I have to give a presentation this month and I have horrible social anxiety and other mental health issues and I have to present a topic I know almost nothing about, so I'm not even sure if I'll do a good job. How am I supposed to deal with my anxiety my whole body starts shaking and my voice gets really shaky when presenting so u can clearly tell I'm anxious.
I feel like I'm gonna explode I have no Idea what I should do

I’m a college student and learning how to speak to a large group of people, and my biggest problem is running out of breath. I get the nerves as well, but feel I can put those aside. But I always run out of breath and end up feeling like I’m talking shaky. Has anyone dealt with this and came up with some breathing techniques specific to public speaking?

Hi guys,

I'm Srey! I've been debating competitively over the past 7 years and have represented my uni internationally. But in the initial few years of debate, I really struggled and wished there was an app that could really help me improve my delivery (pausing, pacing, intonation, filler words, etc.).

But all the apps I downloaded gave the same generic feedback like "pause more" or "vary your pitch more". No app gave me specific feedback, like telling me where I should add my pauses or which sentences I should vary my pitch more on.

So for my computer science dissertation, I built an app that gives you a daily prompt (either on everyday conversation, interviews, or debate). It then listens to you speak and gives you feedback on things like pacing, pausing, filler words, intonation, and more.

(Btw, since this was my uni dissertation, you can be sure it's not AI slop haha)

Happy to answer any questions about debate, public speaking, and the app.

And if you're interested in an app to improve your public speaking, check out Speak-Up on iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/speak-up/id6760108342

(Android version in the works! If you want to be alerted when the Android version is out, leave a comment, and I can let you know when it's out)

Aside from toastmasters, what else have people tried to get more comfortable with public speaking. I’m looking for something that I can implement into my daily routine to make me more comfortable with attending a toastmasters session.

Hi, everyone. I am looking for an online affordable coach particularly from India who could help me to structure my thoughts properly for any public speaking event or spontaneous speaking.I can read, write and speak fluent English one to one but when it comes to spontaneous structuring of thoughts I go blank. So many thoughts keeps popping up leading to cluttered thoughts. Hence,looking for a coach who could help me out to structure thoughts. P. S- I am looking for experienced coach.​

Sorry for some reason this got deleted. Two people did respond. But just asking how I am speaking if I am clear I have a big presentation coming up. Want to make sure I’m not slurring or mumbling and speaking clearly.

hi guys, I have a speech in ten days and I haven’t practiced a lick. I wrote my script back in August and haven’t looked at it since.
It’s about 700-750 words and the speech should be about five to six minutes.
Am I able to remember and deliver a confident sounding speech in this time? If so, how? Really desperate.
I don’t have any slides with pictures so that might be a bit of an issue for me because that typically serves as a cue for me when remembering.

Thanks :)

Today's day was off and I don't know why it affected me most.

It took me so long to record this I don't know why but it was harder today but I'll never give up.

I tried to speak clearly today as someone said they can't understand what I said so tell me if you are unable to understand again.

Ciao a tutti,
in base alle vostre esperienze avete trovato un terapeuta / coaching che vi abbiamo aiutato a superare l’ansia del parlare in pubblico e a gestire l’affanno? Purtroppo nel mio lavoro è fondamentale e avendo avuto dei piccoli traumi da piccola (padre molto autoritario) ho la necessità di allenarmi e imparare delle tecniche per gestire queste situazioni.

Va bene sia in presenza su Milano sia online.

Grazie di cuore a chi risponderà

Most best man speeches summarize the guy: we met in college, he's loyal, he's funny, congrats you two. All true. Also gone from memory by dessert.

What works instead is one night. One scene that proves the trait, so you never have to say the trait.

The shape, from a speech I wrote:

"Four of us ate gas-station chips on a curb at 2am after the hall locked early. He gave the last of his cash to a stranger who'd lost his wallet, then walked home. That's who you're marrying."

Not one word in there says loyal or generous. The night says it. That's the trick. Don't describe him. Show one night and let the room do the math.

A summary is a dossier, and nobody cries at a dossier. One night is a story, and people remember stories.

Test it before you write a word: can you name the single night? If you can't, you don't have the speech yet, you have a montage. Montages get the polite laugh. One night gets the cry.

If you're stuck, drop the person in three lines below and I'll tell you which part is a speech and which part is filler.

I can explain something perfectly in my head, but when I give a presentation, I suddenly forget simple words.

Anyone else have this problem? What really helps?

Hey guys - so I have been shortlisted for anchoring in my high school and In last two days, my skills have went downhill. [blaming it on my cold]

Thankfully, the selection have been delayed to the 23rd and now I need helpppp.

I seriously need to learn how to bring modulation to my voice, [mainly pitch] and how to do a feminine voice. [and somehow do the chest anchoring voice!??] I have watched soo many videos and still can't learn HOW to do it - how to go low/high/warm. [I have been told that I DO know how to change my pitch but the last two days has lowered my confidence]

Pleasee helpppp

Hey, speakers!

I wanted to ask you about one thing- in your experience, how do people develop that ability to speak on the spot (especially if it's impromptu, not a memorized speech) with coherency, fluency and just flowing nature? The opposite of that being mumbling words, lack of articulation, stuttering and such.

