public speaking,

[Nastka]

Hey guys! How do you feel about public speaking?

Is it true that everyone hates it?

I do! I get nervous, shake, feel cold, feel like throwing up, forget what I need to say, lose the line when I read, takes me forever to get back to my line...blah blah...

 

I think that everyone thinks that I'm a freak when I speak since I have an accent

There is this huge presentation soon and I'm so scared!!!! I always get C for my projects even if I spent saturday and sunday working on it.

Do you know how to get over that? What do you think of people who have accents and are presenting something in class? *grade 12...actually I got lots of 11 graders in my class....

I've heard of imagining the whole class naked in front of you but that sounds weird...

so how can I get over that hm?

[VeryShyGuy]

I too am extremely nervous when it comes to public speaking. But I heard or read somewhere that with public speaking you would need to do a lot of practice to get over your nervousness (as in practice, I mean not in front of a mirror, but practice in front of actual people and get some immediate feedback from them).

 

I know someone that is good at public speaking, and this is how he does it.

[Howtobefreaky]

I couldn't be more natural in front of an audience, but then again, I consider myself a born performer. Heck, I only get nervous around girls. That's the ONLY time.

[Meow18]

I'm actually taking a public speaking class too. I really hate speaking in front of an audience.

 

A lot of people get nervous. Even people who publicly speak all the time still get nervous. Performers get nervous before a performance. It has to do with your adrenaline. Public speaking is actually like the #1 fear, so you are definantly not alone.

 

There are many ways we were taught to get over nervousness. You have to practice a lot. If you practice so much that you practically have your speech memorized, you'll do great. If you don't practice, then thats when you are most likely to not do so well & you will be even more nervous.

 

You might think that people can tell that you are so nervous, but actually most of the time, people can't tell. I mean sometimes you can tell that a person is nervous, but not as nervous as they actually are. So knowing that usually helps.

 

You must think positive. I know thats really stupid sounding, but its true. If you think things like "oh, I'm going to do so bad", then chances are you will do bad. If you think "I practiced a lot, I'll do just fine", then you will do well.

 

Also, you have to realize that you won't do perfectly on your speech. Its normal to make mistakes during speeches. You will stumble on some words, its only normal, but as long as you don't make a big deal about it, people will hardly notice. Have you ever seen someone perform something and after the show, they say how much they messed up during a certain part, however you didn't even notice they messed up at all? No one will know what you are going to say, so your classmates are too busy listening to what you say than picking out every mistake you make.

 

I actually have my speech book right in front of me cause I was working on speech homework, so I'm reading these things right out of the book.

 

Anyways, those are some really good helpful tips for giving speeches. Just remember that no one is really paying attention to all the mistakes you will make & people can't tell how nervous you actually are.

[antzca2000]

see I once was scared and nervous to present. But one day when this girl was up there presenting and she was doing a HORRIBLE job due to nervousness, and all the while I was never thinking badly of her, i was only thinking "ya haha shes nervous, i would probably be the same way". Then Somethign came to me...... maybe no one ever judges you when your nervous because they too feel the same way when their up there? They know how they feel and your not just being freaky in their eyes.

[geo_jane]

I agree,

the people in your class are probably too busy thinking about their own nervous to pay too much attention to your nervousness. And if they are paying attention they are forgiving you for your nervousness because they know what its like to be up there in front of people. If they make fun of you then they are scum and probably really insecure about themselves so give them a dirty look and then ignore them. 8)

 

Also, the best way to get over the nerves is to practice. Know what your going to say and practice in front of your family a few times.

 

But to be really calm up there you need to practice in front of a real audience a lot. I'm still trying to get used to public speaking and I'm almost finished university!

 

Good luck with your presentation!

[Lily04]

Yeah, I used to hate public speaking, but now I actually sorta like it..

 

I think my opinion of public speaking really shifted when I did a debate in my gr. 12 philosophy class & just left the class in awe. I was very articulate & it gaev me a lot of confidence when making later presentations. I just had a lot of fun with it -- I pretended I was a lawyer & giving a very persuasive speech to a jury. I also had very few notes & forced myself to make it up on the spot. It was awesome. After that I was recommended by my teacher to join the debate team & made finals in my region..

 

I really think the issue for me was preparation. I *need* to feel that I'm convinced with my argument otherwise I can't convince others. In some cases it's difficult to do (i.e. in debates they give you typically only 5 mins. max to think about your argument beforehand, so it's hard to develop a convincing argument on the spot.) However, after doing research & being analytical in the design of your presentation, etc. you should be fine. For me this was the key. Now I like giving presentations because I like sharing my research & opinions with others and receiving their opinions. I'm also preparing to go to law school so it's good practice. BUT I still hate giving it if I don't feel convinced myself that what I'm arguing is true. That is the worst feeling in the world. I did it once for a history assignment, and I was dreading that presentation to the point that it made me sick. I felt transparent & my TA bombarded me with questions afterwards (since I was his top student he expected a lot more from me, yet I slacked and he could tell. So he gaev me a *really* hard time. After that I felt like I was going to cry because he made me feel like such an idiot.) But it really does get better with practice. As I described on the 'dating & shy people' forum once, I used to be really really shy. Perhaps I even had social anxiety disorder at one point I dunno. But then I was just quiet, and now in academic settings usually the loudest in the class. it really is all about confidence - perhaps take some debate lessons, or drama, that helped me as well. And pretend you're someone who is a lot more confident than you. My mom gaev me that advice & it helped before (i.e. pretending I was my best friend who was very confident, or a lawyer, or president, etc.)

