Hello....I am new to this site and need some help! I have been struggling with Social anxiety disorder for some time now. Previously I was taking Paxil, although I always felt there was a cloud over my head. I have a really good job that I got after graduating college and graduate school and am preparing to give a presentation to a group of ~50 colleagues this week. To say that I am dreading it is an understatement! I recently had to give a presentation to a small group of colleagues and my heart was racing, my hands were shaking, my face was flushed, my knees were weak and my voice was wavering. All visible for my co-workers to see. My doctor recently prescribed Atarax which I haven't taken yet, but am planning on taking prior to my presentation this week. Is anyone out there familiar with this drug? Or have you faced a similar situation at work? How did you cope????
Need to give presentation at work...
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This isn't what you want to hear, but I did a less than stellar job on a presentation at work and they haven't asked me to do a presentation since! Anyway, most everyone gets nervous during presentations so don't think you are the only one. I haven't used atarax before, but a beta blocker (propranolol) will help with the racing heart, shaking hands, flushed face. Beta blockers mainly effect the physical symptoms of anxiety, so your mind won't be calmed by them. An antihistamine (atarax) on the other hand will calm your mind along with the physical symptoms and probably leave you feeling a little drugged up. What ever you take, I would try it at least once before hand to see how it affects you.
I had to give a presentation for a non-profit group I volunteer for a few years ago. I'd say there were maybe 30 people in the room, but some of them were big official people like inspectors from the USDA, which freaked me out.
What I did wrong was NOT have any visual materials like a powerpoint presentation, so I got freaked out by everyone just staring at me. Giving your audience something to look at will take their attention away from you. I also spoke way too quickly. Somehow you have to practice your speaking and make sure it's slow enough to sound natural. I also read directly from my notes -- something I'd try to change if I had to give another similar presentation. People like us need to practice a lot so that we don't go on autopilot (i.e. stare at your notes) the whole time.
So, basically, I'd
1) Have some sort of visual materials,
2) Practice giving your speech slowly
3) Practice using ONLY short notes and not a written speech.
Good luck!
What I did wrong was NOT have any visual materials like a powerpoint presentation, so I got freaked out by everyone just staring at me. Giving your audience something to look at will take their attention away from you. I also spoke way too quickly. Somehow you have to practice your speaking and make sure it's slow enough to sound natural. I also read directly from my notes -- something I'd try to change if I had to give another similar presentation. People like us need to practice a lot so that we don't go on autopilot (i.e. stare at your notes) the whole time.
So, basically, I'd
1) Have some sort of visual materials,
2) Practice giving your speech slowly
3) Practice using ONLY short notes and not a written speech.
Good luck!
1 - 3 of 3 Posts
