Stage Fright Beating Strategies of Tom Antion 

Stage fright usually goes away after you start your speech. It's the time before a presentation that your palms sweat and your knees shake. 

Tom Antion is one of the best known professional speakers in America, and he's a highly regarded presentation skills coach. In his book Wake 'Em Up Business Presentations, he lists a number of strategies you can use before your speech to help keep stage fright to a minimum.

Visualization Strategies to Use Anytime 

• Close your eyes. Visualize the audience listening, laughing, and applauding.
• Pretend you are just chatting with your closest friend.
• Remember happy moments from your past, especially positive public speaking experiences.
• Tell yourself how good you are.
• Think about your desire to ell the audience things that will help them and even change their lives for the better.
• And then there's that time-honored standby...picture the audience in their underwear.

Stage Fright-Beating Strategies To Use in Advance of Your Speech

• Anticipate questions if you're doing a Q&A segment. Think in advance about both hard and easy questions.
• Get coaching from an experienced presentation skills teacher.
• Get extra practice by joining or starting a Toastmasters Club
• Get in reasonably good physical condition. An important speech is a strain on both your mind and body. Being in shape makes you feel good, and feeling good relieves stage fright.
• Listen to some music.
• Memorize your opening statement until you can recite it in your sleep.
• Organize your material logically so it will be easy to remember.
• Read a relaxing poem.
• Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. Be extremely well prepared.

Stage Fright-Beating Strategies Just Before Your Speech

• Avoid alcohol, coffee with caffeine or tea with caffeine.
• Be smart about eating before your speech. If certain foods cause trouble, avoid them.
• Check out how you look in a mirror.
• Check your A/V equipment again. You can never do this too many times.
• Concentrate on identifying current or immediate things happening at the event so you can mention them during your speech.
• Concentrate on your ideas.
• Do a few isometric exercises that tighten and release muscles.
• Doodle.
• Engage people near you in conversation. Listen intently to what they are saying.
• Get to the room at least an hour early if you can and triple check everything. It can also help to schmooze a little with audience members who arrive early.
• Go somewhere private to warm up your voice, do some isometrics, breathing exercises and/or voice exercises.
• Hide notes around the stage area so you know you have a backup if you happen to draw a blank.
• If your legs start trembling, find a table to lean on, sit down, or shift weight on your legs.
• Listen to your favorite music. It doesn't necessarily have to be soothing or relaxing music. You might actually want something that "pumps you up."
• Never take tranquilizers or similar such drugs.
• Read a poem.
• Review your notes.
• Say something to someone. This helps you make sure your voice is good..
• Scatter pictures of your friends/spouse/kids/grandkids, dog, cat, hamsters, pet rock etc., through your notes.
• Smile and shake hands with attendees before the program.
• Take a few quick drinks of tepid water. Make sure it's not ice water because it constricts your throat.
• Take a quick walk.
• Yawn. It relaxes your throat.

Keep in mind that nervousness doesn't show one-tenth as much as it feels.

Tom recommends that before each presentation, you make a short list of the items you think will help relieve your anxiety. If you speak to audiences often, experiment with different combinations. Write them on a sheet of paper and keep the it with you at all times so you can look at it again to it when the need arises.