How to calm nerves before a speech?

Be prepared, take a deep breath, and don't be a pussy.

Figure out a way to keep yourself on track and focused on exactly what you’re trying to get across. With PowerPoint you can do that by adding small queues for yourself on each slide. If you’re delivering a speech without visual aids, make queue cards with key words or phrases to keep you on track. Practice with these tools until you feel prepared (and work out your kinks) & that should help with the nerves.

I appreciate the responses! Will definitely keep these in mind

Try to speak louder than usual when you start

I went from having to do no public speaking in college to being cold called in a class of 70 and doing shite like moot court so I had a big learning curve. Speaking louder helps me feel assertive and not think too hard about nerves.

ETA: do a bunch of cardio the day of the presentation. Go for a long run or bike ride. That always helps with anxiety.

In all seriousness though brother I feel your pain. You are not alone.

Like you I consider myself pretty extroverted person but put me up to speak in front of a crowd and I want to go crawl in a shell.

The anxiety can be paralyzing. Just remember to breath slowly and prepare. Know your material thoroughly. Once you get going you’ll catch fire and feel like a million bucks once you finish.

If its for a college undergrad class, drink 1-2 natty lights. Thats what I did for my speech class.

If its for a job, see if you know anyone that takes a beta blocker or see if your doc will call you in a script for some propranolol.

I had to present a Continuing Education class in front of all professionals back in Feb while I was still a student. My preceptor chose my topic which I knew nothing about. It helped that I had a computer to read my presentation off of. I only looked at the crowd once every 15 minutes to see if anyone had questions

The more you think it’s going to suck, the more it will suck. 9 times out of 10, you’ll be nervous right before and then get 30 seconds in and realize it’s not bad.

I speak regularly, but my trick is just not making a big deal out of it. Try to make it like any other project/assignment. The more ho-hum you are about it, the less nervous you get leading up to it.

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I speak regularly, but my trick is just not making a big deal out of it.

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The people in the audience probably want to be there as little or less as you want to be up there speaking.

That's the way I think about it. Noone is going to remember what you said an hour after you finish anyway so what's the point of freaking out?

** whether this is true or not is debatable, but it's the attitude I use to not make a mountain out of mole hill.

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Practice! Start in front of a mirror. Then bring in a family member. Then a friend or two. 

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This is a good foundation. My job has me doing public presentations a lot. There's no substitute for being prepared.

Getting feedback from someone who knows nothing about your topic is helpful too.

I also would recommend building a crutch if you get nervous and practicing using it. Have your family member interrupt you with a random question, field it, answer it and get back on track. It will build confidence that you can handle the unexpected without losing your way.

The last aspect is stress management leading up. For me, the lead up is worse. Once I'm going, I lose myself in the moment. It's Mom's spaghetti beforehand that's more challenging.

Managing that aspect is pretty individual. What helps with me is reminding myself that it's happening at 10:30 am and not before. Worrying isn't going to make it come faster or be over sooner. I look at preparation like laying out a plan, and day of, it's just time to execute the plan.

Being confident in your prep will help a lot with the nerves. If you know you have it down and can respond to something unexpected, that helps immensely.