• Hi Guest - Come check out all of the new CP Merch Shop! Now you can support CigarPass buy purchasing hats, apparel, and more...
    Click here to visit! here...

Need public speaking advice...

H311oLHD

H311oLHD

Active Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2007
Messages
1,768
Location
Schaumburg, IL
I've got a really odd request, but I'm hoping someone can help me out. Tomorrow morning I have to give a short (very short: 90 second) presentation standing up in front of my Integrated Marketing Communications class. I am a fairly shy person when it comes to talking to new people or talking in front of a group, unless I feel comfortable, then I'm very out going. My question was, does anyone have a good way to combat the fear of public speaking? Eventually I need to overcome this fear of mine, and it doesn't help that I have been dreading tomorrow since I signed up for this course. I realize that some of you will laugh and say "90 seconds, ha!", but to me..this is a huge deal. I'm hoping that tomorrow'll be the start of me being able to get over a fear that I absolutely have to get over in order to be successful in life.

So, anyone got any advice to calm the nervs/reduce the adrenaline that always seems to hit right before a presentation?

Thanks everyone! -Aaron
 
I think the most important thing in public speaking is to have a good handle on your material. Practice your presentation in front of your friends, family, dog, etc. After you get a few words out the jitters will be gone and the 90 seconds will be up before you know it.
 
All i can say is go out there and kick ass! Strut up like you own the damn place, cuz you do. And the tell them what the deal is. Pretent you are Gen. Patton infront of the USA flag telling your guys how to fight the Germans.

PS Switters nailed it. Run trough your presentation over and over again until you could recite it Blind, as it were. That is where the confidence, mentioned aove, comes into play. Once you know your shit, then the rest is easy.
 
switters said:
I think the most important thing in public speaking is to have a good handle on your material. Practice your presentation in front of your friends, family, dog, etc. After you get a few words out the jitters will be gone and the 90 seconds will be up before you know it.
Click to expand...
Solid advice. Know your material inside and out. If there will be any Q&A afterwards, spend some time thinking about likely questions and the answers you'll give.

Confidence is the key, and nothing begets confidence like knowing the material inside and out.

Rock on - :cool: - B.B.S.
 
switters said:
I think the most important thing in public speaking is to have a good handle on your material. Practice your presentation in front of your friends, family, dog, etc. After you get a few words out the jitters will be gone and the 90 seconds will be up before you know it.
Click to expand...

This is very good advice. I was a business major, so I had A LOT of presentations. The best thing to me was to get a good sense of where I am going to speak and visualize how the presentation will go. A dry-run if you will; but don't be afraid to improvise and be spontanous.

To me, the best qualities for public speaking are confidence and a feel for your audience. Speak loud and clear and smile when you are up there. Be confident because almost everyone has at least a little bit of fear when speaking in front of others.
 
A slightly different approach is volunteer to go first. This has several benefits:

A. You get it out of the way and don't risk overlapping your material with subsequent presenters
B. Any mistakes that are made will hopefully be obscured by subsequent presenters (primacy vs. recency effect)
C. Volunteering projects confidence
D. The sooner it is over, the sooner you can light one up :D

Good luck!!

Billy
 
All good advice, and may I add:
  • Keep your hands out of your pockets.
  • Make eye contact with many, if not all, of your audience.
  • Make short notes, don't memorize or read word for word.
 
Have a few drinks (just short of being drunk) before you get to class.

JK. I'd never try it, but I have a few friends that do it all the time (even before difficult finance tests).

D
 
Good advice all around here.

Remember, your audience wants you to do well. It's just as uncomfortable for the listener to see someone bomb up there, so relax. They are cheering for you when you get up there. Own your topic and before you know it you will have run out of time.
 
I teach Business Communication at IU and offer you two pieces of advice:

1) Find confidence in your knowledge of the material -- in part it is an issue of practice, but not overpracticing. The key to success is being yourself and talking with the audience. Genuine interest and passion are what sell ideas as much as excellent argumentation.


2) Develop a clarity of structure. You can say little in 90 seconds, so think of it this way:


a) state your main idea (your thesis or purpose)
b) develop one key main point to support your thesis
c) provide a one sentence concluding comment that reinforces your idea

For longer presentations (and writing projects) I recommend Barbara Minto's Pyramid Principle. She has three articles that some would say offer obvious insights -- but unfortunately many people fail to employ the orginational logic necessary to persuade audiences around the way people actually "think." Minto is a godsend -- especially when it comes to developing strategy and critical analysis.

I could go on for hours, but there are some tips....
 
Forget about all the technical stuff.

