I'm one of the very few undergrads who read this site - stumbled on it from a google automated search. Anyways, I am in need of some advice and I have decided to turn to the CMers!
Today, my professor had me read my in-class timed essay to my fellow students; he had me do this because I wrote a 'great' essay. This situation unfortunately brought back the whirlwind of emotions that come with public speaking
: I get nervous (butterflies), I forget to breath, I question whether I truly know the material, etc. And I say brought back because it's been three or four months since I have had to stand at the front of the room with all eyes on me. Now this may be hard to believe but I actually speak in class all the time (from my chair), I'm not shy, and I consider myself quite outspoken (especially to my university president!).
So, the advice I need pertains to how I can overcome the fear of being nervous in front of an audience
. Do I just practice, practice, practice? Do I practice with someone in the room or do I practice alone? Do I read a book that will teach me how to perfect the art of public speaking? Do I need to see a counselor to learn breathing techniques
? My mentor seems to imply that public speaking is an acquired skill, thus over the years I will get better... but it's been three years and I'm still a nervous wreck in front of an audience.I hate to bring 'work' to the place where you all vent, but your advice would be greatly appreciated. All in all, I need to improve this skill for the mere sake of being successful in life and because I'll be entering a doctoral program this fall.
Thanks in advance,
Atua
Gotta tell you, I've been a teacher for 22 years and am inherently confident in my person, yet "new"/"other" can still induce a bit of stage fright--occassionally even threatening hyperventilation and flop sweats. You've heard to imagine your audience naked; it's the go-to advice. OK. But until you've done the stand-up gig A LOT, your comfort level is not likely to increase terribly much.
ReplyDeleteIn the short run, or the run-up to built calm, do try taking a few minutes to do some deep, centering breathing before taking the podium. Even if you have only seconds' notice, a breath or two can help preserve your appearance (if not actual) calm through steadying your voice and damping down a flush. You're in really good company.
More undergrads read this blog than you'd think. Most of us are trolls.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, try to maintain a realistic view of the situation. Realize that most classmates probably won't notice your nervousness unless you deliberately call attention to it. Actually, many classmates will probably take the attitude of "oh good since this d00d is talking i can doze off for a few minutes."
From the sounds of it, this should actually be a really easy assignment as long as you don't perceive it as harder than it really is. If you're allowed to read your essay straight off the page, you almost certainly won't make a mistake in speaking. If you do, just say "excuse me" and back up. Nobody cares about a few mistakes.
/advice from peer who would feel fairly confident about such an assignment
I don't have any good advice for you, I'm afraid. I've been teaching, if I include grad school teaching, for nearly a decade now, and I still have a two-week stomach-ache for the week before term begins and the first week of term. Every bloody term. I can't eat just before class, ever. It helps to feel prepared, but it doesn't eliminate the anxiety. If it helps, I can tell you four things: 1. studies show that some significant anxiety helps performance, 2. I get stellar evals and have won teaching awards, 3. others will notice your nerves far less than you imagine, 4. a scholar who has changed my field has confessed to feeling the same way, and I've seen this person do the squeaky throat-choke thing when giving a major talk. And let me tell you, this scholar has a career anyone would envy. You'll do just fine.
ReplyDeleteI would suggest that you focus on the material you're presenting, rather than on your technique. Technique is, as has been said, mostly a matter of practice. But if you've worked hard at preparing your content, and you walk up to that podium with a thorough understanding of what you want to talk about, confident that you have something worthwhile to say, then you're almost bound to give a good presentation, even if you make a few fumbles along the way.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a tour guide, I learned many useful methods for calmly and compellingly hammering knowledge into people who truly were paying customers and were not confined to chairs; I owe my teaching aptitude to this experience. Beyond the way you package your material, which is important but also empirical, it helps if speak from your diaphragm (not your throat), face your class or audience with your whole body, and gesture deliberately when called for (i.e., neither stand stock-still nor flail). If you're reading a paper: print single-sided, don't staple, and don't carry sentences from one page to the next. Also, your audience will grasp your argument more readily if you remember it well enough to convey its structure when you speak, rather than progressing word by word. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI would say this: read slightly more slowly than you think you have to, pause and make occasional eye contact with your audience, speak up, and you'll be fine. I used to throw up all night the night before giving conference papers, and I still get stomach cramps before teaching a large lecture class, each session. My teaching evals are great and people seem to think I am a good speaker. Go figure.
ReplyDeleteI knew a brilliant researcher who left academics solely due to the fear of speaking in front of a class.
ReplyDeleteCommon advice here, practice.
Notice that many have said that no one can tell you are nervous.
It's obviously different for a one-off vs. a regular recurring lecture, but a few things to keep in mind:
ReplyDeleteAs the headline writer and SchmittyRKD pointed out, most of them won't be paying attention anyway.
If you have enough advance warning practice, practice, practice. Out loud.
Be familiar with your material. Remember- you are the "expert;" your audience generally won't know when you mess up, especially if they aren't reading along with you (see first point above) so don't draw attention to it.
In a put-on-the-spot situation, it's okay to take a moment to collect yourself and your thoughts. Check to be sure all the pages are in order, etc. while you take a "breather" to calm your nerves.
I had a supervisor in my early professional days that liked to say, "They're not going to kill you and eat you." (He tended to buy into the rational-emotive counseling theory.) That sort of puts into perspective.
