If it’s a Zoom presentation, go on the site early and start chatting with people as they sign on. Just that chat will calm you down. This is like stretching before exercising.

 If someone asks you what you’re going to be talking about, give them an abbreviated version of the opening.  It will make you more comfortable and confident about the presentation, and you’ll have friendly faces in the audience who will encourage you.

Don’t jump start with PowerPoint immediately.  When you are ready to begin, give a casual opening about what they will see and why, then bring up the PowerPoint.  This allows you to connect with the audience further.

Here is a crazy tip for controlling your fears when presenting.  This technique will sound nuts, but it works.

When I wear a sport jacket, I’m less nervous. The jacket makes me feel grown-up and smart and protected. When I’m confident, I’m less nervous.

When we get up to speak it’s not unusual to become dry-mouthed.  Take a bottle of water with you and have a long sip before you speak.  When your mouth is dry it sets off a chain reaction of negative vibes.  Taking a sip of water is also a good way to have a pause without looking like you’re lost.

We all get stage fright when making a presentation. That nervousness can be controlled.

One trick to relax yourself is to use a conversational anecdote as an opening.  For example, perhaps you are at a conference and you’re the next speaker.  In your open you can talk about the general chatter that you’re hearing, or some famous celebrity you bumped into.  It’s not a long open, perhaps 3 or 4 sentences, but it is enough to relax you so that when you launch into your real opening you are less nervous.

The nice thing about the conversational open is that it is usually of interest to the audience. As long as it doesn’t go on too long.

Any kind of chatting with the audience prior to going up to the podium will also relax you.  Smile and use good posture. These are physical signs from your body to convince your brain that you are feeling confident.

Calm your sense of fear with slow, deliberate breaths.  Slower rhythm is better than deep breathing.  If you practice that every time you feel anxious (whether making a presentation or not) it will become a great tool to calm yourself down when you need to.

Everyone experiences anxiety when speaking in front of others.  Sometimes that anxiety can snowball.  We speak faster when nervous, which signals a heightened level of anxiety to the brain which makes us forget points to cover which makes us more uneasy.

When you feel the events starting to slip away, technique can help.  Slow down. Stand up straight. Look at everyone and smile. This tells your system you are back in control and to relax.

The best advice to combat stage fright is to know the opening of your presentation better than you know your own name.  Know the opening like you know the Pledge of Allegiance. It will give you incredible confidence and a lot less anxiety.

1. Got presentation jitters? Blow on your thumb. “The vagus nerve, which governs heart rate, can be controlled through breathing,” says Ben Abo, an emergency medical-services specialist at the University of Pittsburgh. “It’ll get your heart rate back to normal. “From Men’s Health Magazine”

2. Chew gum.  This activity seems to calm us down.  Just be sure to spit it out prior to show time. 

3. Clench your toes. You read this correctly.  It drops your blood pressure and switches your attention from that which is making you nervous. I’ve heard back from my students it really works.

For many people, stage fright starts the night before your presentation as you conjure up horror stories of what could go wrong.

When you realize you’re doing that, stop yourself.  Don’t let your nerves undermine your presentation and confidence.  Visualize success instead. See yourself wowing the audience. They love you!

Feeling nervous? Don’t bother calming down. You’re better off getting excited, according to a new study from Harvard Business School.

Participants in several anxiety-inducing experiments consistently performed better when prompted to get excited rather than to relax, the study found. For example, people told to say “I am excited” before delivering a public speech gave longer, more competent presentations and appeared more relaxed than speakers told to say “I am calm.” The shift from anxiety to excitement may be eased by the fact that both are highly aroused states, suggested the author of the study, published in The Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

When you speak with passion, it’s likely that you’ll feel less nervous.

Take whatever you are presenting and start with the part that you are most passionate about.  You’ll be less nervous, and the audience will be more attuned.

Actors need to remember their lines and their partner’s lines, to know when to step in.  A presentation is not acting. In giving a presentation, don’t memorize your lines. Think of it as a conversation.  If you say the wrong thing, or forget a section, most people won’t even notice.