My current job requires me to attend meetings, participate, strategize, all the normal things a job requires, however I have the worst presentation anxiety.

I am pretty social in my everyday life, but as soon as I’m put in a situation where I need to present, debate, or state my opinion about anything, I suddenly have nothing to say. My brain shuts down. I suddenly can’t think and speak.

I’m actively in therapy and toastmasters, however I recently learned about beta blockers.

Presentation anxiety has been debilitating for me as well because of a vocal issue that gets worse when I’m nervous. My voice just cuts out. A few things that have helped me through my career

Beta blockers - game changing. It really helped calm my nerves and they aren’t addictive or sedating. I take them before ever presentation or even a stressful meeting

Company size - I’ve recently been working at smaller companies with fewer demands for bigger presentations.

Use technology - at the end of the day, the goal is to communicate your point to a large audience. Are there other methods your company will let you use? Like prerecording presentations and sharing with the company.

Lean into other strengths - really find out what your strengths are and lean into them. I found that I have so many other strengths that are valuable to a company, but I’m never going to be the best presenter, but still managed to work my way up to a VP of Marketing position.

Just move on - I’ve had so many very uncomfortable presentations that were just awful, but I just pushed it to the back of my mind and powered through to the next one. Don’t dwell on it too much. Think of every presentation as a learning experience.

The physical symptoms are starting to get the best of me and I would like to see if beta blockers would help enough that eventually I won’t need them anymore.

Does anyone have experience with these? Have they changed the game for you as a professional? I appreciate any insight 💕

Well, fr personal experience where I would get the sweats and have a high pitched voice, the more you do it the better you get at it. Simply believing in yourself and practicing can be a big stress reliever. Also, when you are presenting, especially over zoom, you can always hide the participants so it's almost like nobody is there. In person, practice with one person and then more.
It's all about practice. You got this!

I've never been on a beta blocker but I Have been on anti depressants to cope with ptsd after a significant event in my life. When used with therapy where I addressed the triggers and the symptoms and developed better coping skills, I didn't need to continue. The triggers don't go away, but I learned recognize the triggers and patterns of thinking that were self destructive and know how to navigate it. This may not be your journey, but think of mental health as a health issue. Sometime conditions are temporary and we need temporary help, some conditions require long term maintenance. Both are ok. Just be proactive in working towards your improvements.

I take them for bp and I also have anxiety that’s heightened during presentations. I’ve found the most success when I keep up on meds, drink lots of water, avoid too much caffeine and keep a more balanced diet with lots of fiber / green vegetables and exercise. The food for me is the biggest trigger and one I never considered was contributing to my anxiety.


It sounds cliche and hard to keep up with but if you set yourself up for this with routines you’ll have much less anxiety.

There are other things you can try first. I would start with some natural calmatives...chamomile and lavender are easy to get a hold of. There's also a herb called blue vervain which I have used extensively for anxiety and it's been about 75% as effective as Xanax for me.

Also, look into breathing exercises and the tapping method.

Beta blockers really helped my husband. I’ve never taken them so can’t say how a woman will react to them for presentation and social anxiety like this but he had this kind of anxiety and was put on beta blockers for another health issue and this was the positive side effect on them. He was no longer afraid to present and speak in public and large crowds and do things in public like dancing. It was such a shift when he was on them.

I take anxiety meds before I speak/present and it helps with the heart racing and light headedness I used to get

Also know that giving a good presentation doesn’t always mean you have to be an expert - just lay out your content logically and pull in real life scenarios. Asking people questions upfront and midway through my presentations helps me. And I cannot say this enough - do not underestimate the value of practice and repetition. Give your presentation to friends, family members a multitude of times. I used to also do it in the mirror or by myself to work through nerves early in my career. The more you do it, the better you will get and your anxiety should also subside. You’ve got this!!!💪

I had the same issue and so started working with a public speaking coach. She is amazing and improved my speeches to a point where I am speaking at conferences.

Let me know if you would like her name. DM me :-)

I struggle with anxiety myself. I once had a therapist tell me “Whats the worst that can happen? What’s the best? You’ll probably land somewhere in the middle.” It’s always stuck with me and I think through this often with nerves related to work

Our biggest fear as human beings is public speaking. However, think of it this way. You are the expert on what you are presenting. No one knows your subject matter best but YOU. Therefore, go out there and give good eye contact by looking at everyone and present with confidence because you are the author and the only one who knows the material best. Practice, practice, practice before you present!Good luck to you!!!🙏

There are a few different supplements you can consider to help for anxiety. I’ll be honest, yoga and breathing exercises have really helped me with grounding and keeping my mind present. I’ve also had friends say Toastmasters groups really helped. They would meet weekly and could volunteer to practice public speaking and then hold a socializing event following.

Game-changer for me. I love presenting now and look forward to those opportunities.

I get anxiety too, I have a little plush turtle that I'm grabbing when I'm speaking (it's really little) or having a notebook with me for some reason alleviates the anxiety too, I write notes for myself so I have ideas of what to say :)

As some coming off beta blockers for health issues, i would advise you try something else. Like a therapist that provides biofeedback to help you understand how to manage your anxiety and stress.

I have a similar situation aa you. I recently was given a coaching by my manager that I lack visibility in handking internal stakeholders because I avoid meetings. It's giving me anxiety and a therapist gave me Alprazolam to manage it.

I am now on the verge of resigning. If the beta blocker works for you let me know. And I wish us the best of luck as we overcome this challenge.

This is very common. Do you lose your train of thought during speaking? Or are you freezing in general?

Toastmasters?

What’s Beta Blockers? It gets better with practice. To overcome my anxiety in speaking on the job. I force, yes force myself to speak to strangers. Light conversation while standing in line, waiting for my coffee order and random folks at my WeWork office. Best of Luck!!