presentation advice

As a professor of mine used to say, "if advice was worth something, we'd be selling it instead of giving it".

But still, I'll offer some advice anyway.

It's all about attitude. If you spend the next days thinking about how much you're going to blush, and how hard everything is going to be, there's a high chance that those things WILL happen. If you tell yourself that you'll be fine, the chances that you'll be nervous are lower.

There's nothing wrong with blushing when speaking in front of an audience. It's not the end of the world if you stammer a word or two, and I'm certain you will have studied the presentation carefully enough to know everything about it. If you are sure of yourself, things will go much smoother. So, intead of thinking about the negatives, study and think about the positives. Will you be teaching the audience something new? How much have you learnt from the research needed to go into this presentation?

Be sure of yourself. You *can* do this.

PS- I've heard some people suggesting you imagine the audience naked... Personally, that would make ME blush!

I am the same but I push myself to do it anyway. My last presentation was to a room full of senior nurses / managers including the new Director of Nursing services. I got that nervous I couldn't read what was on my slides at one point but I muddled through it, shakey voice and some stammering at the start but did relax towards the end . My advice is know your presentation really well and don't read word for word what is on the slide but use the slides as prompts for what you what you want to say, use single words or short statements only. It's vital that you practice it several times out loud and if possible in front of someone else. It's hard to imagine when you look at some speakers who are so articulate and relaxed that they were once nervous wrecks like you and me, so there is hope for us.

Remember to breathe, pause between sentences and slides - talk slowly (not too slowly, but slightly slower than speed you might have a normal coversation at!)-all give you time to collect your thoughts and think about what you are going to say next.

Good Luck!

Thank you everyone for your advice. I just cant wait to get it over with. I bet start practicing and read it out loud :) xx