Public Speaking

[Derfasciti]

Hey guys!

I just got accepted to an MA program in European history. I'm very excited but I do have one seemingly major problem. Public speaking. Now do not get me wrong. I thrive in a discussion-based class. I can be very articulate and am very outspoken in settings like that. One of the professors even let me stand in for her class last semester to speak with her students for an hour and a half on medieval historiography.

Yet in some situations I'm pretty scared of public speaking. I've gone to several conferences to read my research papers. The nerves have gotten better from what they used to be in situations like that but they're still not at an ideal level. Furthermore, as president of the school's chapter of Phi Alpha Theta I gave a three minute year in review which was very very nerve-wracking. I tend to speed read or speak really really fast when I get nervous.

So despite some of my speaking abilities, it would seem that in formal settings when I have to physically stand up I am far more nervous. This is very distressing as I do want to move on to Ph.D work and become a professor.

So I guess what I'm asking is, does anyone else suffer from this and how does one cope with it? Is it all merely a matter of time that one becomes used to it? Are there any skills to develop or basic mind tricks that make it easier? I know it's all in my head but it's one of those things that does bother the crap out of me. I think if I were in a classroom setting teaching "social inferiors" the stress would be much better, but still.

Any advice, feedback, personal experiences?

Thanks a lot. I appreciate it!

[ogopo]

My biggest piece of advice is to practice, practice, practice!

I get extremely nervous when speaking formally. I usually get nervous shakes beforehand, and once I'm done, I can barely remember what happened. That being said, I realize now that I have turned into a good public speaker. I have received some great feedback.

I'm not saying this to brag but to emphasize that just because you feel like you're falling apart, it doesn't mean you look like it.

Just keep practicing, ask for feedback and take some deep breaths! Each presentation you give will get better and by the time you are ready to move on to a phd, you might even enjoy speaking (somehow I do now).

If you are not getting enough feedback from your peers, try joining toastmasters. A friend of mine really benefitted from it.

Good luck!

[bluejay16]

My biggest piece of advice is to practice, practice, practice!

I get extremely nervous when speaking formally. I usually get nervous shakes beforehand, and once I'm done, I can barely remember what happened. That being said, I realize now that I have turned into a good public speaker. I have received some great feedback.

I'm not saying this to brag but to emphasize that just because you feel like you're falling apart, it doesn't mean you look like it.

Just keep practicing, ask for feedback and take some deep breaths! Each presentation you give will get better and by the time you are ready to move on to a phd, you might even enjoy speaking (somehow I do now).

If you are not getting enough feedback from your peers, try joining toastmasters. A friend of mine really benefitted from it.

Good luck!

Making eye contact when publicly speaking is what makes me nervous. So, instead of looking at people's faces, I'll look behind them and it allows me to focus my thoughts a bit better, and then when I feel more sure of myself, I'll make eye contact.

[poco_puffs]

I also do the shaky pseudo-blackout speaking, but it's gotten better over the course of this last year of courses and presentations. My best technique so far is to never write down speeches verbatim, because the trauma of dropping a few words or sentences here and there can make an already tense speech turn into an out-of-control downward spiral of "catching up" for me. Instead of being able to just re-orient myself to a series of ideas, a verbatim speech means that I have to reinsert myself into a sentence or a paragraph. It's much more complicated, and it also creates a stronger outward sign of discontinuity for your audience.

Instead, I use outlines, diagrams, easy to read italicizing and bolding on important words for the sheets or half-sheets of paper that I'll be using. Break up the format of the page so each piece is recognizable, even during the hazy adrenalin-fueled panic glance when you've lost your place. Then, practice the speech from the outline you'll be using (at least twice, preferably more times, to mark some of the areas where you do well or struggle a bit), and then-- importantly--accept the fact that it will never be word for word, partly because you never started with the "right" words to begin with. My philosophy is that starting with a more flexible framework of ideas and points for your speech means that it won't be rigid and shatter under the pressure of performing it (which does get better over time, but I'm still using this method because now it's working really well).

I've found that this also helps when dealing with Q&A sessions afterward-- if you're versed in the ideas and the relationships between them, then you can reconstitute them much more easily on the fly for the questions someone might have about a particular point. If the idea of potential questions DOES rattle you a bit, make sure to include that as part of your presentation prep: what questions do you expect to hear? which questions will be the most difficult to answer? what are some graceful ways to skate around the difficult questions and admit that you might need further research or time to articulate an answer?

Thinking of these things in terms of presentations instead of speeches has helped detach them from the sense of the perfectly worded speech as well (Edit: I realize that I just used the word 'speech' like twenty times in this post. Oh well). The point is, we aren't orating at political rallies where the words themselves are meant to have as much impact as the ideas behind them. Most of the time we're presenting ideas, and I'd much rather be worrying about my composition as a presenter than the composition of my rhetoric.

Edited April 26, 2011 by poco_puffs

[msafiri]

You might want to look into getting anti-anxiety meds. They make some that can be taken on an as-needed basis, so you could just take it 30 min before you have to give a conference paper to help keep yourself calm.

[robot_hamster]

I often forget what I'm saying or forget to make note of certain points while speaking because I am so nervous while doing it. I know this sounds terrible (and they always tell you not to do this), but I often have to type out my entire speech (including where to click the clicker to proceed to the next slide if using Powerpoint) and simply memorize the entire thing. People say they can tell when you have something memorized, but I seriously don't know how I would get through it otherwise.

[fuzzylogician]

Practice, practice, practice. I used to visibly shake from just the thought of speaking up in class but I slowly trained myself to be able to teach and present at conferences. It's an unavoidable part of academia so I try to embrace it and learn to perform as best I can. Now I don't worry about it anymore when I'm teaching or presenting something small in class, but I still get nervous before conference presentations. In fact, I presented at two conferences just this month, so I can tell you what worked for me as I was preparing for these talks.

First off, I worked and reworked my slides several times and got feedback from several professors and colleagues. I also presented these slides in less formal settings twice and in a more formal setting (a well-attended practice talk) once. I find that it helps me to start out by writing a full 'script' of the talk as I go through the slides to make sure that the order I present them in makes sense. But since--as others have noted--it's impossible to stay completely on script, I then turned these notes into bullet points where important keywords are marked with bold large font. I break my notes up such that natural breaks in the sentence flow are marked by line breaks, and that also makes it easier to recover my train of thought if I start rambling of forget what I was going to say.

I also try to prepare in advance for whatever questions I can think of, including adding 'appendix' slides just in case. In general, when I attend other people's talks I try and collect good "I don't know" and "(this comment made no sense) hmm, interesting, thank you, maybe we can discuss this in more detail after the talk" answers. People respond to these types of questions/comments in different ways and I try to remember the ones I appreciated the most and use them when I would otherwise just be baffled.

I normally iterate through my slides enough times in advance that by the time I actually present, I don't need my notes at all anymore, although it's still useful to have them just in case. For me, that's an important part of being confident in what I say. I've gotten good feedback on my recent presentations so I think my preparation worked, even though in the end all I can remember is where I forgot to say something or how my timing was off in several places or how I could have given a better answer than I did to some question or other. But friends tell my I sounded confident and the talk had a good flow, and I guess no one can know where I could have presented my argument a little better or what I didn't quite have time to say.

On the technical eve-of-the-talk front,

- unless you can handle your liquor, don't drink the night before your talk

- get enough sleep

- dress comfortably

- don't eat and drink too much before your session

- remember to breath. Take a bottle of water and force yourself to take small sips between slides if you have to.

- take notes of interesting questions. Otherwise you might forget useful discussions.

- afterwards, don't be too critical of yourself.

[geochic]

I definitely agree that the best method of coping with the anxiety is to just practice over and over again. Grab members of your cohort before presenting and make them listen. Enlist friends to play audience and go over the presentation until you feel completely comfortable with discussing the material. I don't suffer from much public speaking anxiety but I know how much a good run through helps me before I give a talk or lecture. I imagine that several run-throughs would be immensely effective in dealing with pre-presentation jitters.

