Anxiety & Panic

[minnie76]

when public speaking I became nervous and anxious, recently I had to attend court as part of job role, I had difficulty remembering my name let alone any information that I would be required to answer questions. sweating, feeling sick, dry mouth, empty head and butterflies like elephants & light headed - maybe a mini panic attack??!!!any suggestions on confidence building and being able to public speak without overwhelming panic and fear

[Sqad]

Public speaking is not and never will be for you.........avoid it like the plague.

Nothing to be ashamed of as the vast majority of people would be in the same boat.

[ummmm]

Like most things the more you do it the easier it gets.

My worse nightmare though.

[AlwaysConfused]

Be prepared. If you are in the position to rehearse what you say, do so. If you don't know the answer to something, take a breath to think about what you say before you say it. Don't look into people's eyes, but look at the tops of their heads. Use a little body language/flip charts/pictures to divert the audience attention from you. Enjoy what you are saying and believe in yourself for others to believe in you. I've spent quite a bit of time on stage (acting, concerts etc), but I still get a little nervous every now and then when holding a meeting at work. It's natural.

[Jackdaw33]

Sqad is right. It used to be called rhetoric. When I did my law finals one of the exercises was to conduct a mock case. The lad who was the 'prosecution' was hesitant and mumbling. i was in my element. I wiped the floor with him and his 'witness'. It was only play-acting, but my lecturer said that on the facts of the case the defendant was clearly guilty but you convinced the court otherwise. Not an easy thing to do. I have known people refuse to even stand up and read from a script in public. Perhaps I was lucky in being born a gobsh!te.

[Sqad]

LOL.^^^^^..plenty of "gobshites" about...........I am one of them.

Trouble is in life.......it is not what you say, but who you are......if you are nobody, then keep out of the limelight.

[AlbertEdwards]

Your best bet is to deal with it beforehand. Try doing a couple of jumping jacks (no joke) before going on stage. You might also want to try imagining that you're only talking to your closest friends or anyone you're comfortable with. There are other tips found in this article here if you'd like to check: https://www.speechionizers.com/overcome-public-speaking-panic-attack/