Question

Hi there 

Do plenty of practise , make sure you know your subject,  use prompt cards , try di it to a friend or family first 

For something calming before like reading or listening to music 

I was once advised to start with a joke, to help relax things.

A few years ago I was invited to speak at a conference full of housing association CEOs and Finance Officers. My opening line -

I must admit I was nervous when asked to speak in a pit of vipers whose main concerns were their pay packets and bonuses...

I looked out at the sea of bemused faces, along with the horrified look on the faces of the people who had invited me. So continued -

So it is with relief that I find myself among people who are as passionate about tenants as I am.

The rest of the presentation went well and was well received. When speaking to the organisers it was suggested that I should not introduce jokes in future.

@Janer1967 and @Wilko are absolutely spot on with their advice. Knowing how long you have will help you prepare your presentation. Lots of practice and cards with key notes will also help you to remember where you are or what is next. Giving a good presentation is probably around 80% preparation, with the other 20% putting your presentation together. So give yourself time.

If your talking for longer than five minutes I would suggest having a glass of water at hand. It can help if your mouth gets dry, but also gives you a few brief moments to collect your thoughts, check your notes, or if you find you are talking too fast can help to slow things down. 

As a general rule, I would aim for between 100 to 200 words per minute. So for a 5 minute presentation around 500 to 1000 words with aiming at around 750 words. Something I have found useful is filming myself when preparing for giving a talk. It helps to see how I sound, but also helps to pick out any distracting habits that formed. Though to be fair I had already given a number of presentations before I tried this.

All that said I know some very experienced presenters who still get nervous before hand.

Good luck.

Hi @Globster,
                       How are you? How are you feeling about your presentation? What is your subject matter? I can only echo the advice that has already been given here on the thread. When I have had to speak publicly, I try my best to start with humour, just to relax myself and the audience and try to engage with them. Just remember you've got this Best of luck, thank you. 

Hi Globster how are you?
That's grat news for you sounds like you're  very happy about that.
Wel done & good luck!
Take care 

I hope it goes well for you. While you may want to do the presentation to prove to yourself that you can, you should also be given the option to present only to your teacher as an adjustment. Whether you would find that more or less anxiety inducing I don’t know! If you really feel that you would be caused an unmanageable amount of anxiety you can ask to submit a written script instead. 

Hi @Globster, 
                      Congratulations on your fantastic achievement Remember, you've got this Thank you.