Making presentations

LegacyUser

I have to make a presentation for the coll course im doin and am absoloutely ****ting it. and yes i know everybody probably feels the same when they have to do these things, but i get seriously ****ed up over it. i have this anxiety disorder as it is so jsut dont know how im goin to do it. i can believe they make you do these things. especially for the type of course im doin. its not bloody needed! god! any advice? preferably on how to get out of the situation

RedXIV

If you have a presentation, learn it off. Make sure you're gonna cover the time you need to and actually go through the entire presentation. Don't repeat yourself and don't think about what your audience is thinking. Just learn it off so you can recite it without thinking about it

Good Luck

ogriofa

wow! I feel for you. I get the nerves big time, but I can just switch out of it and generally get away with it. But that's because if I HAVE to speak, i learn the stuff off inside out.

This might sound mad, but aren't there special teas you can drink, or some kind of legal drugs you can get over the counter that help with nerves?
(if you DO find LEGAL drugs that work, try them a few times, you don't want to be HIGH during it either!

When you say you get ****ed up about it, do you mean really really nervous, or do you faint, come out in a rash etc?
If you really get medically ****ed up, maybe approach the course director.
Maybe you can do a presentation through some kind of media, or in a different room.
I don't know - see what you can do

G'Luck!!

PS: "and yes i know everybody probably feels the same when they have to do these things"
Countless surveys state that public speaking IS the thing most humans are terrified of. You are defo not alone chief!

Kidchameleon

Op Worte:

"its not bloody needed!"

Hi OP,

Of course its needed, you say you suffer from an anxiety disorder, well what better way to face up to it than make a presentation in front of people!

"preferably on how to get out of the situation"

You need to stop runnig away and start facing up to these things!

Good communication is very necessary in this life, I know that these situations can be hard and im not trying to suggest that its easy but in the words of my mother,

"Feel the fear and do it anyway"

Good luck!

Keano

Rescue Remedy might help you OP.

As for the presentation just try learn as much off and take pauses during it. Would anyone mind if you brought in a bottle of watter.

bongo2

Can you do a power point presentation? You might find it a bit easier as your audience will be more focused on the screen than on what you are saying/how you are presenting it.

SpitfireIV

Hey OP!

The course I was doing (Design) we had to give presentations every couple of weeks, at first it was daunting, scary, dry mouth etc etc, I and others used to be literally shaking and you'd hear it in the voice of those whom were nervous.

I tried the whole learning the presentation off by heart, but by the time it was my turn to present I'd forget half of what I was to say!! haha. So, I tried the small cards with bullet points, but, for some strange reason I'd never look at them, even when I had great intentions of doing so! I think my problem with the cards was that I'd just lose track of where I was and which point to read next.

Another problem I encountered was, that, when standing in front of the class I felt as if even a second of silence (me forgetting what to say) was like an eternity and I'd sort of panic, and, in turn I'd tend to rush a lot of my presentations.

Some of the better presentations I have seen over the 4 years were literally read from cards! But in a clear tone and with good eye contact from time to time. If its powerpoint, by all means use bullets points on the powerpoint as your talking points and please DONT just stand with your back to the crowd reading the powerpoint word for word, it just doesnt work!

If you are doing Powerpoint dont fill it with text, no one reads it! Just use short snappy bullet points or words that A. give you something to expand upon and B. sum up the topic area at that moment.


The best advice I can give you is:

- 'Know your stuff', ie be confident about the topic, know it inside out! So that way you feel more comfortable standing up in front of the crowd and more comfortable in yourself. I'm not necessarily saying to learn the actual presentation off by heart, but to be confident about your topic so that in the event that questions are asked you can answer them without difficulty.

- Take your time! as I mentioned, when doing presentations even a seconds pause can seem like a lifetime! But it isnt, just take your time, take it steady! Bring a glass of water with you and take a mouth full from time to time.

- Eye contact from time to time is good! The longer the better, and remember to make eye contact with your fellow students, not just the lecturers! The tendancy is to just look in there direction and 'tell them'.

- If at all possible maybe walk around! Interact with the crowd a little, it'll make things a little more interesting, a bit of 'walking and talking'. Maybe introduce a little humour? Lighten the mood a bit.

- Try be enthusiastic about your topic, give it some life! If you do so you'll excite the crowd too. If your dull and drone about the topic then your audience will feel the same.



So yeah, thats all I can say, by the end of my four years I was grand at presentations, to the point where my lecturer even told me that I was almost overpowering! :rolleyes: I actually miss doing presentations now!

Rigor Mortis

Ok, I can help with this for a change, I train people in this every week.

OP I'm guessing you dont get anxiety attacks, most people who claim to do so are just extremely nervous and have built presenting in public into something that they do not want to do and therefore believe that their nerves are more than just a natural reaction, in the same way that all actors or musicians get butterflys before a gig no matter how often they do it.