 

Hope that helped..

 

lily

 

[edit] Also, one really helpful piece of advice for me -- tell yourself that the people in the class (including the teacher) is at the same intellectual level as yourself, or lower. If you think of them as being really smart & thus have the ability to contradict you in any way, you make yourself nervous. Never underestimate your audience beforehand but during the speech/presentation, do *not* think of them as being as smart as you, it will just make you more nervous. I think of everyone there as my friends. In fact I usually go about this in any situation where i might be nervous -- meeting new people, talking to a crush, etc. And prepare well beforehand so you don't feel insecure about your abilities as well.

[drahcir]

Thats a really great question!!!

 

One thing that will get you through ANY presentation is SMILING. Smile all the way through it, and people will have no reason to critize you no matter how bad you do. Just like Tony Blair, a lot of what he says is nonsense but he always smiles and atleast it looks good on camera. I am sure if Blair can look that good, so can YOU.

[Lily04]

LOL, same with Bush. Except he tends to smirk when pissed off, which isn't so good. At least Blair is more articulate so even if what he says is bull, it still sounds pretty. =)

[DBL]

I never had a problem with public speaking. Once I was at school with my friends kids for the end of the year activity day. They had a magician there. Here I am standing minding my own business, and the janitor hands me the microphone. So I was like ok....I started telling jokes and making fun of the magician, until the principle came in.

 

Anyway...I always think it is best not to practice. Let it be natural. Most importantly don't even think about it. When you think about it your going to make yourself nervous. Always look happy and speak loudly. If your still too nervous, trip on your way to make your presentation, everyone will laugh, and you now have broken the tension.

 

Good Luck

DBL

[Mun]

Hi there,

I have done a bit of public speaking and the best thing is to be well informed on your topic. Smile and just pretend that everyone there is your friend. I know it sounds cheesy, but it works for me. Depending on your speech, you can start out with a funny remark and go from there. Don't forget to ask if anyone has any questions when you are done.

[DBL]

But what if his remark isn't that funny? Then what? Then he has to fall.

[ShySoul]

Oddly, I've never had trouble with public speaking even though I'm shy the rest of the time. I think it's because I know people are going to have to listen to me and I want to impress them with a well thought out and interesting presentation. Plus, being graded is always a motivation to do well.

 

Fear of speaking in crowds is one of the top fears people have, so it's perfectly natural. Lots of practice is good. The more you know what your going to say and the more prepared you are, the more confident you will feel and less nervous you'll be. At the same time, don't be to prepared to the point where you've got everything memorized and are just reciting it out of your head. You want to maintain a conversational type feel where your talking to the audience instead of lecturing them. Finding appropriate hand gestures and body movements is good, you look animated and excited about the topic and can avoid nervous fidgeting.

 

My advice is to find a friend who your comfortable with and practice with him. It will feel like your having a conversation with a friend instead of practicing for a big speech. Then when your giving the presentation pretend your just talking to that same friend.

[Mun]

DBL,

If it's not that funny he just keeps on going.

 

There are some speeches that are serious and have no room for jokes of any kind. It just depends on the situation.

 

Haven't you ever said anything that bombed? Just be prepared.

[DBL]

Oh yeah I bombed plenty of times, but I make sure I have a backup. I once had to give a speach for a friend that just was married. I didn't know I had to give one, so I had to pull it out of my head. My speach and jokes about the bachalor party were not going so well...So I accidently spilled my wine all over the groom during my speach.

 

DBL

[Nastka]

hey thanks everyone! I;ll try your tips

[CarterJonas]

Hi,

 

My job requires quite a bit of public speaking/presentations. Well I can tell you that I did not like public speaking at all to start with, I hardly know anybody that did at the time! But as I got more practice it became a lot easier and it now doesn't bother me at all.

 

The best advice I can give is to know the subject you are talking about well and have a few practice runs beforehand. You will slowly come to realise that the fear of public speaking is a lot worse that actually doing it.

[Inconceivable]

I do get nervous a lot of times, unless I'm with my friends. My friends do give me a lot of confidence. A lot of times I'll just think about something really funny that we did and that helps me a lot.

[dreamweaverdude]

You neverget over being benervous. I hate to present finanical data to a large group of commiissioners and mayors a t times and being someone that is somewhat insuecure by nature anyway, I have to work at it... YOu just have to be positive eabout what you are presenting... if you are at all intimidated by the material or the group it even makes it worse...

[MelodyCalls]

I used to hate public speaking. When I was 10, we had to do a presentation to the class. I'd fallen out with someone a few days earlier, and they heckled all the way through. It got the point where I would freeze with fear when speaking in front of people, and most of the time I just wouldn't be able to speak.

 

This week I gave a talk to 40 people and according to everyone I was the best in the class. Even better, I volunteered to give that talk! Not bad considering I used to be frozen in front of any audience.

 

Familiarity with the material is a big confidence boost, as it means you can ad lib if you lost your position. I always try and include a few humorous points, and physical actions can help your audience relate to you.