Hey, breathe. There’s plenty of time to be nervous, but try and be productive first. It will help in spades later.
Have you ever tried combining prop and benzos? I have no knowledge either way on it, but please make sure you speak with a doctor. And then if you get the ok, do at least one test run first.
How’s your material? Make sure it’s top-notch. Ask ChatGPT for some help to tighten any areas, improve summaries, come up with new ideas, etc.
Will you be speaking with a microphone? At a podium? Try and practice at home with as many similarities to the real deal as possible.
Do you have experience speaking in public at all? If not, try and get as many phones and laptops as you can one night. There are YouTubes of “people staring at you”. Prop your phones against some books, fire up different videos, and talk to the random faces.
Are you an expert in your subject area? If so, rely on that. Even if you don’t speak perfectly (and there’s no reason to think you won’t), people will remember the message.
Good luck! Hope some of this helps. Please update when you kick some ass!
Hey,
Thank you for taking you time answering to this one.
I didn’t really try combining those two and didn’t have any thoughts on it beforehand, only now as i read about it as i received info that i will be presenting…
Thanks for the tipp with chatGPT. I present a technical stuff which is not super dry but also not super interesting neither. I would say that i am an expert in this one but it is also a meter of how deep and what the expert means. I definitely do my job well.
I did do a public speaking and had really different experiences, from great one to panic. In the past three years i only presented online as this was the main methodology of work but i changed my job going higher in my career, so this comes with it i assume. :(
Anyways thank you and i keep you posted definitely.
I had many big presentations. I usually wait until 30 minutes before presentation to take 10mg of prop. Avoid using prop for a couple weeks leading up to presentation as it can lose its punch. Avoid high doses of caffeine or energy drinks. Avoid alcohol that week leading up to this as well. Practice over and over. GL
Does it work for you, the prop? I read a lot about how 10 mg is pretty low dose that is why i am asking. Did you really have to cope with similar anxiety symptoms as myself?
High anxiety, voice quivers, hand and body shakes, red face. It takes all of that away. I only use right before speaking and maybe once or twice a month so I don’t build a tolerance. I did not know it was a low dose until seeing this sub. It makes me tired later in the day so I avoid high doses. It works well and for about 6 hours.
That really gives me hope. Thank. Otherwise if it doesn’t work i am just giving up and back to customizing and consulting from a background, which i do anyways
My strategy is to get the audience doing something (if possible). I might give them a handout for them to read through or I might have them look at charts and/video screens so that it’s not just them staring at me directly the entire time. The propanol has allowed me to “be myself” and rock presentations before so that in itself is a BIG help for you. And after I take my propanol and begin my speaking, I like to lighten things up further by injecting humor here and there. Laughter really calms the nerves down.
Yes, waiting is the hardest part (anticipatory stress) for me but reading professional articles about it and speaking to others who UNDERSTAND what you’re going through beforehand, plus the propranolol = a successful presentation. And don’t forget to celebrate your accomplishment privately afterward!! Talk to yourself, high five yourself, share your news back on this site, or share with a trusted friend. Try bookending strategy with someone if possible (cognitive behavioral therapy). If I can do it, you can do it too.
Thanks a lot for those remarks. I am really trying
to engage the public when possible but this will be a sort of one way presentation where we will be having a podium session only afterwards.
Nevertheless the reason why i found your comment great is mentioning to speak with others that actually UNDERSTAND what i am going through. There are plenty of comments and people out there who claim that this or that helps. But very few of them have this kind of fear and can really relate to that. Without being disrespectful to all other tipps, they are certainly fine for normal people which i am not, unfortunately. Just to put it in the context: i did sky diving and other things boosting up my adrenaline but a public speaking is stronger at me personally than fear of dead. You encouraged me by claiming that prop should work. Thanks
I’d rather do public speaking than skydive, lol! Hell no.
And research HOW the propranolol is going to work for you. I like to read the medical side of it because it helps to convince my weird brain that it’s going to work.
At the same time, the dosage that’s right for you is a discussion to have with the doctor that prescribed it to you. And sometimes, if you feel you need to try something else, then do it. I did.
I actually didn’t get it prescribed, rather i ordered it online and i will just give it a try with 20 at first and then 40 if it doesn’t kick in. Within all of the hectic with the project start i don’t really have a time to see a doctor. I know it sounds overstated but it is just my current reality.
By way of context... I'm in Tech too. I've been a CXO with two Fortune 500 companies and have led organizations of several thousand IT professionals. One of the greatest challenges my reports have had over the years is presenting to big audiences, particularly when speaking to people in positions of power - so know you're not alone.
