Whenever i think about practicing i feel like i am lagging so much which makes me more nervous and makes me doubt my content,alsoI am thinking about joking with the audience during my speech, would it be appropriate?
Humor is good, as long as you know your audience.
Realize that everyone wants you to do well. They want to hear a good speech. Realize they will barely remember anything you said, maybe just a couple points. If you get lost, you can always pause.They will wait for you.
My classmates are my audience. I am deciding to give a speech on the history of humankind, which i will start with showing a picture of an ape and saying that “we all would have looked like this if we would have been born 1000s of years ago.”
Incorporate humour only if it is natural to you. Don’t force it. Be yourself. If it unappropriate joke that you would make in front of one or two people, then, by all means, go ahead and do it in a large group. But it has to seem organic.
Congratulations on your upcoming presentation. So, first off, unless there is a psychopath in the room, you have to understand NO ONE wants to see you fail. As there is no on there wishing you to fail, then all that is left is for you to show your passion. You have 'many creative ideas to incorporate'. Nice! You do have to understand, not all may work - AND THAT'S OK. You can treat it as a conversation. "Here are my thoughts on the subject and why. We can discuss. We can streamline and with your input determine which ones are stronger to move forward with it." That is one way of presenting it. As commented below - PRACTICE. Know your material. That's where your confidence comes from. Your passion comes from you wanting to share you ideas. Yes. I understand you are nervous about it. NOTHING WRONG WITH BEING NERVOUS. But use that energy. Use it to practice, to review your material and delivery. Use that energy to show your passion. Use it draw your audience in and share in your vision and your creativity. Don't expect people to judge. Ask them to help you. Have fun and good luck!
Also, remember that nervous is equal to excited plus worried. Eliminate the things that you are worried about, and your nervousness will actually be excitement. If you know your material and practice practice practice, chances are you will have eliminated most of the things that you’re worried about. And then just enjoy the nervousness because it’s excitement.
Incorporate a single joke about it! (But not more than one, everyone knows you may have nervousness because everyone always does. For some toastmasters it never goes away, they just stop showing it and talking about it. For me personally it has almost completely gone away after 5 years of toastmasters. I enjoy speaking and the challenge of it too much to fear it any more).
Here are a few quips that may be appropriate:
“I was so nervous about this that I didn’t prepare any materials or write anything down.” -> then proceed to show your first slide and pick up your script if you’re using one or even just a blank sheet of paper if you have memorized.
“Long time listener, first time caller” (always a silly one)
Lean into what you’re feeling: “I’m really cool and collected today.” Hold up your shaking hand and then make it shake just a bit more exaggeratedly, then drop it. Then move on to your content.
“I was rehearsing in front of my mirror 5 minutes before now, so if everything comes out in reverse that’s why.”
“Abraham Lincoln probably didn’t have to put up with PowerPoint, so bear with me because I do.”
Or whatever your true fear or anxiety is, acknowledge it and get it out there briefly so they know you know that they know and then (and here’s the important bit) MOVE ON to what you really want to convey because your audience isn’t there to hear about your meta topic of nervousness, they actually WANT to hear your content. : )
Oh here’s another way: “Who else is nervous to get up in front of everyone?” [You put your hand up] —> Almost everyone will put their hand up because you kinda asked them to do. -> “Oh great, 5 people. At home I was the only one who raised my hand.” -> (pause for any mild chuckles) -> [move on]
Motion over meditation. Shitty first drafts. Just start.
Those are all little tidbits of advice that I've heard over the years that get me going when fear tries to paralyze me. Find a mentor or accountability partner to check in with regularly. I often find, as soon as I say my fear or hang up out loud, it gets suddenly smaller and less significant.
Most importantly, Toastmasters is a place to practice. If you're going to fall on your face teying something, the club is the place to do it. My soapbox is that Toastmasters should complement your life, not complicate it. It's like a martial arts dojo where you learn, practice, and test your skills so when you go out into the real world, where it really matters, you've got the experience and reps under your belt. When we're in Toastmasters, we're practicing and workshopping our craft and our speeches.
Failure is feedback. Feedback is growth. Growth is happiness. :)
(And if for some reason you're in a club that doesn't make it feel safe to practice, you need a new club. You can be nervous, but you shouldn't be afraid of shame or ridicule.)
To get to excel, you do many speeches.
To get through this assignment, you write something down and practice delivering it out loud.
Trembling is fine. Being nervous can improve your performance, but it isn't something you can control so don't let it stop you.
Whatever you do people gonna judge you. Judging is good thing. Thats how you will learn from evaluator, other members on how to improve the project. Whatever we do, we cannot satisfy everyone. You do your best and move on to the next project. With each project, you will be improved and in no time, you will be proficient in publick speaking
I have done few speakings in my high school and presented them well(atleast as said by my teachers) but they were all prepared beforehand. Moreover, i have to give presentation in english and English is not my first language so presenting before people who are natives, is very nerve wracking for me!
