# 25 minute presentation. Very nervous



## Lockjawz (Sep 16, 2012)

So i have bad social anxiety and have recently been slipping into a depresion and i have to make a 25 minute presentation. I am the first one to present in the whole class. When ever i had to even make a 1 miniute presentation infront of a class in highschool my legs would start to shake, i would start stutering and feel light head. The problem is this one is 25 minutes. I know some people might say oh its not that bad once you get into it, but its not like that for me. This presentation is killing me. Im getting so depresed thinking about it. This is the most nervous i have been in my life. Do you guys have any tips on this situation?


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## Wurli (Sep 15, 2012)

I've had to give quite a few presentations. I think the longest I've done was an hour long. I've noticed that not making direct eye contact with anyone helps out a bit. Instead I like to just look at things directly behind everyone so its not like you're staring at the ground. That's about all I got though


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## vanishingpt (Mar 9, 2012)

I get really nervous presenting as well. To be honest, most people don't even really notice how nervous you are. I always thought my voice was shaking when I spoke but everyone always told me they never even noticed and said I was a good presenter. Obviously I didn't always feel that way lol. Most of the fear you feel is in your head.

I find that knowing the material very well ahead of time is good. Whenever I prepare for a presentation, I feel a lot more confident because I know I am telling the audience something worth knowing. It's also good to practice and rehearse. Some presenters may just seem to wing it well, but good presentations take time and practice and that's why they appear so natural and have good flow!

Visualize yourself doing well in the presentation. If you keep imagining bad things, you'll only feel worse. It doesn't hurt to think how well it'll turn out. If you're nervous now, chances are you won't have a perfect presentation (hell, some people don't even if they're great speakers lol) so maybe set a few small goals for yourself like:

"Today I will make eye contact with someone in the audience for at least 2 seconds" or "I will try to slow down when I notice myself speaking quickly" and don't be afraid to take a breath. It may feel long to you but the audience rarely notices. 5 second pauses aren't really that long.

Best of luck with your presentation  try to relax and don't think of horrible things when you're about to go! And better to get it out of the way than to be last I'd say


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## Just Lurking (Feb 8, 2007)

Know your content inside and out, and that way, you at least don't have to worry about forgetting stuff or losing your place.

Leading up to it -- Watch and pay attention to your teachers, and take mental note of how they handle themselves in front of the class. I found that helped me out a bit - imitate the people who do it for a living.

During it -- Deep breaths (don't forget about this - it's actually easy to lose your breath if you're feeling really nervous and not thinking about it), speak slowly, remember that's it OK to take pauses to collect your thoughts or move from one idea to the next.

At 25 minutes, this should actually allow you to get a little more comfortable while you're up there. (I found in longer length presentations, that my nervousness eased off as it went on.)

Good luck!!


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## Propaganda (Oct 26, 2010)

Even though most already stated this, it must be said at least once more, practice!

Practice your presentation exactly how you will give it. Even try to use the same room.

When practicing remember places for pauses. Those are great places to take a breath and slow down your speech. Intentionally place humor, if you can, in the presentation. This will relax your audience and yourself, especially if you get a sustained laugh. Keep an open water bottle in arms reach and drink at known pauses. This helps to relax you and keep your voice strong. Know your topic inside and out. Be ready to answer questions.

Keep practicing your presentation until you can go completely through it without loosing your place. Meaning, don't make up what you are going to talk about on the fly, have your talking points (even if not in text on the slides) memorized to the point where it comes natural.

It's OK to have notes as a guide. (hopefully it's allowed).


Today I just gave the longest presentation I have ever given, over 30min excluding Q&A. I practiced the the presentation in it's entirely around 10 times. Five hours well spent!

Don't rely on luck, rely on practice. =)


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## Annvdb (Sep 27, 2012)

I can relate! I am currently combining 2nd and 3rd year and have to do a lot of presentations... I hate it, public speaking is my biggest fear.

So first of all, know you will most defenetly not be the only one. We often think we are the only one in class feeling this way but it is not true.

2nd: like everyone says: practice, know what your talking about, focus all your energy into that.

3rd: accept the fear. dont fight it or try to think it away. think: im afraid ok, fine  Ill do my best and see how it goes.

And then just do it, it will be only 25 moment of your life, and it will be over before you know it. Also keep a paper with you for when you loose track of what you are saying. I have had that sometimes and then look at the paper and remember 
The thing is, with me I may look fine but I often start to blush which totally gives away the anxiety.


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## Annvdb (Sep 27, 2012)

+ if your really anxious, you wont think about using humor. When I see people writing that, I know that for myself, I could never do that while experiencing such anxiety. Also since I normally dont start conversations with jokes or something like that. So the chances are that no one will be laughing  So I would keep it to the point. Public speaking takes practice and not everyone is a comedian.


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## oceanlife (Aug 20, 2012)

Which class is requiring you to do a 25 minute presentation?


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## fishpie (Sep 28, 2012)

I understand how you feel because I absolutely abhor presentations. I hate them. I get sick thinking that I have two more presentations this semester to get through. I had a 20 minutes presentation for one of my classes last semester. That went really bad... because I wrote a script and basically just read it in front of the class without looking at anyone. Bad idea, I think. Everyone looked really bored afterwards. 

I had a 15 minutes one this semester with the dreaded Q and A afterwards. I almost died, preparing for it the week before. I was so anxious, over preparing and all that. But I think being really, really prepared helps me so much. And I told myself that I won't think about it the day before just so I won't be so nervous. I think it helps not to think about it until the last minute. Be overprepared, don't think about it until you have to, go to the toilet and do warm-up exercises 10 minutes before your presentation and you will be set... actually no. You'll still be nervous, like I was. But after a while, I realised that I knew so much of my material that I was able to talk about it like I knew what I was doing. And it helps if the presentation is about something that no one in class knows much about. 

x


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