I’m really upset- public speaking can anyone help pleo

[FanOfTheCheese]

I’m 8 months into a job and have been organising a couple of projects. Someone put me forward to talk at the next all company zoom update. Normally it’s the chief director or very senior staff that talk.
I was told year that director wants me to do ten minute update at the start of the next meeting.
I can’t do it I’m a terrible public speaker i had some horrible experiences when I was younger and I cannot do it. My boss is normally really good but she’s basically said just get on with it.
I know it’s zoom but it’s still talking in front of hundreds of people and I know I’ll make a fool of myself I get tongue tied, stutter say the wrong thing etc
I’m genuinely in tears st the thought of doing it :(

Can you record over your pp presentation using something like loom and then present that so that you are still presenting but it's pre recorded. Just introduce it by saying you pre recorded it so that you don't forget any key elements.

The first time I did anything like this was on a course for public speaking. I kept coughing in the lead up out of anxiety. I was terrified. Once I had got one over with I was better. I have done a few radio interviews since confidently, and ran a few courses, which younger me would never have imagined I could do in my wildest dreams.
A couple of tips I picked up have been:
Have your speech written down and don't be afraid to be seen to be reading it. This is where you can mute and hide everyone else.
Once you have spoken there will probably be questions, so have key facts written down.
If anyone asks you a question, repeat their question before answering, this gives you a couple of seconds to clear your head before answering.
Last but not least, practice.
Good luck!

I think you can do it! There’s a reason why you were put forward and so you have to be confident in your own abilities. Just believe in yourself!

A few tips:

• Know your audience. For EFL webinars etc we tend to make it more interactive with polls, activities etc but this is company zoom update...so have a think of the previous zoom sessions you have attended, what did those company update sessions entail? How was it presented? What did you like about them that you can realistically incorporate into your presentation? And what didn’t you like and aren’t so keen on that you can try to avoid? You don’t have to answer these questions, it’s just to give you an idea of who your target audience is and how these updates are usually presented so you can do something similar for yours.
• Act confident to feel confident. Pretend you are talking to people you know. When I have to present to a lot of people, I do feel nervous but I pretend I am speaking to my loved ones and that makes me feel more at ease and alleviates the worries about being judged etc.
• If you don’t want to share your screen the whole time, and you are told that you don’t have to, then don’t. Just have a few slides prepared instead.
• If you have a presentation prepared beforehand that you can use will help you feel less anxious so the focus is more on the visual presentation. You can practice using the meeting controls and the presentation before the real thing.
• Script a few things and practice; you can ad lib just a tad to keep it natural.
• Smile and relax. Don’t worry about the worst case scenario. See it as a good experience for you and a potential for self-growth.

Good luck and try to have fun with it!🏅

I suffer with panic attacks sometimes too with public speaking. Randomly, sometimes it's absolutely fine, and other times, when I'm least expecting it and often when the situation is less stressful or the group is smaller, I have a full blow panic attack and can't get my words out - it's so embarrassing.

For all those recommending propanol, is it easy to get a prescription? I can imagine having a panic attack even just asking for it!

Practice practice practice.

I used to be terrified of speaking in public but I've done it so much now I don't even notice.

I could stand in Wembley Stadium and witter on about cars, although I have no interest in them and know only that they have wheels on every corner, a bit like cows.

Haven't watched it for a while, but remember this Ted talk being quite good about speaking in public

@AlfonsoTheTerrible

Practice practice practice.

I used to be terrified of speaking in public but I've done it so much now I don't even notice.

I could stand in Wembley Stadium and witter on about cars, although I have no interest in them and know only that they have wheels on every corner, a bit like cows.

Cows have wheels on every corner?!

Ott it is very easy to get it on prescription. I just said what my job entailed, the symptoms I got when I tried to do it, and got a prescription straightaway. I got the 10mg (I think it is my) and I take four in the hour leading up to the presentation. It does tire me out though. A friend takes a higher dose. Another friend takes it daily.

you can do it.

it's like going into the water at skegness beach - horrifyingly cold at first but bearable once you are in the water.

practice practice practice
ideally in front of a mirror
it is absolutely fine to read out what you need to say.

good luck!

I am much better now but when I was younger I was like this. I threw up on stage during a performance when I was about 10 which really made things worse. I ended up studying drama at uni because I loved it and could perform well if I was rehearsed but improv etc would terrify me.

Now when I have to do Zoom presentations I just maximise my notes so I can’t see people’s faces and the top of my notes always says SLOW DOWN 😬

Also, I’ve heard loads of people stumble over words or lose their place and I’ve never judged them so why would they judge me for doing the same? Realising this takes the pressure off

I think if you're sharing your screen to show a presentation you don't even need to be on camera so you could write out or print out your speaker's notes and read from them without doing any of the below, but if you're expected to also be a tiny on-camera person in the corner then I suggest the following, so that you can share your presentation AND read your notes on-screen.

The option of recording yourself in advanced and pressing play on the day is also a good one, then you can just be live for any questions.

Make sure you don't confuse propranolol with propanol, should you choose to go down the medication route :)

(Practise / play around with these two things before going live).

1. Powerpoint
Add speakers notes at the bottom of your slides, set it up as a slideshow but choose Presenter Mode so that you can see the notes - there are several ways to do this depending on your platform but Slideshow » Presenter view is one way, or click the little Slide show icon at the bottom of the screen, then click the three dots that appear (on mine at least!) and choose Presenter view.

