Zack Proser wrote up everything he knows about public speaking after years of giving tech talks. The most useful section is on propranolol, the beta blocker concert musicians have been using for decades. He notes there's no high or euphoria on it, and you can still feel full mental dread beforehand — he regularly does. What it prevents is the adrenaline dump:
It essentially blunts the method of action that would normally turn you into a shaky and quaky mess, and then in turn your mind goes, oh, I guess this is okay — and is able to speak like a normal human being.
Panic starts in the body and recruits the mind. Steady the body, the mind follows. He uses as little as 20–30mg.
His other observation worth saving: the most engaging talks — where the whole room is holding up cameras — come from knowing the material well but not memorizing it word for word. The looseness is the point.
Previously:
