To say I’m a people-person would be an understatement. I love talking to people. It my opinion, it can be one of the easiest things to do. Which is why presenting shouldn’t be difficult for me. I did speech and debate for almost all of high school, so I know how to speak in front of people, but for some reason there’s something about giving presentations that is very difficult for me. I think it comes from a difference between a conversation and a presentation. When I’m giving a speech for debate I’m constantly thinking about what I’m saying because there’s not enough time to just form a conversation ahead of time. But with presentations, there’s this idea that you have to memorize everything you say, which in my opinion puts me in an odd state where I don’t think about what I’m saying because I’ve already memorized what I am saying. Additionally, when giving a presentation I get very winded. My speaking pattern changes and I feel like I need to breath all the time. So in order to make my presentation the best presentation that I can give, I have step up some goals.
My friends call me Scott Schwertly
- Put Together a Script That’s Not a Real Script
So part of the problem is that once I go up to give my presentation I feel like I lose control over what I’m saying because I just get frozen and talked based on muscle memory. So I created a list of things that I need to discuss on each slide, but rather than writing how I will transition and the actual words that I need to say, I will just practice. Every practice presentation that I do will be different because of this, but I think since I will be practicing so much it will allow me to take different avenues and try out new things, rather than getting stuck on a single phrase when there is a much better way to say something. I hope because of that when I go up to give my presentation I will feel very focused on what I’m saying rather than just sort of speaking.
2. Breathing Exercises
This one is more for the speaking aspect. In order to speak in a clear voice and not feel winded, I will do breathing exercises before. I was inspired by a Ted Talk that was called something like, How to make people listen to you. And the guy who was leading the talk discussed how doing breathing exercises can help with your speaking and your breathing. I have also found that drinking water while presenting allows me to get a bearing on where I am, and kind of restart my breathing patterns. I also interact with hundreds of people a day, so I think that I might try give them little pieces of my presentation to get comfortable with what I’m saying and lift the pressure of a presentation off. I also want to make my presentation more casual. I know that there are obvious standards and there needs to remain a level of professionalism, but I want to be able to go up there and enjoy my presentation and have a good time, not just explain what I’ve done for the last year. That’s tricky though. Hopefully I will be able to accomplish it though.
Well that’s all for my tips. I’ll tell you next week, once I have begun practicing my presentation how it is going. Until next week!
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