How to Stop Shivering and Control Anxiety During Presentations

The shivering you're describing is your body's normal alarm system going off before a presentation. Adrenaline floods your system and your muscles tense up, ready to run — except you're not running, you're standing in front of people. That's why your hands and voice shake, even when you've prepared really well. The important thing to know is that this is not a sign that you're weak or unprepared; it's a physical reaction that you can learn to work with.

Before you step on stage

• Practice in the kind of setting that scares you — stand up, speak out loud, use a chair as your audience. Your brain settles down once it has done the thing before.
• Breathe with the exhale longer than the inhale. A few slow, long exhales before you start tell your nervous system that there is no emergency.
• Avoid extra coffee or chai right before. Caffeine makes the same shaking worse, and you don't need that on top.
• Don't try to memorise word-for-word. Know your three main points and your opening line. That way, if your mind goes blank, you can keep talking anyway.

While you're up there

Let the shaking be there instead of fighting it. If you clench your fists to stop tremors, the shake spreads and gets worse. Hold a pen, hold the side of the speaker, or keep a hand in your pocket — small things you can grip give the shaking somewhere to go. Look at one friendly face in the audience, then another, rather than scanning the whole room. And slow down. Most people speak too fast when nervous; deliberately speak a little slower than feels natural, and give yourself permission to pause between sentences. A pause that feels like forever to you is just a normal breath to the audience.

The single most useful thing is this: the audience wants you to do well. They are not watching to catch your hands trembling — they are listening for the content you prepared. And even if you visibly shake, if you keep speaking, people remember the words, not the movement. One practice session where you allow yourself to shake and still finish the talk will prove to you that you can do it. That memory is what slowly turns the alarm off.