There are many ways to manage stage fright or presentation anxiety. For example, you can:
- Organize your material.
- Visualize yourself delivering a successful presentation.
- Rehearse by standing up and using all of your visual aids.
- Breathe deeply just prior to speaking.
- Focus on relaxing with simple, unobtrusive isometric techniques.
- Release your tension in a positive way by directing it toward your audience.
- Move when you speak, to stay relaxed and natural.
- Maintain good eye contact with your audience.
- Keep a glass of water close at hand.
- Do a full body yawn before you go in front of the group.
- Introduce yourself to members of the audience as they enter, so you have friendly faces in the audience when you speak.
For #12, we often joke about taking a Valium or sipping Scotch in your coffee cup. However, apparently there is a homeopathic remedy that can actually calm your stage fright and still leave you alert -which clearly Valium and Scotch might not! This Tip comes from Raphaele Cohen-Bacry, a Medical Consultant with Boiron. She recommends Gelsemium, which she has personally used to manage her own stage fright.
Although I have no experience with Gelsemium, I have used homeopathic remedies, including those from Boiron, for many many years. If you suffer from stage fright that is resistant to the eleven other options listed above, you might want to discuss the possible use of this homeopathic remedy with a trusted doctor or knowledgeable pharmacist. Thank you, Raphaele, for this option!