I bombed my first presentation...any advice?

[gnomechomsky22]

This is my first semester in graduate school and I'm already struggling. I had to give my first presentation on Monday and I completely tanked. I was supposed to present an article and I understood the article, made a great powerpoint and tied everything together. I really did spend a lot of time preparing; however, it was clear my presentation was a disaster. I was so humiliated- I spoke too quickly, was shaking and instantly forgot everything as soon as I got up in front of the class. 

 

We have to do a group presentation in the near future and I am worried. My classmates are all part of the same program, but I am enrolled in a different program. It is intimidating because they all already know one another and I doubt anyone will want me in their group now. I felt like crying afterwards. The presentation is worth 15% of my grade. I am concerned. Should I email my professor and ask for his advice as to whether I should stay in the course? I understand that part of graduate school entails practicing tenacity and sticking difficult things out, but this has bothered me so much that I have had nightmares about it.

[emmm]

I think you are probably more concerned about this than you need to be (and it may not have seemed as awful to the audience as it felt to you). Unless your program is really cutthroat, I'm sure your professors have seen many, many nervous student presentations and may even still get nervous in front of groups, themselves.  Maybe you should look for a Toastmasters group or something similar to become more comfortable speaking in front of a group, or maybe it was just THIS group that made you nervous. Grad school is stressful, after all. It can be hard when everyone else is in a separate group and you are the only new person, but presumably you are in this class because you want to be or need to be. So, continue making efforts to be pleasant and friendly, and I'm sure people understand about public-speaking jitters. (I bet your slides made a positive impression!)

[CarlieE]

My first semester I presented on Nietzsche and I said.... "The idea is that there's no such thing as an absolute truth, but rather many. So it's not knowledge with a capital "N"...." There was a pause and then an eruption of laughter. Believe me, I made sure I spellchecked my final paper over and over.... I'm getting a tshirt that says "yep, theyre actually going to give me a PhD".... Ultimately, its your content that counts. If you feel badly about it I'm sure you can email our professor and ask for a do over by doing a second presentation but I wouldn't worry too much over it.

[gnomechomsky22]

Thanks for the input. I'm just suffering from the whole "imposter" feeling-like i'm inadequate and not smart enough to be doing grad work. I'm definitely not allowed to re-do it, but I have an individual presentation coming up and I plan on rehearsing it over and over. I need to get over my fear of public speaking. 

[Dal PhDer]

Most graduate students suffer from imposter syndrome! And I bet we can all list a few presentations we completely tanked. I did a presentation at a conference where I followed the president of this company. I was only suppose to be up there for 10 minutes but freaked when I saw that there was over 300 people....lets just say, there's over 300 people out there that most likely think I'm an idiot! I was soo nervous, and then the powerpoint wouldn't work..and I tried to make a joke to calm my nerves, but only i laughed...it was horrible. But you know what? I just forgot about it, and keep getting up there. Presenting takes experience, and over time you'll feel more and more comfortable. But I know lots of professionals that have been doing it for years and still get nervous and freaked out!

 

As for your mark, I would talk to the prof and ask how the presentation is graded. From my experience, there is always a small percentage on your presentation skills (i.e., nervousness, clear speaking, etc.), but the rest will be on the content and quality of your presentation and the points you were trying to get across. If you were prepared, I am sure it came through! Everyone gets nervous presenting.

 

I would recommend Toastmaters, but also talk to someone about mindful techniques...they help me! Don't worry, in time it gets better!

[CarlieE]

Maybe this might help with your next presentation if it's accompanied with a powerpoint. 

 

I start the power point and then record what I want to say (in private). Then I play it back for myself to hear and make adjustments ie. Oh god, no. Why the **** did I say that? and re-record again - and again - and again, until I like how I sound and everything. 

 

THEN I play back the recording and I write down EXACTLY what I said including the uhms and ahhs. I don't make the script grammatically correct or anything. I just transcribe as I sound. Note I made the font LARGE. 

 

Then I play back the powerpoint presentation as I read off my script and add in marks on my script for when I click to move to the next slide. 

 

At the presentation, I have my script with my marks for slide changes. So then I basically read off my script, looking up every now and then to gauge my audience and smile or whatever. One hand holds my script, the other hand has the clicker. Since the font is MASSIVE, I never really lose my place in the script when I look up. 

 

This works really well at conferences too since the timing is very exact. They gave me 10 minutes at my last conference and by using this method I got my presentation down to 9 minutes and 43 seconds. It really helped me so I didn't get flustered or lose my thought. 

[Pitangus]

I think it's too soon to discuss dropping the course. As Dal PhDer suggests, nervousness usually won't tank a presentation as long as the slides are effective and it's clear the presentation was otherwise well done. As for the group presentation, I would imagine your classmates are mature enough to not complain about working with you instead of a friend or whatever. Whenever I've been part of a group for a presentation, we've always just divided it up so that each person prepares and presents one part of it.

 

I was a terrible presenter until I started getting more methodical about my preparation. Like HeadCold, I've found that preparing a script is very helpful for timing and feeling prepared (and therefore less nervous). I have found that short sentences make the script sound natural, and appropriate transition words/phrases make it easy to remember as I move from slide to slide. If I find myself stumbling over any sentence, I rewrite it to make it easier. I also shorten as needed to fit the time limit without rushing. My goal is to rehearse until I have the script memorized (maybe I have a good memory because this doesn't take a long time; I can usually get through a 10 minute presentation cleanly after 2 or 3 rounds).

