Nervous about speech

olipot

I have got to make a speech at a dinner party and I wondered if anyone knows the best drink to have that will calm the nerves, also how do you stop the palpitations is there anything to take to help them, any help would be so appreciated
Thank you

recoverydust

Chamomile tea calms the nerves.....
It's probably best to avoid alcohol.
Practice, in front of a mirror and out loud
Do prompt type cards, if you dont have an auto prompt
Pick one person in the audience to direct at, but make sure you glance across the room
Butterflies and nerves are normal
Good luck:beer:

olipot

Thanks for your tips, I have tried chamomile tea but doesn't calm me at all, I do write on cards but then forget where I got up to, I would really love to take something that would totally calm me, have tried rescue remedy, valerian will search the net and see if there is a miracle
thanks again for replying

sethsgran

Definitely no alcohol. I would suggest you practice some deep breathing techniques, in through nose and out through mouth, slowly.

olipot

hi Sethsgran I have practiced deep breathing but it just doesn.t control my nerves, really struggling to come up with the answer, thanks for taking the time to reply

sethsgran

What is the subject, are you familiar with the subject etc. how long is your speech. I would suggest using some small index cards and writing 1. Key point on each one. I would then put them in order and punch a hole through the corner and use a ring, like key ring, to hold them together. As you deliver the speech flip the cards over as you use each point. Also I would write each page in alternate colours eg red blue red etc. this way your work will stand out. Find a few numerous tales if suitable for the event, ones that you can relate without a script.

Make each page a bullet point for you to expand on, eg "statistics" then you can expand on that.

Hope this helps.