If you have happened to stumble upon this article, this is just as much for me as it is for you. I took a deep dive into public speaking and reflected a lot between my anxious thoughts while standing up in front of others, and the relief of being confident in what I’m managing to say. If you struggle with collecting your thoughts, eye contact, and knowing exactly what to say, I’m right there with you. During this hectic time of final exams and presentations, I have compiled some tips and tricks to keep us all calm and at ease while finishing off the semester slaying that stage.
- Have a script
-
I remember doing a lot of theater in high school, and somehow, I never had any stage fright when it came to it. Looking back on it now, I realized that if I were to treat a presentation as if I had to memorize a script, it would help me on another level. Sure, I would never want to be as theatrical as Lea Michele when talking about science or history, but if memorizing certain lines could keep my nerves under control and on the right track of my topic, I’m all for it.
- Taking my time
-
When professors give a certain time slot to hit during these presentations, I feel as if it’s one of the most crucial things they look for when grading. It also happens to be one of the most crucial things I tend to miss. Since I want the awful feeling of 40-something eyes staring at me to be over as soon as possible, I tend to speed things up when I present. Oh, that’s not important, I’ll sound dumb when I say this. Is that actually how to pronounce that word? I can skip over this part, it’s boring. While thinking like this, I’ve noticed that I’m cutting myself short, and not allowing myself the patience and grace to go about the presentation as I need to. Because of this, I’ve intensely started timing myself while practicing my presentation, and making sure I always go a little bit over, just in case my talking speeds up.
- No One Will Intensely Remember It
-
Think about your classmates and their presentations for a second. Does anyone come to mind? Now how about one from high school? Can you pinpoint one that you remember their entire speech, from the beginning to end? Probably not, and that comes to show how often these instances come up in our lives. We become so fixated and anxious about a moment that will soon not be remembered by many. This isn’t a reason to make you think that you shouldn’t put effort into what you’re saying, because you should, and people are willing to hear you, but at the end of the say, it is all a few minutes to get a good grade and get out of there. Or at least that’s how I’d like to think about it.
Overall, remember to breathe, and realize that this moment won’t last forever. Be patient with yourself and before your name gets called up, make peace with the fact that the presentation, your anxiety, and the sense of overthinking about it will soon be over.