Public Speaking

[ghgrand]

All,

Unfortunately ive gone through most of my college career without conquering the ability to speak in front of large groups of people comfortably.

I've had to do some things in front of groups as large as 35 people, and its very hard to succesfully do what i want, as in I get very nervous, skip over important lines, start rambling about things that do not even need to be said, and sometimes mumbling. It seems as if I start to stumble in some presentation, its like it snowballs to the point that I basically choke. Ive done some research and I think I narrowed my problem down to the psyhcological part, as opposed to the physical part. I've started to take anxiety pills and they have worked with moderate success( St. Johns Wart) in calming my nerves and stomach down, but I was just going to see if anybody had some good psychological tips to help get over stage fright/ public speaking problems ( i feel that confidence is probably something im lacking). I've tried some of the basic tips like imagining everybody nude, unsuccessfully.

The reason im asking this is because in 1 week I have to give a group presentation to 60+ people and its already starting to creep up into my mind.

TIA

Drew

[diebitter]

You've tried cue cards with one/two-word statements on to keep you on track?

practice, alone. This helps you also get timing right, and hammmers in the material.


Also, for any presentation, break it into 3 stages:

1. Tell em what you're gonna tell em
2. Tell em
3. Tell em what you told em

1 gives you a clear line and allows you to be brief and crisp and estabish authority, 2 is the real presentation, 3. allows you and them to wind down.

Do not make the whole thing just (2), otherwise it's too much.

[guids]

How well do you handle alchohol? Im a great public speaker for whatever reason, I think it was because I was a dork in HS and did Model UN etc so public speaking was a must if you want to win. My buddy is terrible, he approached me for help, so one day before one of his classes that he was giving a presentatino, we went out to lunch, ate a big meal, and did some drinking. Just enough should give you the confidence.

As diebitter said, cue card are good, the less confident you are, the more I would write down, and leave less to improv.

[Colonel Kataffy]

Practice controlling your breathing. Sit down or lay on your back on focus on taking deep relxaings breaths. Everytime you start thinking about somthing, just turn your attention back to your breath.

Practice this a couple times every day. This will reduce your anxiety in general. Also, you will be able to to better control your anxiety at the time of your thing because by taking a deep breath at any time you will better be able to create a relaxation response.

If it sounds silly, trust me, it works.

[AAAA]

try this:

concentrate your attention totally to learning what to do with your feet, your hands and your face before you try to say anything.

it is impossible to concentrate on two things at a time unless one of them is a habit. if you make what you do with your body into a habit, you won't have to worry about that when you are in front of an audience.

let me know if you would like more detail.

[ghgrand]

As far as alcohol is concerned, ive done it before. The only problem is I drank just enough that I didnt get the 'confidence' associated with drinking, but my nerves were just magnified. There is a problem with the alcohol as I will be near professionals and in a professional enviroment, so I dont want to risk anything with that, but thanks for the suggestion.

Also I'll use those tips about the anxiety, Thanks.

[gamblore99]

1. Know your material very well.
2. Do not write out the whole speech, but just main points/structure of the speech.
3. Look just past the audience
4. practice practice practice
5. dont be afraid to pause for a few seconds in the middle of your speech. It will just add dramatic effect
6. Do not flail your arms around, but make small gestures to add emphasis where necessary
7. Speak in an authoritarian manner.
8. Before speech stretch vocal chords. My high school drama teacher recommended "MAE MEEE MOOWWW MY MOOO". Look for other ones.
edit to add: It is normal to be nervous before public speaking. I really enjoy it but still get butterflies.

[ghgrand]

AAAA - I kind of understand what your saying but if you could go into more detail that would be great.

All-Thanks for the suggestions

[keikiwai]

I practice my talks a few times until I know them basically by heart. Don't always practice from beginning to end, go over important parts / problem parts separately.

I find note cards, etc. take my attention away from the talking, so I don't use them.

I'm always nervous before, but once I start, I've practiced enough so that I'm comfortable. I don't memorize exact words, so I don't have worry about forget things, I just explain the stuff on my powerpoint or overheads.

Other people say look above the crowd, I find it helps to look people in the eye and really just try to explain yourself. If you've practiced enough ahead of time, it'll just flow.

Try practicing in front of a mirror, try recording yourself to see how you sound. Also, if you have friends that'll listen to you, have them listen, especially if they are not in your field, if they can understand the gist of it, you're doing good.

You'll get better w/ practice, you just have to not concentrate on what people are thinking about you, and try to concentrate on the topic at hand and whether you are getting your point across.

[RacersEdge]

I used to not like speaking in public right out of college. One thing that helped me was being able to give presentations off a laptop projector. It was easier because you don;t get the feeling that everyone is focused on you 100%. Plus the room is usually darker. So it's more like you are narrating a slide show instead of being up there just talking. It was like training wheels - after a while you don;t have to lean on the laptop as much. Now I kind of like making a presentation.

The only other thing is to really focus on what you are saying - think about the topic - think about the ideas you are spekaing about - don;t get it so memorized that you just ramble right through it. Keep your mond on the topic you are talking about, not the fact that you are talking.