Advice on giving speeches?

[Lombax]

First of all, I hope this is the correct place to post this. Apologies if it is not.

So I have to give my first presentation ever next week. I had managed to avoid them my entire life until now. It is an hour-and-20-minute talk with slides, to be given in front of a class of about 15 people. All of the people in the class are older than me and of a higher grade. Additionally, I am the only female in the class!

So yes, there is a lot of pressure! I already have such a hard time talking to people in a casual way, let alone a formal speech. I know a few of the students fairly well, but I am still really intimidated.

What I am really worried about is that fact that when I am talking to someone face-to-face, I get so anxious that I can't think of words to say. I often stutter, pause, completely blank out, or try and backpedal out of a poorly-formed sentence. This just gets really award, and I am afraid people with think I am an idiot because I cannot speak well.

This "blanking out" is another thing I fear about the Q&A session afterward. If I could take a minute by myself and write out my answer, it would be fine, but all the anxious thoughts rolling around my head prevent me from thinking of any answer to spoken questions.

I need to get my slides done by Monday, but for some reason I can't bring myself to work on them anymore. There are so many negative thoughts that I just don't feel like doing it. But I REALLY need to make a good slide show and memorize this stuff. Argh. (Plus I am getting distracted by exploring the forum...but that is a different problem. ;P)

Do any of you have any tips on public speaking, reducing nervousness, or just speaking to people in general?

Thanks!

 

[Lost Drifter]

Hi Ratchet

An hour-and-20-minute talk sounds like a lifetime but it will rush past in seconds. I’ve got the opposite problem, I’m fine talking to a large group of strangers but put me into a one-to-one conversation and I’ll get anxious and frustrated with myself.

What I would recommend is practice, give the presentation to yourself a few times to feel at ease with the subject matter, if you’re talking about different sub-topics then do make a note of how long you spend on each area and review it afterwards. You don’t want to spend forty minutes on an introduction only to rush through the main topic for example. Familiarity with the words, pacing and subject will make you feel confident to share your knowledge with others, pay no heed to their academic grades, they’re in the class for (most likely) same reason as you so don’t feel you have to prove yourself or compete with them. You’re all students and there to learn, simple as that.

If you can record your practice sessions even better, listen to the tone of your voice to see if and when you need to adjust your mannerisms, ask someone completely new to the subject if they understand (that way you’ll know where to use more detail) and try to anticipate a few likely questions you could be asked. Don’t fret about making lots of eye contact either (a lot of people panic about this), what I tend to do is focus on the back of the room and occasionally (about a second or two) glance down at people just to make direct contact for a brief moment.

If you have to cover a vast subject try wrapping it into a story to help remember pacing and sequence. For example if you had to talk about light bulbs I would start with a brief anecdote about early substitutes, the discovery behind light bulbs, their manufacture and production before going on to talk about potential futures. The core detail is that by making a story you are creating a paced sequence to follow should your mind come to a blank. Having a plan stops you having to think things up on the spot.

I’m sure someone will tell you to imagine the audience naked, I’ve never tried it but just think it’s only an hour and 20 minutes, what’s the worst that can happen? You’ll still be alive afterwards and don’t be afraid to make mistakes either, it’s natural and will actually put a lot of people at ease.

You’ll be laughing by the second attempt.

 

[Lombax]

As I mentioned in my PM, thanks for the advice, Lone Drifter!

I gave my speech to a "test audience" today, and things went a little better than expected. I still stammered and lost my words a few times, but I felt comfortable with the people in the room. While I was getting weird looks sometimes and I could tell a few of the people were getting bored of me struggling. Still, I finally convinced myself that I shouldn't care. heck, this is my first presentation. I can stammer if I want. Plus, they have no idea what my situation is like. I just rolled with it.

After this experience, I felt a lot more confident, as I did get through the speech without dying, and people seemed to think it was alright. I was feeling so good about myself that afterward, I even went and talked to someone I've been wanting to be friends with. I felt like, if I could give a speech, talking to a single person informally wasn't a big deal.

