I totally feel you friend. I'm shy and absolutely loathe presentations/public speaking. However, since I've been in college I've had to give a lot of group and individual presentations. There's been no way to avoid them or get out of doing them. It always helps to know the material that you are presenting really well. Sometimes you can just forget what to say and draw a blank. A quick recovery is important. Know your material. Be confident in that you know the material and that you're prepared to present it. Confidence. You can always resort to the underwear theory of course. Good luck! ------------------ "...just because a clever person can complicate the discussion about the truth doesn't necessarily mean he or she is making any progress in finding it."
I would suggest taking an entry level acting course. You know "Acting 101" Not to say you need to learn how to act or anything. But it would get you over your fear of being in front of people. And it builds self-confidence. ------------------ Everything you do, effects everything that is.
It's only your classmates. You have nothing to lose if you freeze or get nervous. It's not like giving a presentation on behalf of your company and the future of your company lies how well you give that presentation. Just be familiar with what your are presenting. Be familiar enough that you don't have to rely on notes or cards. Focus on one person at a time and pretend that you are having a 1-on-1 discussion. Say something funny before you start to lighten the mood. Pretend that your speech is actually a basketball and the crowd is the basket. You are the PG and you have just a few minutes to win the big game. Your nervousness is the full-court trap. It's up to you fake out your nervousness. Break its ankles and go for the win! Yeah I know that sounds silly. There are many ways to get over this fear. You are your own worst enemy. Be confident and don't let your fear consume you. ------------------
Hehe. In yours or theirs? Public speaking used to be a problem with me when I was young, but it's all about confidence in what you're talking about. I have no idea when I changed or what caused it, but I don't fear public speaking anymore and actually don't mind it one bit. ------------------ Yugo grills, Yugo mills, Check out the oil my Yugo spills...
You just have to be confident. Also present the way you want to, don't go out with the single goal of impressing the audience. ------------------ Ceo of the Walt Williams and Lisa Malosky fan club. atheistalliance.org [This message has been edited by DEANBCURTIS (edited April 24, 2001).]
The way I got over it in college was realizing that almost everyone else feels exactly the same way. They're just as nervous as their presentation as you are. ------------------ www.swirve.com "Pre-born, you're fine, pre-school, you're f*****."-George Carlin
I meant in their underwear, lol. Spacecity, no note cards allowed. I 've been reading a book, and it is consistent with what you say. Know what you are tlaling about. I wish I could go up there and talk sports. ------------------ "norm, would you like to buy an indian scalp ? This deal isn't gonna make or break me Norm, so don't jerk me around." Harry Carey "Norm, if I had a mohawk scalp, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you."
I have always been the opposite way. Usually quiet and introverted by nature, even around friends, but I have no problems whatsoever with public speaking. I have actually won multiple high school "Speech Night" awards. Here are some tips, in relative order of importance: - It all starts with the speech itself. Read it aloud to yourself as you write it to make sure it flows nicely. If you are really nervous, stick with relatively short, simple sentences and words you won't stumble over. Keep in mind though, that successfully delivering a complex sentence with multiple pauses, sort of like this one, can be a rush, especially in front of a large crowd. - Be familiar with your speech. Read it over until you have memorized most of it. This goes without saying. - Pacing is key. Whatever you do, don't rush your delivery. If you speak too fast, (i) people won't be able to understand what you are saying, (ii) your eyes will probably rush ahead too fast, making it easy to lose your place, (iii) you will realize you are not doing a good job, and will be nervous about it, making it more likely to blush and stumble over your words. - Confidence is everything. Your speech is damn good. You know it, and soon everyone else is going to know it too. Even if you are usually sort of shy (like me), go into it with the mindset that you are going to blow everyone away with your knowledge and wit. <u>Miscellaneous advice -- not essential, but helpful nonetheless</u> - Make your speech fun. Try to insert a few snippets that will make people laugh, or at least smile. Dry humor works best. Always pause, look up and half-smile after delivering a joke or other form of humor. It doesn't have to be a comedy act, although