I'm asking because even though English is not my native language, my comprehension and just overall language skills are very good, but the only part that I find is lacking the most being speaking clearly, precisely and coherently. I tend to speak on the same idea too long (repeating the same ideas), sometimes not articulate clearly and even lose my train of thought (especially if I'm just practicing on my own).

my thoughts are always well organised, but then idk why my grasp my words is relatively poor.

my sentences come out long winded, i sometimes forget the word i want to say, i stutter quite a bit. this is not even on stage, this is jsut every day.

coud it hv something to do with my confidence levels? or is it a skill that i simply need to practice a bit more idek

im applying for tutoring jobs and i really thnik i can teach others, just sometimes i get stopped by the issues listed above.

thanks dawgs

This website is really good.

It really helped me and now I don't panic to find topics to speak

I would love if you guys review and give feedbacks besides encouraging me.

Thank you

I did some public speaking the other day and got some feedback. Overall, everyone was very happy with the topic and my job as a speaker. The only feedback I got, and that I want to improve on, is audience engagement.

I often see speakers just ask questions - is this the best way to engage the audience? Are there other ways I can engage the audience that I might not be thinking of?

Today I had a presentation that I messsed it up. I stuttered alot and even had weird akward pauses when my mind went blank. How do I overcome this axniety attack when Im presenting?

edit: forgot to mention when I was a kid I had talking issues. I speka fast and some people cant even understand me. Not to mention I started being illiterate after high shool. Im in college now.

I had to give a presentation for one of my classes. Honestly, the moment I stood in front of everyone, my mind suddenly went completely blank.

I'd actually prepared what I wanted to say beforehand, and I was pretty familiar with the material. But as soon as I started speaking, I became way too self-conscious. I couldn't tell if I was talking too fast, if my explanation made sense, or even if the audience could follow my train of thought. The only thing on my mind was getting through the presentation without completely losing my place.

Halfway through, I stopped focusing on explaining the material and started putting all my energy into remembering what I was supposed to say next. As long as I could make it to the next point without getting stuck, I felt like I was doing okay. Or at least, that's what I kept telling myself.

When the presentation was finally over, I couldn't even give myself a clear idea of how I'd done. I could only remember a few scattered moments, and I had no idea what the whole presentation had actually sounded like to everyone else.

So I asked a classmate to use an AI tool to transcribe my presentation. I thought it might help me figure out whether I'd explained things clearly and what I could do better next time.

But when I looked at the notes generated by vomo ai,I realized my memory of the presentation was very different from what I had actually said,I noticed some things that I hadn't even been aware of while I was presenting.

Some of my points didn't flow into each other as smoothly as I'd thought. At other moments, it seemed like I was going around in circles instead of getting straight to the point. I couldn't tell whether it was because I was nervous or something else, but seeing my words written down made every awkward moment stand out even more.

The strange thing is that while I was presenting, I had no idea what I was actually doing because I was too busy trying to keep going. But afterward, I suddenly had all these detailed notes in front of me, and I couldn't help going through every little thing.

The more I reviewed them, the more embarrassed I felt. I'd read a sentence over and over, wondering why I'd explained it that way, then go back to another part and start picking that apart, too. I'd originally wanted to figure out how to improve, but instead, it felt like I was reliving the entire presentation all over again.

I understand that reviewing your own performance is supposed to help you improve. And with AI-generated notes, I can see exactly what I said instead of having to rely on my memory. But I didn't expect seeing my presentation written out to make me feel so self-conscious.

It makes me wonder how other people deal with this. Do you find it helpful to review your presentations or watch recordings of yourself, or does it just make you overthink every little detail?

Hi all,

So I am an older student currently in undergrad, hoping to go to law school. Currently doing a political science major with a communications minor because I want to kind of force myself to be better about public speaking. (Even debating doing Toastmasters?)

I’ve been in management roles where I have spoke in front of small groups with no issue. I can raise my hand in a class of 100 and give answers, but I usually just focus in on the teacher.

I had to speak in front of 75 people once to just introduce myself in a new role. I thought “oh I’ve got this no prob!” Then when everyone’s eyes were on me I started to get super nervous.

This past weak I had tryouts for the Mock Trial team where I had to recite a speech in front of two panelists, then answer questions as a witness, then do an interview.

The speech part I had practiced heavily. When I got up there I had to stop and take a second and I was almost shaking throughout and was frustrated I had to keep glancing at my paper. But then after sitting down with the 2 people after the speech I was able to have a natural, personable conversation! I think my nervousness during the speech cost me a spot on the team.

I am just wondering if anyone has suggestions on how to overcome this or any tips? Thank you!

TLDR: I can speak in front of others in small groups or conversationally, but I feel like I freeze and get nervous when I feel/see people’s eyes all on me.

Mustafa’s dream is to study for a bachelor’s in Computer Science in the U.K. 🇬🇧

i know this topic is something simple and "unecessary" as compared to the others in this subreddit but i have stage fright and have been forced by my teacher to partake in a kind of presentation with another person.

in front of an audience, i tend to shiver, and go blank, its completely humiliating for a 16 yr old girl. at this point in life, i feel like nothing else can make me uneasy except for this. i feel that when i do end up doing it, everyone will remember it, or if not, feel sympathetic and pity me, or whenever a topic is taught in class bout confidence or stage fright, people would remember me.

i hate that my mind goes blank and that the shivering becomes visibly obvious. another thing which makes this whole situation worse for me is that im doing it with another person, that person relies on me, yet im gonna fail them and know for a fact ill go blank.

idk what to do, cry and jst tell her i might go blank and that i have stage fright or remain quiet bout it.