what I`m (successfully) are going to do. The "positive" aspect of it all is important. I see myself do things the way I really would /like/ to do them. Like standing and moving selfconfident in front of "the audience", talking with a strong, clear, confident voice, looking people in the eyes and so on. It probably sounds kind of silly, but it actually works That is, if you keep up the good work. Because I`m so afraid of public speaking, and for the moment have to do it more or less on a daily basis, I spend about 40 minutes on mental preparation every day.

It is hard work, but It has lessende my anxiety to a bearable level I think the secret of it all is that the "mind" doesn`t recognise the difference between /real/ experiences and the ones you "feed" it with.



Good luck to you in /your/ efforts -

Stella )

 

[Gracie]

Solution

Hey the same exact phobia of speaking in public, i have had it since 8 years, look i took an speaeh therapy for a year or so and taught me many tricks, First of all practise the speech in your room like you would actually are doing the speech practice looking up and imagining that people are watching you, if u can is better practise the speech in front of someone if he wants of course, but know the speech by heart, so if u blank cause of nervousness u will have a back up, And look when you are so nervous before a speech. i used to sweat, have headaches, but if u practiced like i told u the moment you step in to speak all ur fear will go OUT, i promise cause that preparation will give u the enough confidence. To the point that i have never stuttered in a speech because of my high preparation, the worse thing that always happens to me is before the speech man the nerves kill me but preparing urserlf when u finally step up u feel like Superman all ur fear will be gona, SO practise it remember!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have been going through this for many years, i have a presentation in 2 weeks and i am already nervous of just thinking of it!!!!!!!
Andres

 

[Gracie]

Solution

Hey the same exact phobia of speaking in public, i have had it since 8 years, look i took an speaeh therapy for a year or so and taught me many tricks, First of all practise the speech in your room like you would actually are doing the speech practice looking up and imagining that people are watching you, if u can is better practise the speech in front of someone if he wants of course, but know the speech by heart, so if u blank cause of nervousness u will have a back up, And look when you are so nervous before a speech. i used to sweat, have headaches, but if u practiced like i told u the moment you step in to speak all ur fear will go OUT, i promise cause that preparation will give u the enough confidence. To the point that i have never stuttered in a speech because of my high preparation, the worse thing that always happens to me is before the speech man the nerves kill me but preparing urserlf when u finally step up u feel like Superman all ur fear will be gona, SO practise it remember!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have been going through this for many years, i have a presentation in 2 weeks and i am already nervous of just thinking of it!!!!!!!
Andres

 

[despise]

thanks for the advice...i hope it works. but now i have 3 speeches due..and im getting really stressed and emotional... :roll: i hope everything works out anyway. thanks again

 

[jakejohnson007]

It sounds like you have performance anxiety (I also have this).

I have read that beta-blockers are an ideal drug for your situation. You can take them on an as-needed basis; take one every time you have to give a speech, a few hours beforehand, I think.

These drugs help you relax, calm your heartrate. Performance anxiety is different but related to social phobia, I think. In my situation, rapid and heavy heartbeat was my main symptom associated with performance anxiety (it could start hours before giving the speech, just anticipating it). This rapid heartbeat is not really present in my social anxiety.

Performance anxiety, for me, is erratic; it only occurs before and sometimes during intense situations where one is in the spotlight of a number of other people observing your actions. Interestingly, it is usually worse for me before I actually give the speech than during. Once I've said a few lines at the podium, I sometimes enter a trance where I become articulate and calm.

Because performance anxiety is so erratic, beta-blockers taken on an as needed basis may help you. For my chronic social phobia, I am seeking a long-term medication.