there is nothing wrong with that if you are allowed to do so (some of my best speeches were comedic in nature) but humor can be a useful tool to maintain interest in your speech, whatever the topic. - Don't get worked up about stuttering. The occassional stutter is perfectly fine. Just pause, look down at the line and resume. Reading each line in your mind before speaking it will dramatically cut back on stuttering, but can also cause you to lose your place if you aren't careful. - Speak loud and with conviction! Pretend you are at boot camp if you want, but don't mumble. Your speech is good -- make sure they hear it! Don't be monotonous -- emphasize certain words to make your point. Instead of saying "This is why the Victorian child survived," in a flat dull voice, say "This is why the Victorian child survived" with emphasis on "this" as if you really want to prove your point. - Don't worry too much about eye contact. Just make sure you look up from time to time. About 70% of your "look-ups" should be directed at the teacher or judges. - Try to be calm and relaxed. Don't just stand up there rigidly behind the podium. Use gestures. It's tough, I know, and your body is probably going to be coursing with adrenaline -- use this to feed your confidence, even if it is only temporary confidence. I hope this helps. Write a good speech and go into it knowing you wrote a good speech. You're going to blow them away! ------------------ My dream job is to be a Houston Rockets towel boy. [This message has been edited by fadeaway (edited April 24, 2001).]
This might only exacerbate the problem, but I have to say it: my fear of public speaking is a fear of looking stupid and/or inept. My natural reaction is to hide as much as possible while doing it to minimize public recognition of that ineptness. Unfortunately, this only compounds the problem: nothing looks more inept than trying to hide when you are giving a speech! It's not like anyone is going to not notice you. Therefore -- though it runs counter to instinct -- you have to behave boldly. You may make an ass of yourself anyway, but people will be less judgmental if you put a brave face on it and sound like you know what you are talking about, even if you don't. Btw, what are the chances that your fellow students will actually pay attention to what you are saying? From my memories of speeches in school, I sat and picked my nails when my classmates spoke. I didn't care what they said and, in retrospect, they probably didn't care about what I said either. ------------------ RealGM Gafford Art Artisan Cakes
I agree, Juan.. you have to put on a bold front, even if you are just pretending. No fear! You have to go in with the attitude that you are going to make them stop picking their nails and pay attention to what you are saying. ------------------ My dream job is to be a Houston Rockets towel boy.
This is actually what I did in order to help me get over my intense shyness. I took a Theater Arts class that required getting up on stage, and I took several journalism classes which required me to talk to strangers (for interviews). It helped me a lot (of course, I was really, really shy. I couldn't even bring myself to call the pizza places to get a pizza delivered.) ------------------ Houston Sports Board Film Dallas.com
I really don't want to make eye contact with anyone. That will make me more nervous. One tip I received was to casually look at certain objects in the room, like a clock or pencil sharpener. It's a group presentation, and my part is only 2 minutes. Heck, I should get good at this now, I'll prolly be doing it all my life. ------------------ "norm, would you like to buy an indian scalp ? This deal isn't gonna make or break me Norm, so don't jerk me around." Harry Carey "Norm, if I had a mohawk scalp, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you."
I'm like fadeaway. I'm a pretty quiet dude around individual people, but I thrive when it comes to speaking in public. I don't memorize any speech or anything, I just know what I'm talking about. I do remind myself to talk about one or two points and I make sure the audience understands those two points by repeating those points throughout the presentation. I always tend to say something funny during the presentation too, I don't actually have any joke planned out or anything, I'm just naturally a funny guy, hehe. My eyes sort of lose focus when I talk to crowds, I don't focus on one individual, it's just all blurry to me. Sometimes I notice a smile and that kind of loosens me up, but I never did the focus on one person stuff because I don't want to freak out the person I'm focusing on. So my suggestion is to stay loose, know your subject, and tell urself over and over "It's not a big deal, only one person actually cares about what I'm saying, the rest are just there because they have to be there." ------------------ To resist is to piss in the wind, Anyone who does will end up smelling, Knowing this why do I defy, Cuz my inner voice is yelling.
