Speaking tomorrow nervous:(

[shonaat]

Hey guys!:)
Well tomorrow is my speaking assessment in a group of 4 people who i know but never speak to! This will include speaking a lot and fake arguing and acting infront of teachers and a tape recorder thing! And i'm extremely nervous :( i go blank when someone asks me questions and i don't know what to say! I go really red when i speak and i get shaky because i'm so nervous:( and this is for a final grade and it has to be good other wise we fail! Any suggestions? :(

[NixonRulz]

Most importantly, take the pressure of of you on the speech

At you age, you aren't expected to be able to speak like you are a preacher or an infomercial pitch guy

The point of the lesson is to present your material and listen back the tape to see how you can improve on speaking

I am sure your speech is much more graded on content and not unrealistic speaking expectations

[JeffreyGret]

I had some awful experiences in high school with presentation type projects like this. I would turn red, my heart would get racing and it would be difficult to get any words out. I used to fake sick just to not have to go to school those days. I spent most of my life avoiding situations like these, but I think I am at a point in my life where I have overcome that fear in many ways, or at least learned to cope with it better. If I were to give some advice to my high school self I would've said, deep breaths in through the nose out through the mouth and focusing on your breathing, getting your heart rate down before speaking will help slow down the related anxiety. You can speak at a slower pace if it helps too, instead of feeling pressured to fire out responses( think of how the president speaks haha). I used to try and start with a joke whenever possible to get people laughing and bring down the tension in the room. Also it helps to know you're stuff and try to get passionate about it if possible. But lastly, looking back, none of this stuff matters all that much. I think I took things a little too seriously in school than I needed to.

[shonaat]

This isn't so much as in front of a class.. Just a teacher and 4 people who are in my group:/ i'm scared that i'll do bad, wont speak at all and get a bad grade, i'll mix up my words, i'll say something but end up forgetting what i was going to say, scared of going red and everyone staring at me and the fact we have to be really confident and 'argue' with people on opinions and stuff makes me so nervous:( i don't know how i'm going to do this and if i don't do it.. My group wont be able to do it and we will just have to do it another time so there's no way of getting rid of this:/ i'm so nervous that my bey has been hurting all day and the fact no one knows what the topic is yet .. So we don't know what we will be talking about till tomorrow so we can plan what to say or prepare for it really:( i can tell i'm going to feel real bad faint tomorrow! But thanks for the help guys x

[JoeCool]

Breath deep and go about it slowly/methodically! If you rush, chances are things will go south. Oh and confidence, my friend, have confidence in yourself!!!

[shonaat]

It went quite well!:) i haven't got my grade back yet but i hope it's good:)
I took all your advice and it kind of helped especially breathing.. But mostly i just let myself go red and it stopped after a minute :)
I have a mock interview friday and just hope that goes just as well :) thanks guys !!!

[Enduronman]

Congratulations to you!!! YAY!!!! :)

[stp4779]

I'm so proud of you!!! Now you have one more tool in the anxiety fighting tool kit.

[shonaat]

Thanks:')
I have a fake interview in school tomorrow and i'm so scared for this now:/
Have to speak for 20mins how you would in a real interview.. Which i have never been in a real interview:/ again, scared of going red and making a fool out of myself :/ i'm so hopeless at these kind of things:(

[Enduronman]

Anticipatory anxiety friend,..I just don't think about what's getting ready to take place, until it does...You'll succeed again!!! :)

[GeneAllen]

If you have to rehearse it, then make sure and place it thru the positive filter you have already in place. I imagine me, standing there feeling confident, looking into the eyes, and being calm cool and collective. Don't go to the default mode and run the rehearsal thru the filter of fear. That's not really what you prefer. See it, you're standing there feeling peaceful, your heart feels full, and your mind is clear, you are having fun, it's exciting, and the class is enjoying your talk. See that? Peace I bet you do as well as you can, and that really is good enough. Peace