I am nearly 30 year old man and I work in tech and I absolutely hate public speaking. My voice becomes shaky, my hands start sweating, and I find myself losing my voice mid sentence. When I get asked to “go around the room and introduce yourself” my heart rate goes up to 130 bpm and starts pounding. I’m not even paying attention to what everyone else is saying. I’m just repeating “don’t care about this, it’s low stakes, no one cares” trying to relax myself but it just makes me more nervous!

Everyone can tell I’m nervous too. My legs start shaking. I’m definitely always the worst person in the room when it comes to presenting like this and people always point out how nervous I am.

Does anyone else have this problem? This is so embarrassing to have this issue at my age. Every other adult can present themselves in meetings and presentations except me everyone else grew out of this fear except me.

I have my AP seminar presentation on Wednesday and i dont have a thing memorized. Does anyone have tips? Anything helps!!

Hi, i hope this doesn’t get taken down but i wanted to reach post this for help. Ever since i was a child ive always been “bossy” now 23 years later, i am a boss, but now its “too aggressive” or “too direct” and i need help. I want to move up further but i cant because i fail to deliver how i speak. I have my own employees and i struggle to have conversations about simple things, nothing too complex. From my understanding the other half feels negative afterwards, from depressed to upset, worthless and so much more. I can keep going on and on about my problems of delivery but i need help. Is there a therapist i go see? Meetings i spectate? I learn best from watching others have those conversations. Please help

I'm not sure what it is. I'm great 1-on-1, but when I have a bunch of eyes on me, I crumble to pieces. I only have to give speeches for about 30 seconds to solve a quick math problem on the board, but it destroys me. The anxiety makes my body feel drained and tired, and the anticipation destroys my focus and my day. I've done 5 or so presentations, and the fear feels exactly the same every time.

I have what I call "Work in-progress" OCD. It used to be bad, but it's a lot better now. However, when it comes to public speaking, I get severe anxiety. I get facial flushing, it feels like I can't breathe, and my mind blanks despite having the material right in front of me. I literally feel as if I am going to die.

I thought I would do fine and enrolled in the public speaking class I need to graduate, but after giving my first anxiety-ridden presentation in math, I decided to drop the PS class.

I feel as if I have retreated from society and live in my own fears in my head. It's tragic because I'm a 4.0 student, but my fear is so intense that thoughts of dropping out just to avoid public speaking cross my mind constantly.

My anxiety doesn't actually come from the material being presented; it comes from the feelings within my body. Once the shakiness comes in, the hot flushed face feeling, and the sweaty palms, my mind fixates on it.

I don't want this to be my life. I'm enrolling in a Public Speaking Summer class to face this head-on.

Please give me some advice, all is welcome.

TL;DR: I am a 4.0 student with mild OCD who gets severe, debilitating physical anxiety symptoms (flushing, shaking, mind-blanking) during even 30-second presentations. The fear of the physical symptoms themselves is making me want to drop out. I'm re-enrolling in a summer Public Speaking class to conquer it and need advice on managing the physical panic.

Sorry, if question was answered, I couldn't find any posts, nor I could find any lists.

I know gesturing is considered subjective, but I want to find a list, so I could develop my style in speech, thanks in advance!

Good evening, _______ Staff, family, friends, and my fellow graduating class of 2026. My name is____ and I'm honored to stand before you today to give this speech. I'd like to give thanks to my teacher, Mrs. _____, for encouraging me to stand before all of you today. If you know me, you know that I'm not really good at this kind of thing, so throughout my speech, you might hear quotes from some of my favorite movies that I've found inspiring.

When the guidance counselors handed me the paper in my sophomore year, they asked me to make a decision about which class I wanted to join while attending the Career Center. Back then, I remember that I didn’t really know what I wanted to do when I grew up. So when I was picking my classes, my choices were number 1, Dental, number 2, welding, and number 3, electrical. As much as I think Mr ____would have been a good teacher for me. I don’t think he would have been able to help me with my boy troubles like Mrs ____ has. Mrs ___ has always been there for my classmates and I when we've needed advice about our future careers or just when we needed help with anything in our class. Mrs _____ is easily one of the best teachers out there. She always takes time to make sure we understand the instructions given and always help us out with anything she can.

Getting down to business, as Jessica said in Twilight. “ Change your mind, then change it again, because nothing is permanent, so make as many mistakes as you can.” I can relate to this quote so much, and I think all of us can. If you think about it, we have to make mistakes when we’re this age to really figure out what we want to do in life. Take as many college classes as you can so you can figure out what to do when you graduate. Explore new career opportunities, take job offers you'd never take in a million years because it's something different, or take a gap year. Right now, nothing has to be set in stone. We have our whole lives ahead of us.

Today marks the end of one important chapter in our lives and the beginning of something far less predictable. Some of us are heading to colleges, some are heading to trade schools, some are enlisting, some are going straight into the workforce, and some of us are still figuring things out. Whatever you choose to do, that's okay!! In reality, there is no real definition of “success” after high school. As we leave Southeastern Career Center behind were not just stepping into a career were stepping into a responsibility to grow, learn as much as we can, and then we can define success for ourselves.

No matter what you choose to do in the future, do it with pride. Be open-minded, be ready to learn as much as you can, grow as a person, and be willing to change direction when something no longer fits. Because in reality, life is about making changes. As for me, like Randall Pink Floyd once said, “Me and my loser friends we got to go get Aerosmith tickets, top priority of the summer.”

We're performing a declamation speech 3 days from now, the piece is called "Vengeance is not ours, it's God's," and I'm afraid I won't be able to do justice to the piece and I really want to do well. I understand its story but I'm not confident that I would be able to execute it like how I envisioned it. Perhaps someone has advice on how I can act it out like how do I do the facial expressions and stuff, when do I pause (I noticed I talk fast when I'm performing and I think it really takes out a sort of impact that I'm missing), also vocal advice would be appreciated since I speak really low in real life and no matter how much I practice I just can't force out a louder sound (I don't want to wear a lapel 'cause I hate hearing my voice on a speaker). Any advice would be appreciated, even just general public speaking advice or acting advice, thank you.

I have for years been part of several toastmasters clubs. Despite that I am still afraid of speaking. At work, while I can lead meetings, if I have to present at a town hall I get very nervous. My hands are shaky, voice creaky and I become flushed. What can I do to truly overcome this fear?

Secondly, at work I have noticed that most people are more verbose and fluffy than I am. How can I transform the way I talk to be less concise and more strategic sounding ?

Hi all,

I was wondering whether anyone would have advice as to how to become a bit more confident in my approach when speaking in group settings.

In the past week, I was in a group setting, and asked a question - I had an idea as to what I was talking about - I didn't inherently feel nervous about being asked.

But, upon me answering, my breathing started going a bit inconsistent, i.e, short for breath and my voice went shaky, face went red. Perhaps, it is a confidence thing, but in that moment I did not feel anxious about speaking or answering.

This has happened on a few occassions, and I was wondering whether anyone would have any advice, tips, exercises - or anything I could/should do to improve on this?

Thanks!

I used to believe public speaking anxiety was something “normal” you just grow out of.

Then I noticed something weird…

It’s not the fear of people.

It’s the fear of losing control over yourself in real time.

One second you’re fine, the next:

your voice feels чуж (not yours)

your body stops behaving naturally

and you start monitoring yourself instead of speaking

And the worst part is… you still look completely normal from the outside.

That disconnect is what nobody really talks about.

So I want to ask you something honestly:

What’s the ONE small thing that breaks you when speaking in front of people?

And do you think people actually notice it… or is it just in our heads?

So about 10 years ago, I attended my grandfather's funeral and had to talk in a microphone. But in a very strange way, I cried. Not because of the sadness or whatever but because of the sound of my voice coming from the speakers.

This Sunday, I'll have to talk in public with a microphone, for the first time in 10 years. I really really hope I don't cry.

