Only a couple weeks into school and I'm sure all you students are already piled with assignments. On top of all the readings and worksheets you have to get done, you have a presentation due next week. Public speaking or communications classes are probably the most dreaded courses for college students. Unfortunately, most schools require a public speaking class as a general education requirement. No matter how desperately you try to explain your public speaking phobia and extreme anxiety to your professor, chances are he/she won’t care. So suck it up, and follow these 11 tips to ace your presentation.
1. Pick a topic you are an expert on, or interested in.
Assuming your professor’s not a monster, and lets you choose your own topic, please do yourself a favor and choose a topic you are well informed in and can talk for hours about.
2. Prepare and research.
One of the main reasons students fail at public speaking is because they just don’t prepare enough. Fill out the outline your teacher most definitely provided, and research enough information to talk for the required time.
3. Follow your teacher's directions.
It’s very common for students to completely disregard the teachers requirements and often students will just do their own thing. Maybe a previous teacher taught them to do presentations a different way before, so they follow the instructions of the last teacher. I hear classmates consistently complaining how annoying it is that every professor wants something done differently. The bottom line is that you better just follow the directions of the one giving you the grade.
4. Practice.
It’s important to hear yourself speak the words you plan on saying. Often you’ll find that what made sense in your head doesn’t sound right out loud. I like to practice in my car on the commute to school.
5. Psyche yourself up.
Lack of confidence can really makes people nervous and stumble their words. The day of the presentation do things to psyche your self up. Tell yourself in your head your going to kill your presentation, walk with your chest out, head held high and do some power moves in the mirror. Confidence in yourself can wipe away all the butterflies in your stomach.
6. Go first
Get it over with. Your going to torture yourself sitting there all anxious and stressed.
7. Begin with a story.
I know you can start your presentation in multiple ways like a fact, a question, or a quote, but kill sometime with a nice story. A question, fact, or quote only takes seconds, whereas you can take as long as you want with a story.
8. Look around the class while you speak.
Don’t stare at your notes or at the wall. Start in the middle, turn left, pause, turn to middle, pause, turn right, pause, and repeat.
9. Make some hand gestures.
Throw some gestures in there to keep your audience engaged and to help you avoid starting at your notes. Don’t go overboard though.
10. Speak loud and clear.
Find a good speaking pace and volume. You’ll put your teacher to sleep speaking too low.
11. Relax.
Most importantly just relax. Take it easy. Stop telling yourself your going to mess up and be positive. Half the class will have an attention span shorter than a goldfish anyway.
