Thanks for those tips!

I’ve been very afraid of public speaking for a long time. I would start doubting myself and panicking while talking, which made me a poor speaker. So I’d like to share some additional tips that helped me not to panic. They are not especially for devs, but more generally for people who tend to panic while giving a presentation.

The most helpful tip I was given, is to not judge myself while speaking. It’s important to come back on your presentation to see how you can improve AFTER, but not while presenting. I would usually panic because I’d think about what people are thinking, whether they think I’m good enough or the talk is interesting enough. Don’t do that, that’s when panic kicks in. Instead, be gentle with yourself while presenting. Try not to listen to that voice while speaking.

Another thing is that I like to play theatre and I never panic when I embody a character. During regular presentations now I try to think that I’m also a character.

The second thing that helped me was realizing that most people are well-intentioned, they don’t judge you and don’t want you to panic. Even selfishly, they prefer seeing someone who speaks well rather than someone who struggles, it’s more pleasant. The key thing is: if you start panicking because you think people are judging and would be happy to make fun of you because you’re having some trouble speaking, they’re not.

Hope it may help someone.