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Termyn8or -> RE: Public Speaking...I'm Freaking Out. (4/30/2008 9:02:50 PM)
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Forget the underwear thing, that is a suburban legend.
Hopefully you get back and can tell us whether this presentation is supposed to be informative or entertaining, there are different criteria for each. Assuming for the moment that it is an informative presentation remember a few things.
If you really haven't done much of this in the past, in the beginning you might have a tendency to avoid eye contact with the members of the audience, this is OK for a short time, but don't keep it up. You are going to have to look at that "sea" of people before you.
Do not try to look sharp. I do not mean your appearance, I mean your actions. This can induce clumsiness. You weren't trying to look sharp when you got picked for this, and if you know the people you weren't trying to look sharp last time you saw them.
If they are total strangers, boil it down in your mind to 'who cares'. Just be yourself. Think through the entire scenario of what would happen if you totally flopped. Booed out of the room, laughed at. Things like that are your real fears. Irrational ones of course, but real enough to you. After all if they absolutely love you and applaud and all this, you are likely to find yourself soaking it up, enjoying it. So it is a gamble. There are odds involved, but consider the stakes. Embarrassment or accolades, could be either.
So place your bet, but like some games of skill you need to be ready. This does not mean rehearsing in front of a mirror 500 times. Get the presentation right, unless it is scripted. As either the author or the chosen presenter of the material, you know something about it. Even if it is scripted, vocal tone and body language are important, but it is essential to let these things come naturally. Remember the five Ps. Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Perfomance. Oh that's six. Now if I said something like that to a roomful of people and catch it, I would look off to one side and say something like "Ma, did you leave something out of my education here ? No wonder calculus is so hard for me".
Don't wear provocative clothing. I don't think I have to elaborate on that much.
One thing, if you do have a problem with eye contact with the crowd, get a pair of reading glasses. Get the thin rimmed ones so your facial expression comes through, and the right strength that you can read, but makes the audience blurry. That way you won't get distracted if someone uses an odd facial expression or something. It makes it easier to ignore those who look away, seemingly disinterested. There are reasons for not doing this for some people so if that's you, then don't.
The only other thing is realizing that confidence is something you never get for this, because it is not what you need. Confidence implies that there is some sort of great catastrophe that will ensue in the event of failure. When they build a space shuttle they need confidence in the parts and workmanship to actually launch the thing.
So the best thing to do is to imagine the worst that can happen. Think it through. I mean to the last detail if you can. First define just what would constitute failure. Second assume everyone around you has not one shred of human decency. Then figure out what would happen from there. Would you get fired ? Would they pelt you with tomatoes ? What ?
At this point it is clear that mainly, what you fear is fear itself.
As said, expect the worst and hope for the best. Then if you fall somewhere in between, don't sweat it. Let's say you fal into the not so good in between. Then they probably won't ask you again, so if you don't like doing it how bad would that be ?
The bogeyman is not so big and bad when you turn on the light. (wow, I haven't been that metaphoric for some time)
You'll be fine.
T
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