Imagine how much worse it would be if you suddenly realised you'd forgotten to get dressed that morning and everyone was politely not mentioning that you were standing there naked - okay, so that's my usual pre-conference nightmare. But it perversely calms me down, because whatever else goes wrong on the day, at least I'm dressed.
ReplyDeleteWhen faced with students who scare the crap out of me (like when there are 190 of them in the room), I remind my self that I KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS THAN ALL OF YOU.
ReplyDeleteThat's like a really egotistical version of "you are the expert."
It seems to be the only thing that helps me.
While I'm not generally nervous in front of classes past the first day, I definitely have the two weeks of pre-term nightmares. I suspect that no matter how confident I get, I'll always have them.
--Another repeat teaching award winner.
What you were doing is much harder than what I do. I get up in front and talk about a topic that I've read about and understand (hopefully) better than the students in the room. You got up in front and read a prepared essay. I can talk in front of a room for an hour no problem, but hand me something to read, and I'm stuttering every third word and repeating myself.
ReplyDeleteMy advice if you are asked to do this again, would be to work with the professor to adapt your essay into a presentation so that you can share what you learned without reading straight off the page.
The key is practice. When I first taught I was A-W-F-U-L. The more you do it the better you get at it. Kind of like learning to ride a bike.
ReplyDeleteAfter nearly a decade in front of students I'm still nervous. I freak out in my office a little before each and every class. But once I get up there and get started I hardly remember my nerves.
I've had numerous students come to my office in nervous panic before a presentation in someone else's class. They always want to know how to be "good". So I surmise that none of them have any idea I'm so nervous before lecture that I have to pee twice.
I seem to remember something back from my early days of pedagogy training as a secondary school teacher. The top five questions on every student's mind on the first day of class: Where is the best place for me to sit? Will the teacher value me? What am I going to learn here? What am I expected to do? How will I be evaluated? They are mostly unfocused on your internal state of nervousness, as they are busy attending to getting those pressing questions answered.
ReplyDeleteSo GET IT TOGETHER and STAY COOL, MAN. Keep the nervousness internal. After about 15 yrs teaching, I still get butterflies on Day 1, but it's exciting. To help keep myself cool and focused, I will have some lecture notes, review them the night before, then make up just a short, bulleted list of the content.
In lecture, I try to take a conversational approach, and talk with them, referring to the list (and then referring to the longer lecture notes, if needed). I think providing adequate wait-time (3 seconds between shifts in topic, questions, prompts, etc). helps students digest information, and also gives you a chance to breathe.
Oh, and if you smile and act pleasant, they will, too.
It's easier once you no longer give a rat's ass about what others think of you. Try that.
ReplyDeleteTwo good pieces of advice:
ReplyDelete1 - The panic you feel is real panic - it's an adrenal response, a fight-or-flight mechanism kicking in. Say this to yourself: "OK, my body is revving up. Good. I can use this energy to project my speech to the audience."
2 - Practice the first 3 things you will say until you are doing them in your sleep. It gets easier once you start, and getting started is the hardest thing.
(Beware: both of the above may make you talk too fast. If so, you need a reminder to slow down.)
There are lots of tricks to help at least some of your nervousness fade. The first day I am always nervous, but after that I am fine. Remember to take a deep breath before you stand up or begin. I tell myself that wherever it is that I am speaking to or about, it's not a big deal. This helps especially when speaking in front of peers as that always seems to be an occasion to be nervous. Reminding yourself that you know what you are talking about helps as well. Knowing the material helps with the previous statement. Besides that, it really is just practice. When I was a TA and it was my turn to lecture I was usually a nervous wreck right before, but the more times I lectured, the more confident I got and by the end it was only slight butterflies that went away when I started talking and now I have the pre-first day nerves that quickly go away once the class gets going and that is really it.
ReplyDeleteThe best thing I ever did to become a good speaker wasn't even intentional. I needed a summer job during college and I landed one as a tour guide. Speaking in front of a crowd 6+ permanently killed my stage fright. It may seem silly that giving the same canned speech would help, but it did. I had to be in front of a room full of strangers and talk loud enough for them all to hear. That experience was way better than any speech training I had any part of my formal education.
ReplyDeleteI think anyone who is aiming for a career that requires speech or management should really do a stint as a tour guide. There are many opportunities out there: campus tour guide, local museums, and tourist hot spots.
Congrats on writing a stellar essay. I'm sorry the proffie didn't give you the option of having the proffie read it to the class instead of you (if you preferred that).
ReplyDeleteI spent my first year teaching from a desk at the front b/c I was too scared to stand up (I physically could not stand in front of people). My first-year evals are horrific, but some students were sympathetic and said I shouldn't be so timid.
Then I realized (with the help of loving family and friends) that really, the only times I'm nervous are when I feel I'm being judged negatively. And I thought about whose opinions really matter to me. I realized those people were the ones who always loved me and accepted me already (for the most part), and so I decided not to care much what people who didn't matter to me thought. Sounds callous, but it has worked. SOmetimes I get nervous at a job interview or such, but mostly, I realize whose opinions really matter and stick with getting nervous in front of them (and I rarely am nervous b/c they accept me as is).
Hope it went well!
If you are really truly terrified, I can't recommend joining a group like Toastmasters enough. Although I've always naturally enjoyed public speaking (seriously, I'm a freak!) I have a good friend who is also a proffie who was terrified of speaking, joined, and is doing so much better.
ReplyDelete