[Gaijin Punch]

You might want to look into getting anti-anxiety meds. They make some that can be taken on an as-needed basis, so you could just take it 30 min before you have to give a conference paper to help keep yourself calm.

Lame. Not everything needs to be solved with medication, especially something as simple as public speaking.

As others have said, just keep practicing. Also, if you know someone in the audience, keep your focus on them and pretend you are speaking to only them. I used to be terrified as a kid of public speaking, it was really bad. I wouldn't say I am the greatest even now, but my job includes speaking in front of groups of clients pretty often and it had definitely improved my public speaking abilities.

[squaresquared]

You need to be comfortable with what you are saying. You need to understand what you are talking about. If you don't feel this way about the material, you should re-work the presentation. I find when I really know the material, I get some nervous jitters waiting to go up to speak, but once I am up there, I have no problems. I would never write out the entire speech because if you get lost when you glance at it, you will panic and then it will just get worse as you quickly try to find your place (think hot flashes, stutters -- been there, done that). Just conciously make an effort to talk slowly, don't fidget. If you need notes, make them in bullet form in big enough print so you can read it from a little ways away (say, if you lay the paper on a desk infront of you). You should know the material well enough if this is your specialty, that you should not require full essays to read from in order to get the points across. Bullet form should suffice.

I used to be terrified of public speaking when I was a little kid, but in elementary we were made to speak infront of the class. You would be given 2 topics, 10 minutes to write a speech and then you had to go up there come hell or high water and give your speech. So needless to say, every little bit of practice helps. Also, think about it as if you were in the audience. Most people realize that the speaker may be nervous and they probably are not judging you as harshly as you are judging yourself. Often times, if they are going to be getting up there to give speeches, they will be thinking more about their own speeches than trying to really listen to everything you are saying. Nobody expects a speaker to be perfect and never make a mistake -- we are not robots!

Edited April 27, 2011 by squaresquared

[Derfasciti]

Thanks so much for the feedback, guys. I just really need some encouragement. I'm taking good note of everything everyone is saying. I guess it's just a really really big phobia for me and makes me worry if I'm cut out for academia. It's encouraging to know that there are others like me who have started out at least a little bit nervous. I do hope in time to conquer these fears. It's just such an annoying phobia to deal with. I'm confident and collected 95% of the time that I speak in class - why should the physical act of standing up and speaking be such a terrifying experience? I suppose practice, time, and confidence all play a big role in getting through what seems to be a pretty usual problem for academics.

Edited April 27, 2011 by Derfasciti

[Eigen]

It's all about the practice, as others have said.

I just finished helping one of my undergraduates prepare for an end of the semester research talk, and what I told him, basically, was that it gets easier the more you do it.

Look for opportunities to give talks, especially in low key environments.

I just started a school wide graduate student colloquium series, and one of the main purposes is helping people get practice speaking in public. No undergrads are allowed, and no professors, so it's a nice calm environment where we can give talks to our peers, but not necessarily people we know very well.

It's not to say I still don't get butterflies before I give a talk, but I've really noticed the anxiety get less and less over the years. Each talk you give is one more experience, and one more time that things haven't gone too badly for you to remember in the future.

I'm not a fan of memorizing talks (it's easy for those watching to tell), but I am a fan of obsessively practicing talks before you give them- at least until you're comfortable enough to do it more off-the-hip.

When I was getting ready for my thesis defense, I probably gave the entire hour presentation to an empty room 6 or 8 times in the two days before the defense. It was a bit different/more refined each time, but it got me very used to what I was going to be saying, how my words meshed with my presentation, and speaking in general.

Everytime someone in my group has to give a presentation (department seminar, conference, etc.), we get the group together for them to practice at least once, but usually several times before the actual talk. It helps them get familiar not only with the talk, but also gives them a chance to hear and field questions before the event.