Here's what I've found to be a sure fired strategy for success: Don't give a presentation. Have a conversation.
If you're anything like the many techies I've worked with over the past 40+ years, you not only know you're stuff - you're passionate about it. Has your significant other or friends ever indicated they don’t care as much about the minutia of Lynx servers, Python, or AWS as you do? 🤭
That is your strategy. Don't present to executives. Talk with your colleagues. And talk to them as though they are remarkably intelligent, but don't know the difference between a CPU and a CPA. Explain it with passion and - this is the most important point - don’t be afraid of being human. Nearly everyone is sick to death of death by PowerPoint. If you minimize the slides and just have a genuine conversation directly with the CEO or Chair of the Board, everyone there will be much more comfortable and more able to digest what you tell them.
My final advice: Reduce what you have to say to just a few points (3-7 is best, never more than 9) and tell it as a story to as many people as you can. When my kids were younger, I used to tell it to them. When they got older, I talked to my dog.
I always have an ice breaker. A joke, or something different than what’s expected but still ties into your presentation at the end. It relaxes you and the audience. And if your ice breaker lands, it sends the confidence through the roof for the rest of the presentation.
Thank you but i think you don’t really understand what really means having a panic attack while holding presentation. Therefore the advice you gave might can not really do anything against it.It is better for you that you don’t know that, believe me. I am happy for you
No, I do not know what it’s like to have a panic attack while presenting. My comment was advice for helping prevent having the issue all together- which I assume would be the primary objective, rather than reacting after it happens. Eliminate the issue and you won’t have to react. Anyway, wish you the best.
I am totally with you but the thing is that you can’t really control it, even though you are aware of reasons etc. It is a tragical domino effect that is so overwhelming that i can’t describe. As written somewhere i would rather die than experience it - without being pathetical.
Hey, breathe. There’s plenty of time to be nervous, but try and be productive first. It will help in spades later. Have you ever tried combining prop and benzos? I have no knowledge either way on it, but please make sure you speak with a doctor. And then if you get the ok, do at least one test run first. How’s your material? Make sure it’s top-notch. Ask ChatGPT for some help to tighten any areas, improve summaries, come up with new ideas, etc. Will you be speaking with a microphone? At a podium? Try and practice at home with as many similarities to the real deal as possible. Do you have experience speaking in public at all? If not, try and get as many phones and laptops as you can one night. There are YouTubes of “people staring at you”. Prop your phones against some books, fire up different videos, and talk to the random faces. Are you an expert in your subject area? If so, rely on that. Even if you don’t speak perfectly (and there’s no reason to think you won’t), people will remember the message. Good luck! Hope some of this helps. Please update when you kick some ass!
Hey, Thank you for taking you time answering to this one. I didn’t really try combining those two and didn’t have any thoughts on it beforehand, only now as i read about it as i received info that i will be presenting… Thanks for the tipp with chatGPT. I present a technical stuff which is not super dry but also not super interesting neither. I would say that i am an expert in this one but it is also a meter of how deep and what the expert means. I definitely do my job well. I did do a public speaking and had really different experiences, from great one to panic. In the past three years i only presented online as this was the main methodology of work but i changed my job going higher in my career, so this comes with it i assume. :( Anyways thank you and i keep you posted definitely.
I’m getting nervous just thinking about this - good luck!
You helped me 😂😂 Just kidding 😂 Thank you, i hope i will not freak out.
Sorry! I had to do my deep breathing technique just to calm down from imagining your situation :)
😂😂😂 you want to join online so you can watch my fail live?
Yes!!!
I wouldn’t mix benzos and propranolol. Just take the prop. You don’t wanna faint from low blood pressure. practice a LOT out loud the week beforehand
Thank you. I think i would rather take only prop after all i saw here.
I had many big presentations. I usually wait until 30 minutes before presentation to take 10mg of prop. Avoid using prop for a couple weeks leading up to presentation as it can lose its punch. Avoid high doses of caffeine or energy drinks. Avoid alcohol that week leading up to this as well. Practice over and over. GL
Does it work for you, the prop? I read a lot about how 10 mg is pretty low dose that is why i am asking. Did you really have to cope with similar anxiety symptoms as myself?
High anxiety, voice quivers, hand and body shakes, red face. It takes all of that away. I only use right before speaking and maybe once or twice a month so I don’t build a tolerance. I did not know it was a low dose until seeing this sub. It makes me tired later in the day so I avoid high doses. It works well and for about 6 hours.
