Scratch

TimeFreeze wrote:

If you're allowed to, wear sunglasses when you present (just make sure you don't look stupid, like I do when I wear sunglasses). And then close your eyes, and imagine you are talking to a mirror, or your parents.

Or the old trick, imagine everyone in their underwear.

I'm not very good with that kind of imagine...I'm sometimes even afraid to talk to my parents...

Does everyone have to do this? If so...
Just think that no one is going to think badly about you if you mess up - Everyone will do it, and  there's bound to be a few mistakes.
Everyone's going to be nervous, so you're not the only one.

i've performed on stage in front of thousands of people and i know how it feels.  i used to actually throw up before every time i went on stage but as time passes, you get over it.  i actually blanked on stage during a ONE PERSON monologue so there was nobody out there to help me.  just think like this, does it MATTER? if you mess up, does it matter what anybody thinks?  one of my sayings is that if you tell a joke and nobody laughs but you, who care what they think and hey at least you enjoyed it.  if that doesnt work then the best thing to do would be to find a place ont he wall above everyones head and present to that spot, it will help you stop thinking about who your presenting to and start thinking more about your presentation
hope that helps!

no worries!

I get nervous a lot in front of crowds so I do these:
1. Imagine there is no one there
2. Close your eyes and take a deep breath before you start.
3. Try your best to say want you want
4. Everyone gets nervous. Do your presentation in front of a mirror and look at yourself when you talk.

That's all I know.

Same thing with me, but I get nervous when I play piano in front of others. They say I am ultra talented but I get so nervous...I don't express myself as much. When I am alone, I get into it. I can't  even make a recording because I get so nervous...

btw all of this advice works for all sorts of situations
torterra with dance
zackiwiki with piano (and trust me i know what it feels like to blank while playing piano lol)
scratchX with tv stuff
me with guitar, singing, acting, musical theatre and all that kind of stuff
and everyone else
there are many situations you can use this advice with so its good to learn too and its easier the more you do it.

Hey Penguinsrock, public speaking is one of the most common fears that people have. You're not alone here. I used to have this fear before - sometimes I would shake every time I would have to talk in front of the class, present to a set of judges, or perform in front of an audience (and there are times where I still do sometimes shake).

Your best best when it comes to public speaking is to find a way to calm yourself down and feel confident prior to speaking. From your problem, it seems you're pretty familiar and confident with the material at hand prior to presenting, so now it's more of an issue with remaining confident when explaining the topic to your audience. 

Like FantasyTales suggested, you can find a blank spot above everyone's head and present to that spot. Other alternatives would be presenting to an empty seat in the audience (if there is one), or the wall in the back of the room. And take a couple of deep breaths before you begin to speak to help you relax.

It can also help if you get some practice beforehand. If your school has some kind of club, group, or teacher(s) who deals with public debate speaking, you can come up to them for other helps and tips. Or ask your family if you can practice presenting in front of them; I see in a previous post that you're afraid to talk in front of your parents, but try it out (I've done this before and it does help a lot).

And don't worry too much about stumbling with your words every time you speak - even some of the greatest speakers have stumbled in their words and made mistakes when speaking in front of an audience. Think of it this way: the reason why the audience is there is because they want to know about the topic, so you shouldn't worry about what the audience thinks of you. 

Hopefully I didn't sound too wordy here, and that this helps out. ^^

Be yourself.

Don't let the audience know you feel awkward or unconfident. Try to make yourself look confident on the outside, because if they know you don't want to be up there it will just be awkward. Just take a deep breath and do it- People don't care if you make small mistakes.

Okay, I'll go for a bit of humor.

Imagine that if the audience dislikes you, you have the power to lock them in a dungeon.
If you stutter, that means that you unleashed the power of fifty flying bats into the audience.
If shiver, that is the signal for the audience to shrink back in fright.

That's not much, but I just got the urge to post that. 

When I first had to stand up in front of people to speak, I got nervous too.

My trick is to just pretend you're talking to know one or yourself, or perhaps a freind or relative.    Then, rather than remember the speach completely, remember what you need to be saying and improvise it. There's a lot more pressure in remembering every single word...

Also, if you can, I find it helps if you can add a sentence near the start that you can rush. I know rushing a speach is bad, but if you can just blurt something out near the start like "Hello, I'm..." you can get into the speach more.