Edited April 27, 2011 by Eigen

[msafiri]

Lame. Not everything needs to be solved with medication, especially something as simple as public speaking.

As others have said, just keep practicing. Also, if you know someone in the audience, keep your focus on them and pretend you are speaking to only them. I used to be terrified as a kid of public speaking, it was really bad. I wouldn't say I am the greatest even now, but my job includes speaking in front of groups of clients pretty often and it had definitely improved my public speaking abilities.

I wish you wouldn't call my advice lame. As someone that suffers from severe anxiety when it comes to public speaking and finds that practicing, even 3-5 times, does NOT help at all, medication has been a godsend. The medication I take is one that you take 30-60 minutes before a situation that might make you anixious and that lowers your blood pressure to help keep you calm. It has enabled me to give conference papers and teach courses without worrying about sweating through my shirt, panicking and running out of the room (which is something I did years ago, and which led to the discovery that I suffer from severe anxiety), or other kinds of freak outs. While practicing is a great idea, it does NOT work for everyone. Plus, since it was the only thing suggested on this thread, I figured it might be worthwhile to suggest something else for those who find that practice is either impractical or doesn't help much.

I realize that a lot of advice in this thread is geared towards conference presentations. But, at some point, it is likely that many of us will be in the classroom. It is difficult to find the time and audience to practice every lecture beforehand, moreso if you teach three times a week for 50 minutes. I'm not sure anyone really has time to prepare the lecture and then spend 3-4 additional hours practicing it before giving it. While it is possible that you may get more comfortable in front of the class over time, it's also possible that on the one day you don't get a chance to practice, you'll have a panic or anxiety attack, which can be crippling.

Please don't universally denigate medication or suggest that everyone's problems can be solved without it. Anxiety is a medical condition that can be treated and, if you suffer from it and have tried other solutions to no avail, you can and should talk to a medical professional about the possibility of medication and/or therapy and/or a combination of the two.

I didn't denigrate your advice, Gaijin Punch, so I do not understand why you feel the need to denigrate mine. There's nothing wrong with practicing but it is not a panacea for everyone, and shouldn't be presented as such.

[Gaijin Punch]

I wish you wouldn't call my advice lame. As someone that suffers from severe anxiety when it comes to public speaking and finds that practicing, even 3-5 times, does NOT help at all, medication has been a godsend. The medication I take is one that you take 30-60 minutes before a situation that might make you anixious and that lowers your blood pressure to help keep you calm. It has enabled me to give conference papers and teach courses without worrying about sweating through my shirt, panicking and running out of the room (which is something I did years ago, and which led to the discovery that I suffer from severe anxiety), or other kinds of freak outs. While practicing is a great idea, it does NOT work for everyone. Plus, since it was the only thing suggested on this thread, I figured it might be worthwhile to suggest something else for those who find that practice is either impractical or doesn't help much.

I realize that a lot of advice in this thread is geared towards conference presentations. But, at some point, it is likely that many of us will be in the classroom. It is difficult to find the time and audience to practice every lecture beforehand, moreso if you teach three times a week for 50 minutes. I'm not sure anyone really has time to prepare the lecture and then spend 3-4 additional hours practicing it before giving it. While it is possible that you may get more comfortable in front of the class over time, it's also possible that on the one day you don't get a chance to practice, you'll have a panic or anxiety attack, which can be crippling.

Please don't universally denigate medication or suggest that everyone's problems can be solved without it. Anxiety is a medical condition that can be treated and, if you suffer from it and have tried other solutions to no avail, you can and should talk to a medical professional about the possibility of medication and/or therapy and/or a combination of the two.

I didn't denigrate your advice, Gaijin Punch, so I do not understand why you feel the need to denigrate mine. There's nothing wrong with practicing but it is not a panacea for everyone, and shouldn't be presented as such.

