Talking in front of many people!

[TheBrazilianFly]

Next Saturday I have to make a presentation of a paperwork I'm preparing about the globalization of music. I absolutely hate to go there in front of the class (30 something people) and talk. It's a nightmare, I stutter, don't stop moving, have no clue what to do with my hands and I'm sure I look like a big f*cking idiot! I'm very shy and have no confidence in myself whatsoever even though people say my shyness when I'm presenting makes me "cute". I still hate it. Sometimes I get even sick before it starts. I just can?t look into people?s eyes, it makes me feel so uncomfortable so I look to the piece of paper I have in my hand and it ends up looking like I didn?t know what to say so I had to cheat by looking to the paper. The worst thing about this one is that I CAN?T EVEN FIND ANYTHING ABOUT THE GLOBALIZATION OF MUSIC!!! I love to talk about music but this particular topic is impossible!! I completely F*CKED!! Anyone else hates to talk in front of many people?

 

[MooMoo!]

yup. just stare them straight in the eyes and make THEM feel intimidated! ok, that may not work. globlization of music? how bout live aid? that was global! well dont know the details anyway. just look at somthing behind people so it looks to someone else like your looking at them but you aint. or pretend theyre naked. ive never tried it, but its supposed to work!

 

[wolfeden]

I'm not thrilled with it either... stage fright sucks.

the trick is to pretend they're all in their underwear or something... MooMoo is right, sometimes you can find something to focus on in the back of the room (or even put something there yourself).

good luck with it!

 

[Mullen-Girl]

I usually get nervous before I go up to do a speech...like in my communications class but once I got up there I just took a deep breath and started talking like it was a natural thing to be up infront of lots of people. I think looking at my teacher helped alot too cos she'd smile a lot and nod like she was paying attention to what I was saying.

 

[nbcrusader]

As you prepare your talk, try speaking in front of a few people, like friends or family. Focus on the subject matter, not the people.

 

[joyfulgirl]

I hate it, too. I just pretend I'm an actor playing someone really confident. Sounds silly but it works for me. I also take lots of magnesium which has the effect of a natural tranquilizer, relaxing the nervous system. I used to get anxiety attacks, especially before meetings where I had to speak before a group, and now while I'm still not the most natural public speaker I don't feel panicked anymore. It's amazing how much of this kind of thing is actually related to nutritional deficiencies. Good luck!

 

[Mr. BAW]

Upon your start, a little smile to the audience generally gets you a smile in return...that's a boost to your beginning..from there, you're off and running...

 

[fah]

Practice by standing in front of a mirror.

Remember to breathe.

Have a water bottle ready if your throat gets dry - make sure it is filled with water

Dress comfortably.

Tell your classmates that you are nervous - most of them probably will be too.

Good luck

 

[Liesje]

I used to hate it and worry for days in advanced, but now that I'm a Communications/Business major, practically ALL I do is take speach/presentation/CAS classes and make formal business presentations.

The last one I did alone was 20 minutes long and based on a semester's worth of research and project work. I thought I was screwed, but I was actually one of few who did the presentation right. We got to all grade each other and most of my classmates gave me a great score.

Some tips I've learned:

DONT read your presentation (don't read your notes, paper, or read off your powerpoint)

Make sure you pace yourself and don't talk to fast

Stay conscious of your movements so you're not inadvertently distracting people by chewing gum, tapping fingers, toes, etc.

It's OK to pause between points and also repeat things for emphasis

Don't look at anyone in particular, move your eyes around the back wall of the room

 

[Salome]

just remember that talking in front of many people at least beats the crap out of talking to yourself the entire day

 

[Popmartijn]

I think that LivLuvAndBootlegMusic has many good points about giving a presentation. As for the following:

ave no clue what to do with my hands

It's often a good idea to hold a pen or pencil while giving a presentation. If you work with an overhead projector it's useful when you need to point to something on the sheet (using your fingers will look too massive on screen).
As for your hands in general, hold them along your body or keep your hands folded in your lap. It may seem strange, but look a bit more at the way weathermen present the weather on TV. At times, they use their arms to express themselves. Don't overdo it (too much, too widely), but do move your arms a few times to emphasive a point.

And yes, try to practise in your own room or with some friends/family watching.

Good luck!

