Hey y'all - wondering if any of you have trouble with public speaking and staying on task while giving a presentation. Partially seeing if this is true for other people, and also hoping to ease some anxiety (as I'm recording a conference presentation this week and super nervous about it).
Thanks!
COMPLETELY. I have notecards and notes but I still manage to float away on a tangent or get topics mixed up.
I find it helpful to imagine that I am talking to a version of myself that knows nothing about the topic. When I imagine this, I calm down some because it is me. It also helps when it is something that you enjoy talking about. Does this help every time? No.
My worst subject in school was speech and communications. When I got anxious my mind would start going 1,000 mph in every direction but the one I need it to go down.
It has gotten better now because when I give a presentation it is more of a give and take or interactive presentation or meeting. That helps me a lot.
Have you tried doing a mock presentation in front of your family? They don't need to know the topic per se just there as a support system, a timer, and criticism if need be.
Yes - the research lab I'm a part of always has us do at least one mock presentation before the real thing. I think it's also weird right now because this presentation is pre-recorded and it's just me in my room alone talking to my screen. I love the idea of talking to someone who knows nothing about the topic - that's how presentations should be in general. This specific presentation (for this week) is a hard one to do that with, bc it's super duper advanced stats and I'm like...."the math means this which means this which means this?? does this make sense?" I may need to go off on a tangent or two for this one, because I keep timing out at 10-12 minutes out of my allotted 15, and want to maximize my time.
Have you thought about analogies? That will help people connect the dots and extend time. Math was hard for me because I didn't know why this mattered in my life. When I understood the life applications for a formula it really helped me to retain the information. And whenever the teacher said "this will be on the test!" 😂
That's a good idea! I'll do my best to come up with them - it's a whole psych advanced stats thing that people already usually misunderstand so I'm trying to be as clear as possible but also not be like "this is this. this is this. this is this." I can definitely use some analogies in the literature at the beginning though. Thank you - I'm super nervous, this is my first ever actual grown-up conference and I'm a baby researcher so it's nerve-wracking.
I had to record one recently. I did it with Zoom and invited a colleague to serve as my audience. He was on "mute" and no camera on, so the recording didn't show anyone but me. It helped me tremendously. First time, it took me double the time (you know, the tangents etc...). By debriefing with him, it helped think of what to say or not and how. Second time was perfect. Much easier to speak and have a natural flow when I know someone is listening.
I had a job that required me to do a lot of public speaking. I found that there is no substitute for preparation. I wrote down everything I wanted to say - not just an outline, and practiced beforehand to time the presentation and even note where to breathe. I had the job for over 10 years - I didn't have to do the same level of preparation after the first year, but the early prep helped. ADHD was an asset during the presentation as I was aware of everything going on the room and could instantly gauge interest levels, or confusion. I could be presenting and be aware of folks whispering in the back and engage them.
Printing out the talk in a large font helps too - when you lose your place , you can find where you were more easily. It's also important to remember that the people listening fully expect you to succeed - they are generally not judging you on your presentation, but are just interested in what you have to say. I think I would be a little nervous doing a zoom presentation because I wouldn't have the same kind of interaction, but if I were going to do one, I'd probably practice on camera, just to make sure I looked and sounded OK.
I hope that helps for starters... good luck - and let us know how it goes!
Thank you! I'll probably/hopefully need to do a good amount of public speaking for school/my job (hopefully, because it depends on whether or not research is accepted). The early prep is a good idea, I procrastinated a bit too much on this one and it added to the stress for sure. I think I got the recording done ok - my parents say it's great, but they're pretty biased. Still have a few days to go to see how it's received at the conference. I keep telling myself that it's my first presentation, I'm obviously a new researcher, and the majority of researchers in my focus are in a different region of the US, so it'll turn out ok - but definitely still going to wonder and worry until it's behind me.
Personally, it's been a little while since I had to give a presentation, but since you have to record it, maybe have someone hold up big signs to help you stay on track. I grew up performing (my dad was an actor off broadway), so I'm pretty comfortable. I just have to catch myself when I ramble, but that's every day life anyway. Meditate before you do your recording too, it's slows us all down and helps us focus. And if it's not too early, some exercise could do your dopamine levels some good.
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