controlling nerves

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Ummu Sufyaan

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if you are publicly speaking, how do you go about controlling your nerves so that your voice sounds so it sounds "flowing" i.e the same way you would speak to your friends/siblings, only louder for everyone to hear and not shaking and nervous?
 
You practice (a lot) beforehand in front of friends, so that on D-day, your voice sounds right.

If there are any friends in the audience, you look at them and imagine they are the only people you are speaking to. Or look at the walls and imagine you are alone (like when you practiced).

If you're going to be using a microphone, practice with one beforehand so that you aren't startled by the way your voice sounds.

It also helps to get emotional (angry, annoyed, sad) about your content. I've never been able to do this reliably (occasionally it happened by itself), but if you do, your voice sounds very natural and not scared.

Try to arrange it so that your knees aren't visible. No matter how good your voice sounds, the audience will still notice your knees trembling if you're nervous.
 
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Umm ul-Shaheed said:
:sl:
if you are publicly speaking, how do you go about controlling your nerves so that your voice sounds so it sounds "flowing" i.e the same way you would speak to your friends/siblings, only louder for everyone to hear and not shaking and nervous?
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Aslamu Alikum

At college I had to do a lot of public speaking. Good breathing techniques help and speaking slowly is the best way to control your nerves.

If you speak to a large group on people on a regular basis, you get used to it. Just imagine your speaking to a crowd of two year olds. That helps me to keep calm. :p
 
Fighting4Iman said:
believe in what your saying


that always helps..
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That is the best advise.. fear only comes from doubt.. if you know your subject inside out, then you are in control.. the jitters wear off after exactly two minutes.. unless you suck in which case you'll be flustered for the entire duration and it will be quite painful..

:w:
 
:sl:
Gossamer skye said:
That is the best advise.. fear only comes from doubt.. if you know your subject inside out, then you are in control..
the jitters wear off after exactly two minutes.. unless you suck in which case you'll be flustered for the entire duration and it will be quite painful..

:w:
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fear also comes from standing in front of all these people who are going to be staring at you for the entire duration of your speech :phew :exhausted lol
 
^^^ take your glasses or contacts off, and then have your eyes bouncing about lol..
works for me all the time.. besides that if you are giving a power point presentation, they usually dim the lights anyway so it won't be as freaky as all that.. they are just people.. they wake up with bad breath, under arm odor, they are flatulent, and they poop and make strange noises.. (except me of course) so how can that pose a threat to you on any level?

:w:
 
I once spoke to a guy who delivered training sessions to groups of people for a living (on that occasion he was talking about presentation skills). He was a very good speaker, but he told us that he felt nervous before every single training session. I could hardly believe it!

He said that many people who have to speak/perform in front of audiences feel nervous or anxious - even to the point of feeling physically sick.

He felt that if ever he stopped feeling a little nervous, he would probably feel that he had 'lost his edge', that he was becoming complacent and that it was time to look for another job ...

Here are a few things I remember from the training:
  • Be well prepared for your presentation
  • Have a glass of water ready if your voice goes funny - but don't fill it too much, or you may spill some if your hands are shaky
  • It may help to start by telling the audience that you are a bit nervous - most people will be sympathetic ...
  • Try to stand to make yourself heard better
  • Focus on the people who give you positive visual feed-back - smiling, eye contact etc

What kind of public speaking do you have to do?
I must say the best way forward is simply to go for it and give it a go ... after all, what's the worst thing that can happen? You make a fool of yourself and a few people giggle? So what, you are not going to die!

You will get better at it as you practice.
20 years ago I would have found the very idea of speaking publically terrifying! Now I might still feel a little nervous and uncomfortable, but it is not such a big deal anymore ...

Trust yourself! :)
 

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