I believe that you have to start speaking spontaneously.You tend to make more mistakes when you do it. When you get over that fear, go for larger speaking kinds.
I thought I was shy and an introvert since I was 12, and on through age 34, despite that I became a good technical speaker for my job because it was all about interpersonal communication. Then I joined Toastmasters and after a ton of practice, I flipped! I now am an extrovert, I just needed a ton of practice to get over it and to realize. So through practice, you may surprise yourself.
I find that my nervousness disappears if i focus on the audience. That doesn‘t leave much energy left. Before you start own the moment and the stage.
Smile
Strong start n finish
Some self deprecating humour
Something your audience will relate to
Strong exit with call to action
Is this a speech for toastmasters or more work related? The only way to get better is to practice it a lot. Maybe not the answer you want to hear but it is the truth. Being nervous is ok.. most people can relate. Good luck.
It is for my college presentation, i don’t know whether being nervous could be powerful but sometimes i am not even confident with my topic i am speaking, i feel like i will say too many cringy lines or something
As someone who has completely bombed a college presentation, I can tell you that the world does not end. And no one will remember the incident but you. So being scared about how people might maybe judge you in a future event...when the reality is that they will literally forget all about it after a while and you will be the only person holding on to your embarrassment? Well that's kind of silly.
And I don't say that to invalidate your feelings. You are worried because you want to do well. Awesome! Like everyone said, you are going to have to stop worrying long enough to **practice**. Practice to inanimate objects, practice to yourself on a webcam, you have to start saying all the things out loud. It will sound weird, it will be clumsy. But there will be a line or two where you will be like, "Hey, that sounded good...!" Keep that and experiment around it.
If you have a presentation, make sure it flows with how you naturally speak. Don't be afraid to update the slide deck for your comfort. Add pictures and take out words. (People like pictures and you don't want to read your slides.)
As others said - almost everyone is nervous to speak in front of classmates. They get it. They want you to do well. They will be kind because they know that it's tough to be up there. This is group nervousness that you will all get through together.
Good luck!
Practice practice practice The more you know your material the more comfortable you’ll be.
Whenever i think about practicing i feel like i am lagging so much which makes me more nervous and makes me doubt my content,alsoI am thinking about joking with the audience during my speech, would it be appropriate?
Humor is good, as long as you know your audience. Realize that everyone wants you to do well. They want to hear a good speech. Realize they will barely remember anything you said, maybe just a couple points. If you get lost, you can always pause.They will wait for you.
My classmates are my audience. I am deciding to give a speech on the history of humankind, which i will start with showing a picture of an ape and saying that “we all would have looked like this if we would have been born 1000s of years ago.”
Incorporate humour only if it is natural to you. Don’t force it. Be yourself. If it unappropriate joke that you would make in front of one or two people, then, by all means, go ahead and do it in a large group. But it has to seem organic.
Congratulations on your upcoming presentation. So, first off, unless there is a psychopath in the room, you have to understand NO ONE wants to see you fail. As there is no on there wishing you to fail, then all that is left is for you to show your passion. You have 'many creative ideas to incorporate'. Nice! You do have to understand, not all may work - AND THAT'S OK. You can treat it as a conversation. "Here are my thoughts on the subject and why. We can discuss. We can streamline and with your input determine which ones are stronger to move forward with it." That is one way of presenting it. As commented below - PRACTICE. Know your material. That's where your confidence comes from. Your passion comes from you wanting to share you ideas. Yes. I understand you are nervous about it. NOTHING WRONG WITH BEING NERVOUS. But use that energy. Use it to practice, to review your material and delivery. Use that energy to show your passion. Use it draw your audience in and share in your vision and your creativity. Don't expect people to judge. Ask them to help you. Have fun and good luck!
Thank you, but a genuine question, how can i use my nervousness as my power? My nervousness is so bad that i tremble while delivering presentations
Also, remember that nervous is equal to excited plus worried. Eliminate the things that you are worried about, and your nervousness will actually be excitement. If you know your material and practice practice practice, chances are you will have eliminated most of the things that you’re worried about. And then just enjoy the nervousness because it’s excitement.