Marty

 

[kobayashi]

by looking to the paper. The worst thing about this one is that I CAN?T EVEN FIND ANYTHING ABOUT THE GLOBALIZATION OF MUSIC!!! I love to talk about music but this particular topic is impossible!! I completely F*CKED!!

globalization of music? you could go down the path of the internet and its effect. if you access to academic journals, try steve jones-i'm not sure where or when it was published, but he has a great article titled 'the way music moves' or something like that. discussing the ways the internet has broken down temporal and geographical boundaries in the way music is made and distributed-that could pretty easily tie in to globalization.

you could maybe pursue the social and political effects of music-it might take some work to mold into a globalization discussion, but music has played a large role, often prophetic but always consequential, in many social and political shifts.

its been said but it cant be said enough-if youre doing powerpoint, dont read the slides! expand on what the slide says.

 

[Popmartijn]

Oh, about the subject Globalisation Of Music. Think about it like this. You are living in Brasil, listening to an Irish band, posting on a US based forum and receiving comments from all over the world. Especially since the Fifties (Elvis) and Sixties (Beatles, Rolling Stones) music has no problem crossing geographical boundaries.

C ya!

Marty

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

don't worry, everyone gets stage fright, you're not alone.

anyway i think LivLuv has loads of good pts.

good luck!

 

[Liesje]

Re: Re: Talking in front of many people!

its been said but it cant be said enough-if youre doing powerpoint, dont read the slides! expand on what the slide says.

Yes, and also the rule of 7:

no more than 7 words per line

no more than 7 lines per slide

always say more than what's on the slide; use the slides for headings, graphs, pictures, etc.

 

[verte76]

I have the Stage Fright From Hell. I couldn't stand my speech class in school but it was required. I concentrated on learning my material as well as I could--fortunately I have a good memory. That gave me enough confidence to get through three presentations. I must say I was really relieved when I passed the thing!

 

[TheBrazilianFly]

Hey, thank you so much everybody for the awesome answers!!! You all rule!! I read each post at least 5 times so that I can really get them into my mind. I got some great tips here, I'm going to try to do what you all said. The paperwork is almost finished and it's going really well. I just got to practice the things I got to say and then do the damn thing. I'm still a little nervous!! One good thing is that tomorrow is holiday here so maybe the class won't be full this Saturday cause people always stretch this kind of holidays, plus everybody is a little tired of having to go to class on a Saturday morning!

Tank you once again for the great answers and the positive feedback!

 

[TheBrazilianFly]

It's tomorrow.... I'm shitting my pants. Please God help me.

 

[fah]

Remember to breathe

Everything will be fine

 

[TheBrazilianFly]

Well, its over!!!!! I did it!!! It?s a weight off of my shoulders!!! Man that was horrible but it was also amazing!!!! The tension was so big it was crushing me. Usually this kind of presentations takes about 30 minutes and the professor starts to discuss it with the class, but since not many people have faith in me and my friends, ours was supposed to take around 15 minutes, that?s how long it takes with us. And I was honestly expecting no discussions. When I got up there I said what I had to say and I said it really good, not flawless but better than I was expecting!!!! I still can?t make much eye contact and I stumble in words, which breaks my concentration. But I managed to say what I had to say in an understandable way. The professor liked the subject and the presentation so much that she went on to discuss it with me and the rest of the class for over an hour!!!!! OVER AN HOUR!!!! This was supposed to take 15 minutes. The weirdest thing is that the class is over at 11:30, usually some people get REALLY upset if the professor let us go at 11:30, people want to leave 15 minutes early. Well today it went on to 11:45!!!!!!!! Nobody said a word. People got to listen to the shy and quiet kid talking about what he likes!!!! Music!!! I kicked major ass!!! There was however a lot of really good things that I could have said but I didn't cause I was too afraid!!!! I did two interviews with people from a national and an international labels and she LOVED that!!! She thought it was a great idea. The only bad thing is that I have some sort of a back problem (it?s fucked up) and standing up for an hour without moving from your spot, plus with the fact that I was really nervous, is GRUELING!!!!! My spine at some point close to the end was literally shaking! It was hard to hold my body together! I must go to the doctor. But it?s over, she loved it and I probably got a maximum grade!!!!

The day literally started rainy and ended sunny!!!! Right now I'm listening to Waiting On A Sunny Day and I think it's the first time I'm listening to a happy song while actually happy!!!! I'll be listening to Beautiful Day next!!! I?m very, very happy that it went this good and partly I think it was because of the messages I got here that were just great messages that helped me a lot. I'm never waiting for help cause I'm not used to in getting it. I got it here when I needed and I feel blessed.

I don?t know how to thank everybody, this mean a lot to me!!!!! So here goes a big and fat:

THANK YOU!!!!

 

[fah]

Congratualtions