You'll see your in-play slide on the left, the sequence of slides in your 'stack' below and your prompt notes on the right (with a miniature version of your next slide at the top). If you've not used this set up before I'd recommend having a bit of a play with it - running through the slides, stopping and restarting (so that you're familiar if you need to troubleshoot in the middle of your live event).

I've added a screenshot of this and attached the image.

Once that's done the next thing is to create a pretend Zoom room (with just you in it) to which you can test sharing your screen, and adjust the size of what portion is shared so that the room would see only your slide and not the notes.

In other words you'll run your presentation from a smaller bit of your screen (makes no difference to viewer) so that you're hiding the speaker notes.

2. Zoom
• Start a new meeting.
• Click the Share screen option » then select 'Advanced' at the top » Double click "Portion of Screen"

A window will pop up and you then need to resize it so that it fits snugly around your main slide, on the left. Fiddly, but only needs to be done the once.

In the second screenshot you can see a thick green border around the slide - this is the share window and everything inside it is broadcast to your Zoom meeting attendees but nothing outside is. It's resizable (just grab the edges or corners and drag to fit).

The next time you share your screen that pop upwindow will have the same default size and position so you can have your presentation open in the background and people will only ever see your slide. You can read aloud your notes appearing on the right which are seen by you alone :)

Practise to get a feel of using the spacebar or mouse to advance to the next slide, you can also scroll down on the right to read through a longer list of notes (you can shrink or enlarge the font size). If you click into the speakers notes though when you press 'space' you'll just start editing, not advance to the next slide, so be aware of where your cursor is.

Practise your 'joins' where you link from one slide to the next, or from one concept to the next and practise enough times that you feel you know your material. After a while you may find that you don't really need lengthy speakers notes, just a few keywords to prompt you to say whatever sentence(s) you want to say.

Good luck,
Jo

Remember the audience is on your side. They want you to do OK because that is good for them too. You absolutely don’t need to be perfect - how many absolutely perfect presentations have you ever heard.

I once saw Alan Rickman make a mistake in a play, he smiled at the audience, then redelivered the line. He was still fantastic people really don’t expect perfection even from seasoned performers.

I have similar insecurities about public speaking, and have recently been listening to a podcast called ‘How to own the room- women and the art of brilliant speaking’ by Viv Groskop and it is full of brilliant tips and advice (she’s also written a book with the same title ) . There’s an episode called ‘A zoom of one’s own’ which gives specific advice on virtual presentations.
TyneTeas that TedTalk is great!

Cows have wheels on every corner?!

Well, maybe not every corner.

Thanks @WellTidy. I really will consider this the next time I have an interview or big presentation. A lot of the time, with deep breathing and preparation, I'm absolutely fine, but sometimes, randomly, the anxiety is overwhelming and it would be reassuring to have something to help that.

Yep very easy to get a prescription for propanol from your GP

Sorry, haven’t read all the comments and don’t want to repeat what’s already been said as I know propranolol was mentioned at the top - but absolutely- it will change your life op. You’ll breeze it with one of those little pink pills:)

OP- google propranolol reviews- you will relate. that’s what swayed me. Never looked back.

Also saying Propranolol here, am taking it as have been waking in the night with racing heart and anxiety when am NOT in work because am always so worried I've missed something or someone. And its helping me feel able to function again.

Just wanted to echo the the above, propranolol.
Incredible stuff.

Propanarol!

Passed my driving test after 15 years of being a nervous wreck doing lessons after 4 weeks of being on it. Fantastic stuff. You'll do great!

It is easy to get (although obviously beta blockers should be taken cautiously- just ask gp to check you over (blood pressure etc) and ask their opinion , but mine prescribed it almost no questions asked (I was all prepared to beg for it with a bank of reasons!) as a pp said I felt all anxious just thinking about asking for them😁.
You feel no different when you take them so up until you present, you’ll be wondering if it’ll even work but it will. You just won’t get those panic symptoms.
I can understand the poster who raised their eyebrows about medication but for those of us who relate- believe me, sometimes medication is the only way. Obviously practice breathing, positive thinking, practise etc- but needs must.

Public speaking does it for me, too op!

You can get autocue for computers i think, do a Google search - pretty sure you'll find some free programmes or apps if you want it on a different device.

Decinitely practise til you think you've got it done and then do it loads more.

The biggest thing that I find helps me is to to remember that your audience wants to hear what you've got to say, they're rooting for you and 99% will have similar nerves speaking publicly.

So remember, you're just chatting to friends.

@Jaxhog

Go and join your local Toastmasters group - they specialize in helping people to overcome their public speaking nerves. They're very supportive and not expensive. Go here to find your nearest club www.toastmasters.org/find-a-club

I've been a member for many years and it's helped me hugely.

I do quite a lot of speaking in my job, just this week I had to do two updates each to c170 people. I still get quite nervous.

But I've tried two Toastmasters groups in a bid to see if I could improve and found them totally excruciatingly cringeworthy. They literally have someone counting the number of times you say er. And the horrible feedback thing they do, it's so fake. And the stupid names and the sashes!

Plus the fact that people's talks are just so boring! And now it's all on Zoom people's feedback includes stuff like "if you look at the camera it looks more like you're looking at the listener". Lucky for me I don't present to people who are too thick to know how laptop cameras work!

It's like Freemasons with extended small talk!

Can you prerecord it?