Many public speakers experience more anxiety shortly before their presentation than during the actual speech.19 As anxious speakers think about their upcoming presentation, it is also possible for them to exaggerate the risk that their speech will not succeed or that the audience will be critical when their nervousness shows.20 If this describes you and you’re going to be one of several speakers in a class or program, ask to speak first—or as early as possible in the lineup. That way, you’ll have less time to work up a debilitating level of worry.