So my questions are : What causes this ? And do you think that because a long time has passed, has this phenomenon disappeared ?

(Sorry if bad english)

Thank you very much ! I really appreciate your help :)

How to not stutter while speaking and how to speak English clearly and confidently. I started speaking while I was 6 years old and my native language is Nepali.

I’m going to do a graduation speech and I want some movie quotes in it drop down your best ones

Over the past year I’ve really been on a self-development journey. I’ve put a lot of effort into how I look, my fitness, and my overall confidence—and honestly, I feel way better about myself than I used to.

But one thing I’m still working on is how I speak, especially in conversations with new people or girls. It’s like I know I’m confident internally, but sometimes it doesn’t come across the way I want when I’m actually talking. I catch myself overthinking, using filler words, or not expressing myself as clearly as I could.

Recently I started using an app called Articulate, and it’s actually been helping a lot. I’ve noticed I’m more aware of how I speak, I use fewer filler words, and I feel a bit more sharp and intentional with what I say.

Still, I know this is something that just takes practice. Curious if anyone else has gone through something similar—what helped you get better at speaking and holding conversations naturally?

Okay, so I have to share this because a year ago, I would've laughed if someone told me I'd be doing this.

I'm a real estate agent.

And for the longest time, I kept telling myself I'd "start posting videos soon."

The truth is... I was terrified of the camera.

The thing that finally broke the pattern

I stopped trying to make a "good video."

I committed to filming one 30-second clip every day for a month. Nothing else.

By day 12, I think, I stopped noticing the camera as much.

Then came the real problem

I finally felt okay on camera. But now I had a new enemy- my own brain mid-recording.

I'd forget what I wanted to say. I'd ramble. I'd nail the first 20 seconds and then completely blank on the landing.

A friend suggested I try scripting it out and using a teleprompter. I felt like that was "cheating" at first, lol, but I guess it's not.

I started recording with a teleprompter setup, and it changed everything.

I could stay on topic. I stopped doing 11 takes of the same video. My energy got better because I wasn't burning it all on remembering what to say next.

What posting 3-4 videos a week actually looks like now

I batch film on Sunday mornings. Takes about 90 minutes. I cover three topics, usually one market update, one buyer tip, and one local neighborhood thing.

That's it. The rest of the week, I'm just a regular agent doing regular agent stuff.

Last month, two people reached out after watching my videos.

The stuff nobody tells you

Your first 20 videos will be bad. I learned that the goal is not to go viral on video 3. The goal is to still be posting on video 40 when most people have quit.

And stop watching your view counts obsessively at the start.

If you're sitting on the fence about starting, you're not waiting for confidence. Confidence comes after you start. Not before.

Happy to answer questions if anyone's in the early awkward phase of this.

I’ve dealt with anxiety on and off over my life. About 1-2 years ago it ramped up to a level where I could barely leave my house.

In the time since I’ve made great strides and have generally been panic attack free for months.

Recently my step-brother asked me to officiate his wedding at the end of this year. I’m conflicted…

I don’t want anxiety to dictate my life. I think this is something I should agree too, as it is an honor to be asked and an opportunity for growth for me.

On the other hand - it could go terribly wrong, and I would probably live with lifelong regret if things go awry on someone’s big day.

I used to be confident in public speaking & even performed spoken word poetry several times in front of sometimes hundreds of people.

I’m really conflicted & haven’t agreed to anything yet. I’m worried even if I did agree & prepare (even excluding the inevitable anxiety) that I just don’t have that X factor that makes someone confident & articulate enough to do well.

I have played in many games with lots of people, even friends, family, and classmates in attendance. At times I struggle with my confidence, but for the most part I am able to hold my ground and stay confident, even in big games. Often I even go beyond and express emotions on the court that I often wouldn’t outside of basketball.

But when it comes to giving an in class presentation or even contributing to a group discussion, I begin feeling nerves. I know it’s hard to control how you feel, but it often takes away from my ability to even try and control looking or sounding good.

How come I’m able to be so confident in basketball (where there are higher stakes), but not in speaking?