I still have it and its hard for me so I know how you feel. I was the best man at a wedding and I only knew half the family. When I gave my speech, I didn't know what I was going to say and it was the worst feelings. So knowing your speech is the most important. Practice it extra loud and clear to yourself, as you will probably be more quieter once in the spot light. If you have some friends and family, practice with them. Start with one or two, then build up to several people. Make sure you surround yourself with them to make it appear more like a crowd, and of course, get their opinions. Even though you are suppose to make eye contact, try not to make direct eye contact. Look at their nose, their mouth, or forehead. The most cruel thing I like to do is make it look like im laughing at the speaker. It only works when they look at my eyes, so if you don't make direct eye contact, you won't studder or skip in your speech. Although confidence is important, I think being relaxed is more important. Don't count the minutes till your turn and don't try counting the seconds you will be up there. If it helps, imagine that you are only speaking to just one person in that crowd. And if its an option, take a shot of your best liquor ------------------ Im too drunk to walk ... Im driving home!
I understand where you're coming from perfectly. I would still say I'm a shy person, but I give anywhere from 2-4 public speeches a week. When I first started speaking in public, I always had butterflies. I do think the best advice is to know and like your material. I've heard that if you don't like eye contact, look at the tops of people's heads. Of course, I think the audience can tell when you do that or look at objects around the room. There is no replacement for eye contact, as painful as that may be. Another thing, most people are sympathetic. They're actually pulling for you to do a good job, unless they're an absolute jerk. In which case, I really wouldn't care what they think. If you mess up, you mess up. You might do well to take a deep breath when you first get up there and then let it out before you start to speak. Not in an obvious way, but discretely. Have you ever noticed how some basketball players will take a deep breath and let it out at the free throw line? It relaxes them a little bit. We tend to take short breathes when we're nervous, and we keep far too much air in and tense up our muscles. It doesn't help physical performance or speaking ability. One more thing: Try not to talk too fast. You'll likely talk faster than you would in normal conversation, but some people turn into speed talkers when giving a public speech. Try to talk at a normal pace. It might seem slow to you while your up there, but it will seem normal to the people who are listening, and you'll likely make fewer mistakes. ------------------ The sky is falling!
When you give the speech, it will seem like time flew, which i think is pretty cool. You can give a 5 minute speech and it would feel like 2 minutes. I owuld advise you to know the material inside out (which i see everyone is advising ) Another thing i would advise is to never have a defeatest attitude, if you think you did bad just correct the mistakes you made and improve on the for the next speech. Good luck with you speech dude!!! ------------------
If you have a friend in the audience, just concentrate on them and try to tune out the other people. You should be able to draw support from someone who is pulling for you. ------------------ "Of course, thats just my opinion, I could be wrong" -- Dennis Miller
I've always been a good speaker/actor so I can't say that I fully understand where you're coming from. However, I do have some tips that have helped me before. The biggest thing is turning your fear into a positive. The way I see it is this -- when you are scared, your body gives you an adrenaline rush. Why? Not so you can stand there and shake, but so you can perform! Your adrenaline is there for you to perform even better than you imagined. It gives you strength and energy. You must turn your fear into a positive, and make your adrenaline rush work for you. Throw your entire person into the exercise and you'll come out with better results than you could've ever hoped for. Also, if you get overanxious, do some exercises to remove the edge. Pressing your hands together really hard can help. Personally, when I get over excited I like to run and jump into walls. ------------------ "Up and down, inside out, outside in, some you lose some you win" -- DMB -> "Sweet Up and Down"
any tips ? I've always been a shy kid. Among a group of friends I'm prretty outgoing, but I get nervous when all eyes are on me. It's worse when I have to give a presentation among my classmates. Any good books to read ? Should I picture the crowd in my underwear ? ------------------ "norm, would you like to buy an indian scalp ? This deal isn't gonna make or break me Norm, so don't jerk me around." Harry Carey "Norm, if I had a mohawk scalp, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you."
