Giving presentations is a stressful thing to do for many people. You might start thinking about all the many things that could go wrong, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed with anxiety — but that doesn’t mean you can’t get over your presentation fears!

Like with anything else, presentations get easier if you do them often and give yourself time to grow.

The more you do them, the more ways you’ll find to deal with the related stress or anxiety. If you don’t feel like having a trial-and-error process to overcome the dread you feel about putting on a presentation, here are some easy tips you can try instead.

Soon you’ll be able to stand up in front of your class, feel and sound confident and get that good grade you’ll deserve for giving your best.

1. Arrive with your best foot forward

Walking into the classroom on the day of your presentation while only thinking about negative things isn’t going to help you do your best when you step to the front of the room. Change starts with your mindset, so focus on thinking only positive thoughts to invite positive energy into your presentation.

Repeat the mantra that you will succeed, and you’ll begin to believe and achieve it.

2. Practice and then practice again

Get your PowerPoint or poster board done early so you can practice in your room. Being able to run through your presentation ahead of time will help cement a roadmap for it in your brain. You won’t have any panicked moments in front of your class where you forget what you’re supposed to say because you’ll have already memorized it all.

There are some easy ways to practice a presentation until it’s perfect, so try them out until you find one that works best for you.

3. Make it professional

To be taken seriously, you need to take your work seriously. Throwing together a poster board to help your presentation won’t be good for you or your final grade if it looks like you glued everything on in the hall right before class started.

Make your presentation look professional by paying attention to detail. Look through it for typos if it’s on the computer, or make sure you prevent hot adhesives from stringing on any posters and be sure to dress the part.

4. Take a deep breath

Even if you do all of the tips above, you may find yourself waiting for class to start with a ball of anxiety still churning in your stomach. That’s when you need to take a deep breath.

Breathing exercises can help calm your nerves and enable you to start off your presentation in a better place of mind. In the weeks before you have to present, practice some ten-minute breathing exercises so you know what works before you walk into class.

5. Maybe hit the gym

Your presentation might just be the tip of the iceberg in terms of your stress, and breathing exercises and practicing may only do so much to help you feel better.

Try forming a regular habit of going to the gym since moving can help you manage stress. You’ll defeat presentation anxiety now and in the long run.

6. Focus your perspective

When you’re feeling overwhelmed, force yourself to consider how this presentation will help you. It might be hard to think about now, but you’ll get more practice in for potential work presentations later in life.

You’ll grow more confident in public speaking and maybe even look like a confident leader to your peers. Thinking about the good your presentation could bring might be the encouragement you need to go in and tackle it once and for all.

Doing a presentation for a class can be scary, but you don’t have to feel like you’re going to be stuck thinking about them that way forever.

Changing your mindset and how you approach your presentation will help you score a high grade and give you confidence for future ones.

Try a few of these tips, and you’ll see change begin to happen in no time.