I have always had a fear of getting up in front of a class or audience. Growing up I always avoided any classes where I would have to speak in front of the class because I would get panic attacks. As an adult I continued to avoid any situation in order to not have to do any public speaking for any size audience.

But there were times when this could not be avoided. If my job required that I give a presentation, I had to do it. I would have no other choice so I knew I would have to suck it up and just do it! But the stress at just the thought of getting up in front of people caused a lot of anxiety in me.  I figured that in order to prepare myself to not look like a blabbering idiot, I would have to be fully prepared.

That said, I would still get the racing heart, shaky knees, brain freeze etc. and sometimes it got so bad that afterward I wondered if giving presentations gave me panic attacks!  I had to get over this before it killed me so I proceeded to do a lot of research and by trial and error I finally got over my fear of public speaking. 

So here is what I've learned over the past 15 years of working and giving presentations during meetings when I worked for such companies as Boeing, Weyerhaeuser and Microsoft.

• Preparing for a presentation is the first step in eliminating the fear and the chance of having a panic attack while all eyes are on you! So make sure you know what you're going to say well
  in advance. Don't think you can just "wing it" and that something useful will come out of your mouth! It will not work unless you are confident, and if you're reading this, you still need to learn how to gain that confidence, right?
• Print out your presentation, review it and write notes beforehand. Or if you are Powerpoint savvy, you can create your notes In PP and print them out. Be sure to keep them brief and preferably bulleted. This will be easier for you to follow so you don't lose your place.
• Then practice, practice, practice! Practice in front of whoever will listen i.e. your spouse, your friend, the dog, the cat....and in front of a mirror too. Keep practicing to build your confidence and ask for positive feedback and constructive criticism. The feedback you get will benefit you and perfect your speech. The more, the better!
• Know where you will be giving your presentation and what equipment will be there for you. Learn how to set it up ahead of time so you don't eat up a lot of valuable meeting time trying to figure it out after the meeting starts and everyone is waiting for you. That's a quick way to lose the respect of your audience....and your boss!
• When it's time for your presentation, get there early to get everything set up and ready to go the minute the meeting starts. I'm sure you've heard the old advice that to get you through the presentation imagine the audience is naked! This actually works and has kept me more relaxed during a lot of my presentations.
• Remember that your peers and/or managers are there to hear what you have to say. You are the expert on the subject and more than likely know a heck of a lot more about it than they do, otherwise they'd be the one giving the presentation, right?
• So think happy and positive thoughts and enjoy yourself!