What advice would you give to a 26 year old who has to give a speech at work even though she is really quiet and socially anxious?

[Anonymous]

[Leapfrog00]

Me being someone with a social anxiety disorder, I understand your fear, lol. I'm going to give you the best advice I can, and this does work, depending in you're willing to give it a chance.

Before you give your speech, do some breathing exercises, Breath in for as long as you can and count to 7 when exhaling. Do this for at least 5 minutes before.

During your speech, grip the podium with both hands if there is one, grip it every time you feel anxious. It will transfer all the anxiety into the podium.

If there isn't one, take a stress ball or something you can squeeze. Squeeze it while you're giving your speech. Squeeze it as hard as you can. You only need one stress ball or one object though. You don't need to sue both hands because it will still work.

The only reason I suggest gripping the podium with both hands is because it's more simple than trying to figure which hand to use.

Also, make sure you are taking steady breaths during this, but even if you aren't, you should be OK, but steady breaths will keep you from getting that 'Sick to the stomch' nauseous feeling.

I have panic attacks and I've had to give multiple speeches before, and this is what worked for me. Good luck, and I really mean that! I understand that anxiety!

[Anonymous]

Spoke out your mind n guys feeling...
Don't over think

[jennifer_bloom]

Normal people - if not mostly all people - feel sympathy for those who are insecure and don't hate or resent them for their weakness.

I used to have a professor who would grade by a stricter standard when I did presentations because he knew I had no nervousness whatsoever and he thought I had an easier time than the shy kids and he wanted to make it more difficult for me. T

he shy people would get high 90s even if their presentation wasn't that great while I would get an A or A- on my presentation and not an A++ even though my presentations were amazing, just because men don't try to protect strong people.

[Jazzy54]

Does everyone else have to give a speech? If so, please know they’re probably not really paying attention to your speech. Not out of rudeness, but they’re going through their own speech in their mind. I use to hate giving speeches to and that’s the advice my mom gave me and it worked. 😊

[purplepoppy]

Remember you've been asked to give the speech because they respect your expertise on the topic. Once you understand that you'll be less anxious.

[slatyb]

Practice giving the speech to someone.

[Avicenna]

Practice in advance