 

I don't put the script on my presenter slides because I've found that having the text available causes me to rely on it more than I should or even need to. Also, it's harder for the audience to realize you're using a script if you are looking at them or directing them to things on your slides the whole time (I try to scan the room once per slide, though I tend to "look past" people, rather than look directly at anyone, so I don't get distracted).

As much as I dislike speaking in general, I get positive responses regarding my presentations, and I've never received a comment that my presentation sounded scripted. 

Edited February 4, 2013 by Pitangus

[St Andrews Lynx]

Get a couple of your classmates together and have an informal run-through a week before the presentation. They're probably wanting to practice their talks, too. That will give you experience of presenting within a safe environment. Your classmates can ask you questions afterwards as well as give feedback, and that'll give you an idea of what to expect from the audience on the day. 

 

There isn't any other way to get over a fear of public speaking...apart from through public speaking. Practice as often as you can. It does get easier.

[wildviolet]

I've noticed that many people are comfortable talking in small groups but become nervous when they have to talk to the whole group or present to their peers. The people in my program are so nice and supportive yet all of us were still a little anxious when we presented our final projects. It's perfectly normal and gets better with practice. I'm somewhat comfortable speaking to groups of people but only because I've been a classroom teacher for so many years! And it's definitely different speaking to your peers or professors than to students. Before I teach or present, I usually visualize myself teaching or presenting with confidence so that when it's time for the real thing I feel like I've already practiced a bit. Keep trying--it'll get better!

[Dal PhDer]

Really great advice above!

 

I also vision myself teaching, and will practice in front of a mirror. Practice is another great thing- keep doing it so that you get more and more comfortable. And the suggestion about getting some classmates together to practice is great. If you do this you will 1) be practising in front of the same people you're going to be presenting in class with - so you'll feel more comfortable doing it, and 2) you'll have friendly and encouraging faces in the crowd. Whenever I know someone is nervous (or notice it), I make to smile and nod interestingly/encouragingly at them when they look around [sometimes I'll give a little thumbs up if I know them well]

 

I'm one of those really odd people that have absolutely NOOO problem speaking candidly in front of people (regardless of the size of the group)...but put me up there in the same situation with a rehearsed presentation and I'm all freaked out! I'm actually teaching a class tomorrow and decided to make it an engaging / discussion lecture so that I can talk more candidly and openly, and thus be less nervous!

[katerific]

OP: it's okay. A lot of people get nervous.  They see this a lot. It's one presentation. To echo what other people said, don't drop out of the class. You could email someone/the prof and ask them what they thought, though. It may be bigger and badder in your head.

 

Maybe this might help with your next presentation if it's accompanied with a powerpoint. 

 

I start the power point and then record what I want to say (in private). Then I play it back for myself to hear and make adjustments ie. Oh god, no. Why the **** did I say that? and re-record again - and again - and again, until I like how I sound and everything. 

 

THEN I play back the recording and I write down EXACTLY what I said including the uhms and ahhs. I don't make the script grammatically correct or anything. I just transcribe as I sound. Note I made the font LARGE. 

 

Then I play back the powerpoint presentation as I read off my script and add in marks on my script for when I click to move to the next slide. 

 

At the presentation, I have my script with my marks for slide changes. So then I basically read off my script, looking up every now and then to gauge my audience and smile or whatever. One hand holds my script, the other hand has the clicker. Since the font is MASSIVE, I never really lose my place in the script when I look up. 

 

This works really well at conferences too since the timing is very exact. They gave me 10 minutes at my last conference and by using this method I got my presentation down to 9 minutes and 43 seconds. It really helped me so I didn't get flustered or lose my thought. 

Dang, I think if I tried this, I would cringe so hard that I would just hide under my bed for the rest of my life. But it sounds solid... I will probably try this. It's only been recently that I've become semi-comfortable with presenting in front of a small class. I can't even imagine talking at a conference yet. EUYCK.


edit: oh, I just remembered. My friends and I joke about recording the talk and setting the ppt to run automatically so that at conferences you just hit play and stand there. The mental image makes me laugh. Ha.

Edited February 8, 2013 by katerific

[ak48]

Public speaking is hard, and it's really a matter of practice and confidence.

 

Standard tips for getting better at public speaking:

 

1) PRACTICE! 

2) PRACTICE!

3) PRACTICE!

 

I like to start out sitting down on my desk, facing the laptop and giving a presentation to the laptop.

 

Then I go to the mirror, which helps me see if I have some bad physical habits (bobbing my head, pacing back and forth, shiftiness) 

 

I don't do this anymore, but I would also record myself (mp3 voice recorder before, probably use the iPhone video now) and listen to it to see what I did wrong and also just to get used to speaking and watching myself.

 

Finally, practice in front of other people! Other graduate students, friends, roommates, should generally be willing to help you out, especially if it helps them understand "what exactly you do". If they refuse, you need better friends!

[aberrant]

See if this can make you feel better. My first (lab) presentation was far worse than yours since I rotated in a lab that does interesting things but I have zero background in that field. Here is the bottom line -- this PI told me that I was "clearly not prepared" and "clearly wasting our times" so "why don't you wrap this up". Long story short, I know that same thing won't happen twice, especially on things that I'm much more familiar with (or with basic knowledge.) So I didn't dwell on it for long.

 

There are many good advice here that you can follow... although I prefer semi-freestyle with my presentation after (relatively) carefully making my slides. Just be open-minded and let yourself make mistakes. I always encourage my audience to correct mistakes that I have made during my presentations. That's just another way to learn (the topic and your presentation skills), besides finding friends/housemates to do multiple mock presentations/trials.

Edited February 22, 2013 by aberrant