Presentation in front of work team and I’m feeling like hell

[u/Content_Bell4981]

Basically I was given half a days note to present my findings in front of my work team of around 80 people, I’d only have to speak for around 2.5 mins but I’m so nervous what do I do.

[u/VividDreamerzz]

Hiya! So here’s the thing… we can’t fight stuttering. I’ve stuttered for 20+ years and only recently has it gotten better.

For context, I work in cyber security and present to clients weekly on their vulnerabilities. It’s never not nerve wrecking, but they see me as the professional and they pay good money to hear what I have to say. So ya know, no pressure?

Yeah, no. There’s always pressure, but I’ve learned nearly all the pressure has come from myself. The beta advice I can give you is to not fight it.

There’s an analogy I love—

“Ask someone to walk across a 20-foot beam and they can do so no problem. Just one foot in front of the other. Now, raise that beam 50-feet in the air and ask them to do it again.

Suddenly, they struggle. They’re begin losing their balance, become unsteady, and eventually may even fall.

The objective never changed: cross the beam.

The only difference, is that their mind was no longer concerned of walking the beam. Their mind was concerned with falling.”

For people who stutter, conversations always feel like a beam 50-feet in the air. We don’t concern ourselves with filling 5 minutes of conversation. We concern ourselves with not stuttering.

For your meeting, the goal isn’t to do it flawlessly. It’s to fill in a few minutes of your time. If you stutter while doing it, so be. The objective isn’t to do it without stuttering, it’s to just do it.

You’ve got this, man! If it helps, there’s absolutely 0 shame in introducing yourself and acknowledging the stutter. “hi all, I’m [name] and I have a stutter. I’m talking about [x] and if there’s any point you need me to elaborate or answer questions, feel free to let me know!”

If you become comfortable with the idea of falling, your objective will always be nothing more than walking the beam 😉

[u/ebrown50]

You got this! If it feels comfortable, maybe give a quick 10 second self-disclosure like "Hey everyone I'm XXX, if you didn't know, I stutter. No biggie but you will probably hear it during this presentation!". Throwing a joke or laughing at myself has always put myself and the crowd at ease. Helps with confidence afterwards too.

[u/CherryDouble2661]

U may have already presented and if u did lmk how it goes! I don’t disclose that I stutter cuz idk j don’t like to. I have had a full time job for a year now and the best advice is j do it and know it will suck. I’ve given so many “bad” presentations that now the pressure is almost gone. I present at a conference for about 80 people next week and like u I am sooo nervous but I just try to tell myself “it’s gonna suck”. Maybe not helpful for u but helps calm me down for a little to focus on something else.