The key to public speaking is preparation, preparation and acknowledging that the 'anxiety' is actually a tool to use to your advantage.

Couple of tips.

Preparation. You need to know your subject backwards. Not learned off, but that you know what it is you want to say. Write out the first thirty seconds of your presentation and the last thirty seconds. Everything in between you write in bullet points on numbered cards. The reason for writing the first and last thirty seconds is that those are the bits most speakers make a mess of. Ideally you wont read them, but you will know they are there and it will be a reassurance.

Remember a presentation should have a logical flow, try and work out an order which makes sense, be it chronological, or cause and effect, this will make it easier for the audience to understand. Remember just because you know what your saying and understand your logic doesnt mean they do. A presentation is a story and you have to take people with you.

You should write your presentation out in advance. Then read it out repeatedly. The aim of this is not to learn it off, but to become familiar with it and to time it. Ideally if you are due to speak for 15 mins you should aim in practice to speak for 13. You should ensure that the time you are allocating to your points is in proportion to the importance they have as part of the argument you are making.

In terms of movement, move around if you want, but dont feel obliged to. Just dont stand with your hands in your pockets. Your hands are important and you should use them as part of your presentation, body language being more important than words in human comunication. If your hands are in your pockets it looks unprofessional and it restricts you greatly.

Dont use humour unless you are funny and I mean unless you are Tommy Tiernan funny. You will not recover from a joke that bombs. The effect on you will be much worse than the effect on the audience. Dont go there.

Dont use rescue remedy unless these are genuinely panic attacks. Rescue remedy even in small doses seriously impacts on one ability to present. I know plenty of people swear by it, its a crutch and its one which actually hurts their performance. Same goes for booze.

Drink water not coffee in advance and before you go into class find a quiet space for five minutes where you can focus your mind and take lots of deep breaths.

If you want anything else pm me

and good luck

remember from the age of one you have been speaking, from the age of two you have been arguing and you speak up in the pub every weekend in front of the toughest crowd there is - your mates. In a presentation you are simply having a conversation with a group of people. They want you to succeed, they admire you for having the guts to speak and if you prepare your material you have nothing to fear

starchild

prepare prepare prepare
do dry run of your speech for friends
the more you run through it the easier it will be
avoid long periods of just talk (ie introduce charts, different slides), anything to give you a breather, this really helps if voice breaking an issue

best of luck

Smyth

Unregistered wrote: »

i can believe they make you do these things. especially for the type of course im doin.

Would you mind telling us what type of course you are doing?

It's old, but I just imagine them naked. Works. That and breathing. Breathe...slowly.

Snowie

Scan the room dont look at some one for to long...

if you do that they might put you off learn it till you know it... if you know it there's no reason to be nervous.... other then that speek cleerly and vring a class of water with you...

LeNNoX

Rigor Mortis is spot on with everything.

The only things I'd add which helped me are:

1/ Once you know your topic, record your voice when practicing your presentation (most mobiles phone have this facility). It will allow you to hear if you are not speaking clearly at certain points, then you can correct certain words, pauses etc if needed.

2/ Tell yourself you can do it.
If you say you can you will, if you say you can't you won't!

Be positive and enjoy it.

Leitrim lass

Try valerian tea or in tablet form. I find it works very well for anxiety.

Practice over and over again what you are going to say.

Pretend you are calm and confident even if you don't feel it. And remember everybody else in the class is just as nervous as you, take comfort in that.

LegacyUser

The key is to remember that the point of a presentation is that you are trying to explain an idea to a group of people. Imagine what it would be like to have to explain something that you are passionate about - whatever it is that you love and know loads about, football or movies or a computer game or whatever. When you are confident that you know a lot about the subject matter, and you are passionate about it, public speaking is easy - because you know the ideas as well as if they were your own.

Take the subject matter of your presentation and think long and hard about it, make sure you form your own opinions, pros and cons, write down any new ideas that come into your head, or new observations. A great speaker makes it look easy because they believe in what they are saying and understand it as well as if it were their own idea.

thatone!

I hate making presentations too as I'm quite a shy person.
I found though that it helps to make handouts to give to the class that way all the attention isn't on you. It's a lot easier that just standing there.

Good luck in anyways

LegacyUser

I am exactly the same as you. I too suffer from anxiety disorder and panic attacks and have a fearful dread of public speaking. For me it went on for years and I ignored it and weaseled out of college presentations and any opportunity to speak publicly in my working life.
Now I've joined Toastmasters and I really feel much better about it. I'm not going to lie to you, I still quake when I stand up in front of everyone but I don't go screaming to the hills. They are a brilliant way to help your nerves so long term I can't recommend them highly enough.

In the short term, as a long-term panic attack sufferer these are my key tips:

1. When you're sitting in the room and your turn to speak is coming up, make sure you're sitting near the top, preferably at the side. That way you can casually lean back and get used to looking at the number of people who will be listening to you. If you don't look behind you and then stand up, you can feel overwhelmed by the people in the room.

