[yabba_dabba_doo]

hey guys, maybe some of you who have this problems can help me out. I find that more and more of my classes required presentations and group disscussions. Everytime it's my turn to talk and everybody stares and listens to me I get sooOOOooo nervous, my heart beats 5 times as fast, I feel like I was going to have a heart attack. my whole body is shaky, even my mouth is shaky, thus people know and can tell i'm nervous. I feel extreme heat coming off my body. I know ...it's terrible...now I don't have a problem of standing in front of 30 KIDS and talk all day long (which i'm a substitute teacher by the way)...but if you give me the attention and have 30 adult looking at me I feel so nervous...how can I overcome this? i'm asking this now because it happaned to me again today...and my class were sitting in our chairs in circle and reading poems, but I was so nervous when it was my turn.... this stress me out a lot , i'm embarass

[haibaragi]

if you have a friend in the audience you should try to focus on them and zone everyone else out.. that way it's more like you're just talking to him/her instead of strangers. just make sure to pass a cursory glance over everybody else every once in a while to maintain the 'eye-contact' requirements. and don't think that it's you vs. rest of the class. most ppl are just as afraid of public speaking as you are so they know how hard it is and won't ridicule you for little mistakes. just focus on getting all your thoughts across and before you realize it you'll be done

also it doesn't help to periodically take nice deep, gentle breaths- gentle because you don't want to do any heavy breathing (you don't want anyone aware of the fact that you're trying to calm yourself). if you regulate your breathing, you can stop the thump-thumping heart beat that forces you to be aware of your nervousness.

[shortnsweet]

I'm really shy about speaking in discussions too, but I've learned that you shoudn't focus on how nervous you are & how fast your heart is beating because that will make you even more nervous. Don't think thoughts like omg everyone is looking at me, I'm going to mess up and look stupid in front of all these people. Try to change your thoughts to like Ok I can do this, it's not too bad, it's an opportunity to show everyone else what I know and other positive thoughts like that.

[itrayya]

you'll have to do more and more,
and you'll get use to it.

TRUST ME, i use to be horrible.
now im up there and the nerves gone.

NO ONE WILL KNOW YOU'RE NERVOUS IF YOU DON'T ACT NERVOUS.
NO ONE WILL KNOW THAT YOU FORGOT YOUR LINES IF YOU JUST CARRY ON SMOOTHLY.

it's hard, but i know that with constant positive thinking,
you'll be up there and able to say things fine.

BREATHE.
when you're up there, its your time.
DONT FEEL RUSH.
breath when you need it. pause when you need it.

you will do fine. trust me.
i know that saying it is easier but with time,
you'll get up there and do what you gotta do.

GOOD LUCK.
take care.
i wish all the strength and energy for you!!!

[dogs7268]

i took a public speaking course and had to present a public speech in front of 15-20 students every week. just as itrayya said, it takes practice.

i'm currently reading this book, "overachievement, the new model for exceptional performance" and it reminded me about your nervous energy. when people have to give some sort of performance to an audience (public speaking, playing basketball etc.) the body reacts to the situation by activating certain systems in the body.

it lists the certain traits that body goes through:

"the mouth gets dry because the body is channeling effort into tasks more important than producing saliva, "butterflies" happen because the digestive system shuts down from excess stomach acid since we don't need to eat during our performance, sweat flows to prevent the body from overheating, hands/feet/knees begin shaking because the body is sending faster motor signals which will are supposed to help whatever performance we have, the heart beats faster to get more blood through arteries, carrying nutrients and oxygen to the working muscles and brain cells so they can perform at a higher level, the mind races, processing a greater amount of information in a shorter amount of time."

so the book also suggests that instead of trying to get rid of these traits, we should embrace it and just let it be our "energy bar".