I think the best advice is just really STUDY your material. I have no problem presenting material but I tend to shake up a bit if I know I didn’t put the time in to learn it and am now explaining to a group of people.
This was what I intended on posting. I’m honestly surprised it took this long for a legitimate response to be typed.
To reiterate:
You must know what you are talking about. Not necessarily just the topic, but you must be capable of speaking on tangents associated with the topic. If you can do that, then you can speak publicly.
You can never ask yourself to memorize a speech and expect the best to occur.
If you speak eloquently in normal conversation, you will have a much better chance at speaking intelligently in regards to your topic. In daily chatter, if you don’t routinely spit out words that have more than one syllable, you’ll fail miserably at reciting a speech that has words in it with more than one syllable.
Instead, a single 3x5 index card with the main points of your topic should be all you need. If that’s not enough, then you can’t appropriately elaborate on the different points you are trying to make, and you don’t have a complete and all encompassing comprehension of the topic.
Lastly, as aforementioned, slowing down your speech will always help. Enunciate and pause more than normal.
From the sounds of it, you’ve already given your speech, so all my typing is in vain anyways.
I normally would’ve said open with a little joke… kinda take the edge off.
…but after yesterday’s speech… i find it much more difficult after you tell the little joke, and no one laughs.
I respect comedians.
adderall (sp)
PLUS…
when you are in front of people, you mentally think time is moving slower, hence trying to speak real quick. it’s really not. take your time, you don’t sound slow or retarded. also, try not to get inside your own head, you know, like think to yourself about how good or bad you are doing while you are doing it. just focus on the material
ya thats bad. especially if you aren’t well known in the class, because people will think you are a tool.
even i feel uneasy when someone else is presenting and makes themselves look like an ass like this (no offense)
You’re in a technical field as well so I’m sure you see the same thing I do; lots of people who really know their tech stuff but are simply incapable of explaining even simple concepts to a person or small group of people. Nothing will stall your climb up the ladder at a company faster than poor communication skills.
BUMP
I had another presentation today. While preparing, I drank a half of a bottle of Rum, and didn’t bring in any reading material, and I fucking NAILED IT.
So my advice, DO NOT read off of cards/sheets and just speak freely. When you do that, your mind becomes occupied with the material that you actually know and you can just recall from memory, making a smoother transition. Oh and take a few shots. lol
Honestly though, I was still nervous beforehand, but once I started and got into a good rhythm, I held strong until the end.
I fucking love public speaking! I think its just my personality where I like to be the center of attention.
I L I S M!!
i had one yesterday with a group.
LOL. i had about 5 minutes of talk… i forgot one thing… paused for a second… was like crap. remembered then kept going, no biggie.
the next kid in my group to speak, you can tell has very little social skills, home schooled almost, wow… i felt bad. he was really, really bad. couldn’t say a word without losing his breath, voice trailed WEIRD paths…etc. i felt bad, but wow…
i have to take a public speaking class next semester as well. im not horrible at it. but i fuckin suck at doings powerpoints on stupid topics . i can easily speak about something off hand that makes sense to me. just getting in front of people sucks in general. i can do interviews/meet people no problem, presentations bug me tho
knowing the material is definitely the most important thing. That and don’t doubt yourself if someone asks you a question. If you say 2+2=3 then that is what it is damn it
+1
I just gave a 40 minute presentation in my one business class. I never cared for public speaking but in all honesty the more you do it the easier it gets. If you MASTER the topic being presented I believe it becomes easier. At least it does for me. I have had several presentations this semester already, i love it. Id rather get all the quirks and bad habits out of my system in school before I have to go in front of executives and what not.
That’s exactly what I’m going for now. I need to master this soon.
i tend to look at the tops of the peoples heads like there forehead or hair so it looks like im making eye contact and comfortable up there but inside im ready to wet myself
i have to publically speak Thursday. I’m going to imagine the whole crowd is naked…
fifteen year old girls. But then its going to present another problem that i have doing in public, and thats dealing with a boner.
I would have gotten a little loose beforehand…I give presentations by trying to be better than everyone else.
I’ve been in public speaking for a number of years now and the most common mistakes I see are lack of organization, speaking too quickly, and too much “umm”.
Best thing to do is know your material and be comfortable. Bringing something to sip can help too (I don’t mean booze).
i really don’t want to read this thread right now, so i’m going to just give you a few points of advice:
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be familiar with your subject. if you are just trying to memorize sentences or facts, you’ll sound like an idiot. knowing the actual material will make it sound more natural when you speak about something.
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be comfortable with silence. this is huge for me. if you don’t have a complete thought to deliver, don’t stand there “uuuhhhh, mmhhhmmm” bullshit. stand there silently until you have an organized thought to present. you come across way less retarded.
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on the same note, be cognizant of filler words you throw in to your speech to fill what you think are awkward silences. “ummm, you know, aaaaannnnddd” shit like that, leave it out.
bottom line, you carry on conversations with people every day. a public speech is essentially the same thing, don’t psych yourself out.
you could try imagining Mike Boquard naked. 