2. When panic hits, don't say to yourself , "Oh god oh god oh god I can't do it! Just say, ok, I was expecting to feel this way. Try to 'float' through the panic, by that I mean keep talking yourself down. "All I'm feeling is adrenaline, I'm just feeling excited, I can do this." If a negative thought pops into your head stop it dead in its tracks. Of course you can do this! In five minutes it'll be over and you'll feel great about what you have achieved.

3. Hand-outs are brilliant. Casually say at the beginning "If you look at your handout...blah blah", that way no eyes are on you! Once you've gotten the first sentence out you'll begin to feel better.

4. It's NORMAL to feel anxious speaking. You are in a massive global club of people who are uncomfortable speaking in front of people. We all understand the pressure. So, even if you shake, your voice quakes and you tremble, who cares? The main thing is that you're up there doing it. Keep saying to yourself, "fair play to me for getting up here despite my nerves"

5. Remember to breathe. Read slowly, breathe slowly (in through the nose, out through the mouth) - regular breaths and not deep intakes of breath quickly in succession, that will just cause you to hyperventilate!

6. You can do it! I have wanted to die, run out of the room and cry at the thought of public speaking. But no matter how sick and shaky and nervous you feel inside, YOU CAN DO IT! You'll be great, I promise. Even if you shake and stumble you'll still be great, coz it doesn't matter, and the main thing is that you did it!

Most people don't understand the difference between normal jitters and genuine panic attacks while doing this kind of thing. I know how you feel though. For me I'd rather do ten job interviews in a row than get up and read a prepared speech!! It's irrational but that's the way it is. The main thing is that you do it. Don't tell yourself 'It's not bloody needed', try to avoid these negative thoughts. Instead (as much as you may not believe it), say to yourself, "this is a great opportunity for me to kick this anxiety", "I'm gonna do fine" and keep reassuring yourself, you will be grand! Lots of luck!

smileykey

If it is just nerves I'd say face it, whats the worst that can happen? If you know it really well and have it beside you as well then once you start off, the concentration will take over and you'll forget people are even there.

If you actually have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder then I'd suggest you speak to your doctor, psychiatrist or you psychologist before doing anything. If they are treating you for anxiety then this might interupt their treatment course and it may be something they don't want you to do until your ready. If that is the case i'd suggest you get a medical note and talk to your course co-ordinater and student advisors about the possibility of you being assessed for this course in a different way. If a physical illness prevented you from performing your best you'd get a doctor's note and ask for your circumstances to be taken into account so why wouldn't you with psychological disorder?

Mucco

One of the best pieces of advice I got was not to worry about forgetting to say something - nobody knows what you intended to say, so it doesn't matter.

Unregistered

Unregistered wrote: »

I have to make a presentation for the coll course im doin and am absoloutely ****ting it. and yes i know everybody probably feels the same when they have to do these things, but i get seriously ****ed up over it. i have this anxiety disorder as it is so jsut dont know how im goin to do it. i can believe they make you do these things. especially for the type of course im doin. its not bloody needed! god! any advice? preferably on how to get out of the situation

Go to your doctor and tell him you are suffering severe anxiety in lots of different situations,he might prescribe you beta blockers,although im sure you can buy them online.

In the US they are extremely popular and are commonly used everywhere by Musicians and people on stage etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_blocker#Anxiety_and_performance_enhancement

SpitfireIV

Mucco wrote: »

One of the best pieces of advice I got was not to worry about forgetting to say something - nobody knows what you intended to say, so it doesn't matter.

Exactly! Very true that, you'd have it in your head to say this and that, blah blah, but then in the heat of the moment you forget to say it, or dont say it right and then you feel that you've screwed it up. But, as you said, its only you that knows you've omitted something, the audience are oblivious to your blunder! :pac:

LegacyUser

Journee Delightful Nitpicker wrote: »

Go to your doctor and tell him you are suffering severe anxiety in lots of different situations,he might prescribe you beta blockers,although im sure you can buy them online.[/URL]

Eh..I really wouldn't recommend self medicating, it doesn't solve the problem and buying drugs on the internet could be REALLY dangerous. As someone with anxiety disorder, I really wouldn't worry about trying to get out of it with a doctor's note. Anxiety disorder can be overcome by facing your fears, it's not something that you can medicate away.

I have been through all of this and as hard as it may seem, just saying feck it and getting up there despite the panic attacks is the way to go. I have gotten up in front of people and spoken even though I feel like there's a big brick wall in my brian that I have to break through. But you can break through it. It's just adopting a positive mental attitude and allowing yourself to feel the fear and the tension and the panic. There are no easy answers to anxiety disorders, it's a case of learning to handle your anxiety by looking your fear in the eye. Then, it will subside. Medication is only a mask for a problem that is still underneath.