Presentation skills

mozattack

Hi all,

Problem may not be as serious at the outset to others on this forum, but anyway.

I have a fear of public speaking which has resulted in losing marks in college for presentations (by not doing them) and having constant debates with my Employers over my inability to do presentations.

This week my employer wants me to do an internal (informal) presentation but I am panicked by it. Does anyone know how or where I could learn this skill.

I know I would go red, stutter and feel like a right eejit. It really concerns me

LegacyUser

Stop acting like it's such a big deal unique to yourself! Fear of public speaking is one of, if not the, most common fears that people have. Some studies have even shown that less people are afraid of dying than speaking in public. So think about it , next time your at a funeral you should be more sorry for the guy giving the eulogy than the guy lying in the coffin !

tenchi-fan

It's a bit silly you didn't do college presentations, because that's where you were meant to learn presentation skills!

Basically you need to know the material you are presenting insideout. Use cue cards or powerpoint slides with single words or phrases and talk around these points.. do NOT print out 2 or 3 A4 pages and attempt to read them.
Then practice the presentation a few times, timing yourself.

Google "presentation skills" for some good tips

Herbal Deity

Have a look at this thread OP.

Agricola

People say it improves with practise and for alot of people id say thats the case. I didnt find that myself. I was as ropey doing presentations in my final year of college as I was doing my first one in first year. But the last few years Ive found public speaking doesnt bother me as much as it did before.
I was asked to do the eulogies for my Uncle and then my Aunt's funeral and since there was no-one else willing to do it I had no choice. I surprised myself at how comfortable I felt up on the alter because I was sure beforehand, that Id crumble. For me I think it came with age. Im much less self concious than I was in my teens and early 20's now.
Its the same in work. I used to be bricking it doing presentations, but now I have no major problem with it. I dont look forward to it, but my heart is no longer pumping out of my chest, and my voice doesnt break!

As tenchifan said, know your stuff and try to be able to do the presentation of the top of your head. The familarity of it will be a big help.

lau1247

OP

Know your subject of presentation inside out.. key is practice practice and more practice.. what I usually do is visualise a good out come prior to it and tell myself this will be over before you even know it (Which actually almost happen to most of my presentation)

_JOE_

Hi OP,

I always found videoing myself giving the presentation (at home beforehand) very useful, as it allows you see where you are falling down in your presentation. If you are finally happy with your recorded presentation, you have nothing to fear!

Good luck!

Fremen

Start small. Try to speak up in class. Ask/answer questions and argue with the lecturer if you can manage it. If nothing else, this'll get you noticed and might get you a reference one day.
Go up to the blackboard whenever you can (if you're in a technical subject.... don't know what they do in humanities). It'll scare the piss out of you the first few times, but just do it.
I used to have the exact same thing as you, nearly crashed and burned in final year college because of a presentation. I decided that wasn't going to happen again, so I did the above in my master's course. It's still scary, but it's manageable now.

Look into toastmasters if my approach doesn't appeal to you. Apparently they're very good, and you might make some new friends.
Edit: are you still in college or not? If not, I guess what I said still applies, but in meetings etc...

shinny

lau1247 wrote: »

OP

Know your subject of presentation inside out.. key is practice practice and more practice.. what I usually do is visualise a good out come prior to it and tell myself this will be over before you even know it (Which actually almost happen to most of my presentation)

I second this. If you've got it down to a tee then if you do have a stumble you can switch to an instinctive mode because you know it so well. Go to wherever you are supposed to give the presentation and practice it there too. Allow for people to answer things too because this gives you a moment to breath and for them to feel involved. So throw in some questions they can easily answer.

kittenkiller

As it's an internal presentation, just find one or two people you're friendly with who are going and let them know how nervous you are beforehand.
The power of a friendly face in the audience should do wonders for you.

Just pretend that they're the only people out there and know that everyone is rooting for you to do well, no one wants to see you fall.

Know your material inside and out and try to think of a few phrases that can carry you through any "Eh" or Um" moments if you're caught unprepared.

Best of luck.

mozattack

Hi all,

Thanks for you help. To those who asked, no I am finished college and this is done in a work environment.

The fear is not the subject, I would have as much fear speaking about football, for example.

I was wondering would Toastmasters help or do you have to have a level of skill before you even go there?

Fremen

I've only looked into the branches in the UK, but as far as I know, you can go along and you don't even have to speak to anyone. It's not exactly fight club (re. eighth rule of).
You could just go along for a session or two and see if it's for you. Check out their website, at least.

Stevecw

I'm generally brutal at this kind of stuff too. But its all about getting first few lines accurate and seem confident...then about half of an Internal crowd will drift off.

I'm sure you will have notes in hand or a powerpoint presentation behind you..so just spell out that. No need to sh!te on, as most people there will want this to end as fast as you do!!!

The fact that your employer says its an informal one, means just say the basics, add a couple of lines of your own...do it well and thats it really. Once you get 1st one outta of the way its easy sailing from here on.

Good luck and don't be worried about it at all

Dark Phoenix

You have built it into a fear much bigger than what it actually is. Think about it - you need to present something to colleagues. Whats the best outcome you could gain from it? Now whats the worse? realistically worst outcome is you are nervous, you go red, or you fumble a few words. As your employer I'd be much more impressed that you tried and were nervous than if you did not try at all.
Plan your presentation and practice even if its just in private. On the day have a plan of what you are going to do. If you get nervous/side tracked during the presentation take a deep breath and go back to the plan.
Its the sort of thing that you only get better at by doing - which is why its a requirement in college, many people are nervous at first. I reckon if you can get the first time over with you will feel a lot better about it.

Angus Og

Stop treating the audience like a firing squad. They want to hear what you have to say, so remember you're in charge of the situation.

Firetrap

As someone who cocked up a couple of presentations in my younger days, the one thing I'd say to you is prepare. Sit down and work out exactly what you're going to say in this presentation. I'm not saying you should necessarily write down your entire spiel but definitely have a list of bullet points and know what you're to say. If you can bring yourself to do it, practice your presentation aloud, preferably in front of a family member or friend. Keep it short and try to bear in mind that it's just an informal presentation.