Sorry if you have severe anxiety issues towards public speaking, but the original poster has noted that they have stood in for professors in the past and he/she is quite outspoken in many social settings and discussions. Your post seemed directed towards the original poster and offered advice of taking anti-anxiety medication, something that I doubt they need when you read their issue (maybe they do, who am I to say, but from the original post it sure doesn't seem like it).

Do some people need to take this type of medication? Possibly, I'm not going to disagree with you there because I don't have enough knowledge to try and argue the facts.

And from my personal standpoint (not directed at you), I don't understand how someone who has an extreme fear of public speaking could become a professor. That's like me saying I want to be a pilot but I'm scared of flying???

[msafiri]

Sorry if you have severe anxiety issues towards public speaking, but the original poster has noted that they have stood in for professors in the past and he/she is quite outspoken in many social settings and discussions. Your post seemed directed towards the original poster and offered advice of taking anti-anxiety medication, something that I doubt they need when you read their issue (maybe they do, who am I to say, but from the original post it sure doesn't seem like it).

Do some people need to take this type of medication? Possibly, I'm not going to disagree with you there because I don't have enough knowledge to try and argue the facts.

I don't really think you understand my point, Gaijin Punch, so let me try to be even more explicit than I was above. This is obviously a very personal issue for me. I am incredibly outspoken in social situations and can fill in for someone else in their class just fine. But, when it's my class or my conference presentation or my piano recital, I freeze up. So, I am speaking as someone that, at least as far as what's presented, is in a situation very similar to what the OP described. So much so that hardly any of my close friends realize that I have anxiety issues when it comes to conference presentations and running my own class.

My broader point is this: you and I are not in a position to decide whether or not the OP needs anti-anxiety medication. That is a decision that should be made by the OP and a healthcare professional. I just wanted to put it out there as an option because it's something that should be considered, just like practicing more, listening to calming music, doing yoga, staring at a point on the back wall, etc. should be considered. I'm not sure why you're anti-medicine, Gaijin Punch, but you shouldn't bring your prejudices to a conversation like this since you could potentially be denying the OP the help that's s/he needs.

Derfasciti, I do think that you should consider ALL of your options: practicing, calming strategies, and medication. It may be that a combination of these works best for you. I hope you're able to find a solution that works for you. I know from experience how difficult that can be to do.

And from my personal standpoint (not directed at you), I don't understand how someone who has an extreme fear of public speaking could become a professor. That's like me saying I want to be a pilot but I'm scared of flying???

I think you've made a false analogy here. I want to be a professor because I like sharing what I know with students, seeing the lightbulb go off in their heads, and just generally teaching them to think critically about the world around them. I'm pretty good at doing that in a seminar setting. But, when it's a room with 200 people, I have a harder time. What you're saying is that means I shouldn't become a professor. I'm glad my program isn't filled with people like you that just think the rest of us don't belong and should find another career.

[Gaijin Punch]

I think you need to relax.

You seem STRESSED.

[hopelesslypostmodern]

I think you need to relax.

You seem STRESSED.

I know you're trying to be funny, but this statement is super condescending. Having suffered from severe anxiety myself (which I needed medication for at one point, and still need on some occasions), I understand why msafiri feels the need to defend her/his situation. There is still a tremendous stigma attached to mental illness, and, at least in my own experience, anxiety issues seem to carry more stigma than other mental illnesses. Everyone suffers from at least some anxiety, right? This is part of the reason why it took me years to get help. I was still on my parents' insurance and needed their approval to see a doctor and/or psychologist for help. I tried to talk to my mom about my anxiety and ask for help, but she brushed aside my concerns. Clearly, since I had a nice group of friends and was successful at school (i.e. since I was both more socially and academically successful than she was at my age), I must not have a problem. Despite my misgivings, I tried to believe her. It was only when my anxiety skyrocketed out of control and could no longer function as the high performing individual I used to be that my parents were convinced of my problem. I had to explain to them (through email - a phone call would have been too difficult) how I felt physically ill 24/7, how I couldn't eat or sleep, and how I had panic attacks every time I tried to do school work.