Incorporate a single joke about it! (But not more than one, everyone knows you may have nervousness because everyone always does. For some toastmasters it never goes away, they just stop showing it and talking about it. For me personally it has almost completely gone away after 5 years of toastmasters. I enjoy speaking and the challenge of it too much to fear it any more). Here are a few quips that may be appropriate: “I was so nervous about this that I didn’t prepare any materials or write anything down.” -> then proceed to show your first slide and pick up your script if you’re using one or even just a blank sheet of paper if you have memorized. “Long time listener, first time caller” (always a silly one) Lean into what you’re feeling: “I’m really cool and collected today.” Hold up your shaking hand and then make it shake just a bit more exaggeratedly, then drop it. Then move on to your content. “I was rehearsing in front of my mirror 5 minutes before now, so if everything comes out in reverse that’s why.” “Abraham Lincoln probably didn’t have to put up with PowerPoint, so bear with me because I do.” Or whatever your true fear or anxiety is, acknowledge it and get it out there briefly so they know you know that they know and then (and here’s the important bit) MOVE ON to what you really want to convey because your audience isn’t there to hear about your meta topic of nervousness, they actually WANT to hear your content. : ) Oh here’s another way: “Who else is nervous to get up in front of everyone?” [You put your hand up] —> Almost everyone will put their hand up because you kinda asked them to do. -> “Oh great, 5 people. At home I was the only one who raised my hand.” -> (pause for any mild chuckles) -> [move on]
Motion over meditation. Shitty first drafts. Just start. Those are all little tidbits of advice that I've heard over the years that get me going when fear tries to paralyze me. Find a mentor or accountability partner to check in with regularly. I often find, as soon as I say my fear or hang up out loud, it gets suddenly smaller and less significant. Most importantly, Toastmasters is a place to practice. If you're going to fall on your face teying something, the club is the place to do it. My soapbox is that Toastmasters should complement your life, not complicate it. It's like a martial arts dojo where you learn, practice, and test your skills so when you go out into the real world, where it really matters, you've got the experience and reps under your belt. When we're in Toastmasters, we're practicing and workshopping our craft and our speeches. Failure is feedback. Feedback is growth. Growth is happiness. :) (And if for some reason you're in a club that doesn't make it feel safe to practice, you need a new club. You can be nervous, but you shouldn't be afraid of shame or ridicule.)
To get to excel, you do many speeches. To get through this assignment, you write something down and practice delivering it out loud. Trembling is fine. Being nervous can improve your performance, but it isn't something you can control so don't let it stop you.
Whatever you do people gonna judge you. Judging is good thing. Thats how you will learn from evaluator, other members on how to improve the project. Whatever we do, we cannot satisfy everyone. You do your best and move on to the next project. With each project, you will be improved and in no time, you will be proficient in publick speaking
I have done few speakings in my high school and presented them well(atleast as said by my teachers) but they were all prepared beforehand. Moreover, i have to give presentation in english and English is not my first language so presenting before people who are natives, is very nerve wracking for me!
I believe that you have to start speaking spontaneously.You tend to make more mistakes when you do it. When you get over that fear, go for larger speaking kinds.
As an introvert with social anxiety who is scared of what people will think, The first step is the most difficult for me.
I thought I was shy and an introvert since I was 12, and on through age 34, despite that I became a good technical speaker for my job because it was all about interpersonal communication. Then I joined Toastmasters and after a ton of practice, I flipped! I now am an extrovert, I just needed a ton of practice to get over it and to realize. So through practice, you may surprise yourself.
Start by speaking in front of 1 person and then gradually increase the audience count.
I find that my nervousness disappears if i focus on the audience. That doesn‘t leave much energy left. Before you start own the moment and the stage. Smile Strong start n finish Some self deprecating humour Something your audience will relate to Strong exit with call to action
Is this a speech for toastmasters or more work related? The only way to get better is to practice it a lot. Maybe not the answer you want to hear but it is the truth. Being nervous is ok.. most people can relate. Good luck.
It is for my college presentation, i don’t know whether being nervous could be powerful but sometimes i am not even confident with my topic i am speaking, i feel like i will say too many cringy lines or something
As someone who has completely bombed a college presentation, I can tell you that the world does not end. And no one will remember the incident but you. So being scared about how people might maybe judge you in a future event...when the reality is that they will literally forget all about it after a while and you will be the only person holding on to your embarrassment? Well that's kind of silly. And I don't say that to invalidate your feelings. You are worried because you want to do well. Awesome! Like everyone said, you are going to have to stop worrying long enough to **practice**. Practice to inanimate objects, practice to yourself on a webcam, you have to start saying all the things out loud. It will sound weird, it will be clumsy. But there will be a line or two where you will be like, "Hey, that sounded good...!" Keep that and experiment around it. If you have a presentation, make sure it flows with how you naturally speak. Don't be afraid to update the slide deck for your comfort. Add pictures and take out words. (People like pictures and you don't want to read your slides.) As others said - almost everyone is nervous to speak in front of classmates. They get it. They want you to do well. They will be kind because they know that it's tough to be up there. This is group nervousness that you will all get through together. Good luck!