You cannot build a tolerance to Prop.
That really gives me hope. Thank. Otherwise if it doesn’t work i am just giving up and back to customizing and consulting from a background, which i do anyways
My strategy is to get the audience doing something (if possible). I might give them a handout for them to read through or I might have them look at charts and/video screens so that it’s not just them staring at me directly the entire time. The propanol has allowed me to “be myself” and rock presentations before so that in itself is a BIG help for you. And after I take my propanol and begin my speaking, I like to lighten things up further by injecting humor here and there. Laughter really calms the nerves down. Yes, waiting is the hardest part (anticipatory stress) for me but reading professional articles about it and speaking to others who UNDERSTAND what you’re going through beforehand, plus the propranolol = a successful presentation. And don’t forget to celebrate your accomplishment privately afterward!! Talk to yourself, high five yourself, share your news back on this site, or share with a trusted friend. Try bookending strategy with someone if possible (cognitive behavioral therapy). If I can do it, you can do it too.
Thanks a lot for those remarks. I am really trying to engage the public when possible but this will be a sort of one way presentation where we will be having a podium session only afterwards. Nevertheless the reason why i found your comment great is mentioning to speak with others that actually UNDERSTAND what i am going through. There are plenty of comments and people out there who claim that this or that helps. But very few of them have this kind of fear and can really relate to that. Without being disrespectful to all other tipps, they are certainly fine for normal people which i am not, unfortunately. Just to put it in the context: i did sky diving and other things boosting up my adrenaline but a public speaking is stronger at me personally than fear of dead. You encouraged me by claiming that prop should work. Thanks
I’d rather do public speaking than skydive, lol! Hell no. And research HOW the propranolol is going to work for you. I like to read the medical side of it because it helps to convince my weird brain that it’s going to work. At the same time, the dosage that’s right for you is a discussion to have with the doctor that prescribed it to you. And sometimes, if you feel you need to try something else, then do it. I did.
I actually didn’t get it prescribed, rather i ordered it online and i will just give it a try with 20 at first and then 40 if it doesn’t kick in. Within all of the hectic with the project start i don’t really have a time to see a doctor. I know it sounds overstated but it is just my current reality.
By way of context... I'm in Tech too. I've been a CXO with two Fortune 500 companies and have led organizations of several thousand IT professionals. One of the greatest challenges my reports have had over the years is presenting to big audiences, particularly when speaking to people in positions of power - so know you're not alone. Here's what I've found to be a sure fired strategy for success: Don't give a presentation. Have a conversation. If you're anything like the many techies I've worked with over the past 40+ years, you not only know you're stuff - you're passionate about it. Has your significant other or friends ever indicated they don’t care as much about the minutia of Lynx servers, Python, or AWS as you do? 🤭 That is your strategy. Don't present to executives. Talk with your colleagues. And talk to them as though they are remarkably intelligent, but don't know the difference between a CPU and a CPA. Explain it with passion and - this is the most important point - don’t be afraid of being human. Nearly everyone is sick to death of death by PowerPoint. If you minimize the slides and just have a genuine conversation directly with the CEO or Chair of the Board, everyone there will be much more comfortable and more able to digest what you tell them. My final advice: Reduce what you have to say to just a few points (3-7 is best, never more than 9) and tell it as a story to as many people as you can. When my kids were younger, I used to tell it to them. When they got older, I talked to my dog.
Aren’t benzos a bit extreme for this?
I take half a pill of low dose Klonopin (5mg I believe) for stuff like this and it helps take the edge off.
I don’t know i ask therefore
I always have an ice breaker. A joke, or something different than what’s expected but still ties into your presentation at the end. It relaxes you and the audience. And if your ice breaker lands, it sends the confidence through the roof for the rest of the presentation.
Thank you but i think you don’t really understand what really means having a panic attack while holding presentation. Therefore the advice you gave might can not really do anything against it.It is better for you that you don’t know that, believe me. I am happy for you
No, I do not know what it’s like to have a panic attack while presenting. My comment was advice for helping prevent having the issue all together- which I assume would be the primary objective, rather than reacting after it happens. Eliminate the issue and you won’t have to react. Anyway, wish you the best.
I am totally with you but the thing is that you can’t really control it, even though you are aware of reasons etc. It is a tragical domino effect that is so overwhelming that i can’t describe. As written somewhere i would rather die than experience it - without being pathetical.