Look out at your audience and undress them. If you visualize them all in the nude you are going to see some funny stuff out there.
They are going to be uncomfortable in the nude and that makes your job easy :laugh:

Brian
 
just a few things that help me, as I also have problems giving presentations

-Wear something cool, for me once I stand up it starts to feel like its 150 degrees in the room
-Know your material inside and out, if you have notecards, write as little as possible on them, to avoid just reading the whole presentation
-If you don't know everyone in the class, introduce your self to as many people as possible before you have to present, this helps me the most, it seems to make the audience more friendly.
-Go as early as possible, the later I go, the more I worry about how "good" everyone else was
-Eat a lite meal a little before and drink water, I also like to bring water with me so after my presentation when I feel like I've been in the desert for 2 years with nothing to drink I have something.
-This is the hardest for me- Act like you own the place, your the expert
-If you make a mistake or forget something just keep moving on to the next part

This the advice I've been given and it has helped me a lot over the years

-Tom
 
BlindedByScience said:
switters said:
I think the most important thing in public speaking is to have a good handle on your material. Practice your presentation in front of your friends, family, dog, etc. After you get a few words out the jitters will be gone and the 90 seconds will be up before you know it.
Click to expand...
Solid advice. Know your material inside and out. If there will be any Q&A afterwards, spend some time thinking about likely questions and the answers you'll give.

Confidence is the key, and nothing begets confidence like knowing the material inside and out.

Rock on - :cool: - B.B.S.
Click to expand...
Aaron, I understand those fears as well, but have become much better since my college days, as you will too. One method, in addition to the critical advice given above, is to slow down. Start with a smile, look into the eyes of the audience. Breathe and speak slowly. This will help relax your vocal chords and keep your voice sounding confident. I always start with something I know I won't forget, like, "Hello, my name is Brandon and I want to talk about 1980's porn." Then I pause; pauses are good. Don't forget to breathe, and remember you are the baddest motherfucker on the face of the planet.

Also, try square breathing when you get the rushes before your turn.

Good luck
 
A lot of good advice! In addition to Brian's comment about envisioning them nude. Take 30 complete seconds and try to find the person in your audience who's poop doesn't stink..............actually do this..........the idea is to convince yourself that nobody in your audience is superior, they are people just like you.
 
This may not apply to you, but I got over the same fear by accident. I became a member of one of the many 12 steps orgs out there (add an “A” after it and it probably exists).

For the first few weeks I couldn’t even share in a small group. Then I opened up little by little, but only in small groups. After a few months (of success in my addiction) I was asked to speak at a meeting, little did I know there would be 50 people there… but it was my story that I had to tell and I knew my story well, so it went well. A year later I went to an event in Chicago and spoke in front of 500 people… it was very exciting and rewarding and actually quite comfortable.

So, even if you don’t have any addictions to overcome, find a way to speak in small groups and work your way up… maybe a poetry reading, do a reading at church, anything to practice.
 
Practice your speech on a couple (three would be even better) other people who are in the same class. Get the jitters out and become comfortable with them. When the time comes to give your presentation, have the people you've practiced with disperse throughout the room. For me, I would have one in front and the other two in the middle and back. Finally when you're up there, keep your focus on your three friends and block out the rest of the class. Alternate eye contact with the three and it will seem to the instructor and the rest of the room as if you're making eye contact and creating a connection/rapport with the whole audience.
 
Thank you guys for all the great advice...I plan on using as much of it as I can tomorrow. I've prepared a pretty spiffy power point, a short 4/5 slides that will help me along (also a requirement to receive the points). The assignment basically is to connect an article about Google to one of the chapters in the textbook that we're currently reading. I've read and re-read the article quite a bit, so I know what I'm talking about - the information wont be new to me. Also, for my major- Marketing, it is a requirement that all Marketing majors at ISU to wear business casual to all classes..so I'm going to wear brand new pants w/ a bada** shirt that I just bought. Hopefully if I look good, that'll help my confidence as well. I'm the type of person that isn't afraid of much, but when I get inside my head, I can EASILY talk myself into being scared about something, public speaking has been one of those things. During my Freshman year I took a communications class, where I had to stand up and give several (I think 4 or 5) speeches throughout the semester. By the last one, yes I was still nervous, but I actually began to enjoy myself and gained some confidence in my speaking abilities...But I haven't had to do something like this for almost 2 years now, so that's another reason for these nerves.

Anyways, I really can't express how thankful I am for the advice/tips you all have given me. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes tomorrow, and afterwords, I plan on lighting up a cigar or two!!! :thumbs: (AKA: Ill just be thinking of my celebration stick(s) throughout the presentation. :laugh:

-Aaron
 
All the advice that was said above is solid stuff. To add a simple small piece. When you get to the podium, or where ever you are talking. Stand for a few moments and take a breath. Just smile and breathe for a second. It often centers my mind and lets me focus.
 
Another teacher here.. I teach Microsoft and Cisco certification classes. Many useful tips in this thread. the one that strikes a key note is knowing your material. that is so key as it makes your presentation flow so much more smoothly. Another thing I learned early on is that if you are a little nervous..its ok. Most people, even the experienced still get nervous....NO WORRIES...Another good thing you got going is this is only a short little speech and your have PowerPoint..thats a biggie..The people are all goign to be concentrating on the slide show and not you!!!..so dont worry you'll do just fine

art
 
Well guys,

I'm off to 'face the music'! haha jk jk. I practiced about 10ish times last night, almost memorized it on accident! I'm feeling pretty good about the presentation and I'm actually excited to start to overcome my fear. Thank you all for helping me with all of these hints/tips. I'll talk to you guys in a few hrs after I nail this thing! :thumbs: :thumbs:

-Aaron
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top