So now I have my official speech on Wednesday in front of a group that I feel less comfortable around, but I've at least prepared a bit. I'm now convinced that the world won't end if I mess up, and it will all be over in about an hour or so.

I've promised myself a celebratory ice cream or something afterward, so that plus the relief that it's over will be worthwhile!

 

[somber_radiance]

I chose a major that involved A LOT of presentations. I used to be so horrified of public speaking I would shake...and lose my voice. It was horrible...but I got through it.

My suggestion it memorizing it....rehearse it over and over again so that the words become second nature. Then when you do blank out...your brain will go on auto-pilot and start regurgitating what you memorized. However, I never memorize anything that well...so I rely on my slides a lot. It's ok to use them as your notes to remind you of your points. You can read off of them if you get too nervous. Also...it helps to just pretend you are talking to just one person. For me...it was looking at the professor (it helped if he sat in the back with the other students) or a friend. Over time, I realized a lot of people just zone out (they don't mean to ..but it happens...honestly do you ever zone out during a speech?)....that also helped take pressure off. For the Q&A...try to predict what questions you might get and come up with answers. You can write them down on note cards or a sheet of paper and refer to them during the presentation (unless note cards aren't allowed).

I know it's a lot of work...but you won't regret the preparation. Eventually, with more presentation opportunities, you'll get the hang of it and feel more comfortable standing in front of people. Just know...EVERYONE gets nervous! I thought I was the only one until I noticed that before/during presentations even the most outgoing of my teammates would have nervous shaky hands. And, these are people that have been doing class presentations for at least 3 years! I too still get nervous ..although I've become a lot better at pretending to be composed (sometimes to the point of being boring...but I still get my points across...mostly).

 

[MadMonkè]

public speaking, to me, is easier than socializing.

for one thing... you only need to worry about what you want to say. and not have to respond to "feedback"

though discouraging body language may make you feel... discouraged..

but its like talking to yourself really... thats why I feel more comfortable with it... you dont even have to look at anyone if you dont want to.

if you can imagine what I'm talking about thus far, it wont be too much more to imagine the whole class as an extension of yourself... as you teach yourself the topic at hand.

lastly... the fear of public speaking is scarier than actually speaking in public.
so. be brave. you gain persona power ups when you win vs fear.

practice helps so good job on that. ill be rooting for you.

 

[evanescencefan91]

make sure you do some practice runs a few times, you can even do a rehearsal presentation possibly with a family member or present part of it for your teacher beforehand

give yourself a few note cards in case you find yourself getting lost,


students sit through so many lectures and presentations I doubt they will judge yours any differently from any other ones

I'm sure you'll do fine

 

[Minus]

How did it go?

... Still, I finally convinced myself that I shouldn't care. heck, this is my first presentation. I can stammer if I want. ...

That is where i ended up at. Instead of worrying about making a mistake i would focus on getting through it. Most of the people were more worried about giving their speeches, than anything i said.

 

[The Good Citizen]

Lombax I'd love to offer pearls of wisdom but I'd be a fraud as I'm exactly the same I stutter, my voice goes all weird I go red and sometimes I just go blank as if my brain locks up. Its just a mental thing I'm not shy and in a meeting situation where I'm sat in a room of people I'm fine you can't shut me up. Its just the standing in front of people and having to prepare something..urghh.

I am a trained expert at avoiding them at all costs, I have no shame in weasling my way out of them.

So all I can say is I feel your pain!

 

[Lombax]

Thanks for all the replies and advice! I gave my speech and it turned out even better than my practice runs! I don't know what happened, but I just felt like a different person as soon as I got up to the podium. I rarely stuttered, I could look up from my notes, and I felt confident. All my fears washed away, and I finally felt like part of the group! If only I could feel that way all the time.

Still, nobody invited me to the social event afterward, but that's okay. I am happy with my progress, and that is all that matters.