does anyone else besides me have trouble speaking in public?? like presenting things in front of the class?? can anyone help me feel alot more confident?! please!
2007-01-08 14:43:33 · 9 answers · asked by nathalie_dawson03 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Primary & Secondary Education
I was the same way when I was in Jr. High and High school. Then I learned a few things:
1. Know your material, you should not need to use anything more than an index card with key words.
2. Practice, the more you practice, the more natural it will become.
3. Breath, take a few slow, calming breaths before you have to go up to speak.
4. Smile and make eye contact, doing this will automatically make the audience more in-tune to you.
5. Act confident. I know this sounds silly, but honestly, if you act it you feel it!!
The more you have to speak to groups the easier it will get. Be willing to laugh at yourself and make your audience have fun and enjoy your talk. I am a Christian, so I always pray for strength and guidance. Keep in mind that almost everyone out their listening to you feels the same way you do when they have to speak in front of a group. It's always comforting to know your not alone.
I have to speak in front of large groups all the time now and I don't think twice about it. It's as natural and easy to me as breathing; no one who knew me then would ever believe it!!
2007-01-08 15:47:54 · answer #1 · answered by iluvstrawberryshakes 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm a Communication major and I've had to give a number of speeches in front of small and medium sized crowds. I've also got a terrible fear of Public Speaking, though it's not nearly as bad as it was before I got into my field. The two best tips I can give you are these: 1) Know you material. This is probably more important than anything else. If you know exactly what you're going to say and how you're going to say it, then when you get up there you're going to focus more on remembering what you practiced than what the people in the crowd are thinking; 2) No one cares about you. Now, sure, you've got your family and friends and clearly you mean the world the them. What I'm talking about, however, are the snot-nosed college students in your class. Think of what you're doing or thinking about when someone else is giving a speech. You sitting there day-dreaming about how much fun you're going to have that weekend or wondering how much time is left in class. You're doing a thousand different things as an audience member, not one of which is listening to the person speaking. You could care less about what they have to say and while you may be looking at them to avoid drawing the professor's criticism, you're not paying attention to a thing they say. The same holds true when you're speaking. Nine out of every ten people in that audience is thinking about what they're going to do once this boring class is over. Knowing this, though it's clearly easier said than done, you need to stop worrying about what people in the audience are thinking and focus solely on putting on a good (and confident) show for your professor as he's the only one who's opinion matters (or who has an opinion at all). Also, regardless of how poorly you think you did, how long is the memory span of the average college student on class-related happenings? I'd guess about 13 minutes. Practice, breathe, perform. Those 5, 10 or 15 minutes may seem like the longest of your life, but they still amount to an incredible small period of time after which everyone around you will forget everything that happened within that time. Hope I've helped a bit and I wish you the best of luck on your presentation. P.S. You're professor is a jerk. It's a bio seminar, not a Public Speaking class. There's no reason he should have done that.
2016-05-22 21:45:21 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
communication studies (which dealt with a ton of public speaking) was my major in college. the best advice I can give is 1. talk about things that you are interested in and passionate about, then you aren't giving a speech as much as just talking in front of peers 2. more than likely everyone in your class is going to have to present at one point or another and you know that they are just as nervous as you are, someone has to stand out and be the one that doesn't seem like they are nervous, why not let it be you?? Just be confident and know that most people hate public speaking just as much as you do (including your classmates) set the bar high and no one will even know that you are nervous, they will be too worried about presenting up to your standards. best of luck!
2007-01-08 14:50:36 · answer #3 · answered by yardbird_24 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Make eye contact. Don't read off a sheet of paper, know the information well and use index cards to help you remember main points. If you mess up or something, don't get nervous, just take a deep breath and keep going. PRACTICE in front of an audience before giving your speech.
2007-01-08 14:53:06 · answer #4 · answered by Jordan D 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you can practice in front of a few people that will help you and they can give you input on how to better you public speaking.
2007-01-08 14:48:14 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE.
Have fun fun fun.
That's all I know to say. But, for oral presentations, try to find a topic that interests you (if possible) and have fun...make it jive with your personality. What is really fun is totally blowing your classmates away by letting your personality come out in your presentation.
2007-01-08 14:48:08 · answer #6 · answered by hiccup_snickup 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
if you know the information backwards and forwards, the phobia of speaking in front of large crowds should not exist....best advice drink a beer or take a shot before you go on :)
2007-01-08 14:49:29 · answer #7 · answered by professor dj 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Remember the idea that "We All Get To Be Here" The people you are talking to are no more special than you and you are no more than they.
2007-01-08 14:56:54 · answer #8 · answered by denbobway 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