I finally got the help I needed and have my anxiety mostly under control. I guess the point of this story is that anxiety can be a serious issue to deal with, and we should not dismiss the experiences of others. Anxiety can work in some idiosyncratic ways. You can be fine in one situation, but crippled with fear in a seemingly similar one. Maybe the OP needs medication; maybe not. Maybe talking to a therapist about ways to control his/her anxiety would help. I don't know. Every individual's situation is different.

[Katzenmusik]

1) Many universities and towns have Toastmasters clubs. These exist for people to practice public speaking and get feedback in a friendly atmosphere. Try to join up!

2) Channel your enthusiasm into the talk. Don't build it up in your mind as an intellectual gauntlet to be run or as something you have to do to prove that you are smart -- just think of it as a way to get others as excited and interested in your topic as you are.

3) Slow down. Breathe. It's okay to pause or for there to be a moment of silence.

4) Do you have a web cam? Practice the talk in front of the web cam, review it, then practice again and again, improving your performance each time.

5) When you see other people speaking in public, take mental notes on their delivery. If they're bad, what is that they're doing which makes their talk all wrong and boring? If they're good, what exactly are they doing to pull you in? Absorb these observations.

5) You're in history. Consider working or volunteering as a tour guide at a historic site or museum this summer. I guarantee you will have improved your public speaking skills and reduced your nervousness by the time the summer is through -- you'll be an old hand! (I was a tour guide last summer -- at first I was just as nervous as you are, but now I feel very calm and confident when speaking in front of large groups.)

[ogopo]

1) Many universities and towns have Toastmasters clubs. These exist for people to practice public speaking and get feedback in a friendly atmosphere. Try to join up!

2) Channel your enthusiasm into the talk. Don't build it up in your mind as an intellectual gauntlet to be run or as something you have to do to prove that you are smart -- just think of it as a way to get others as excited and interested in your topic as you are.

3) Slow down. Breathe. It's okay to pause or for there to be a moment of silence.

4) Do you have a web cam? Practice the talk in front of the web cam, review it, then practice again and again, improving your performance each time.

5) When you see other people speaking in public, take mental notes on their delivery. If they're bad, what is that they're doing which makes their talk all wrong and boring? If they're good, what exactly are they doing to pull you in? Absorb these observations.

5) You're in history. Consider working or volunteering as a tour guide at a historic site or museum this summer. I guarantee you will have improved your public speaking skills and reduced your nervousness by the time the summer is through -- you'll be an old hand! (I was a tour guide last summer -- at first I was just as nervous as you are, but now I feel very calm and confident when speaking in front of large groups.)

My sentiments exactly, just stated much more eloquently

[Katzenmusik]

My sentiments exactly, just stated much more eloquently

Ah, I quickly scanned the earlier posts and didn't see that you also recommended basically the same exact things (Toastmasters, breathing, practicing). Hopefully the OP will take our advice, now that two people have given it! :-)

[MoJingly]

As far as public speaking goes, practice certainly helps. But also never underestimate the benefits of positive self-talk. I was a music performance major in college, and the pressure of getting up and playing a solo in front of an audience or a panel of distinguished professors would sometimes make me ill. But then I started talking to myself. "yeah, I got this. I'm prepared. Just go in. Kiss ass. BOOM. Do it."

A internal sense of humor, an ability to laugh at yourself, and confidence in your preparation all go a long way.

[awvish]

But then I started talking to myself. "yeah, I got this. I'm prepared. Just go in. Kiss ass. BOOM. Do it."

Kick ass, perhaps?

[MoJingly]

Kick ass, perhaps?

LOL. That's what happens when you are thinking about the next word while typing the current one.

I'm not even going to change it.

[poco_puffs]

I can think of more than one grad school situation where I'd have to psych myself up by saying "Kiss. Ass. You can do this, mama. Get to it. Kiss some ass."

[MoJingly]

I can think of more than one grad school situation where I'd have to psych myself up by saying "Kiss. Ass. You can do this, mama. Get to it. Kiss some ass."