Have you ever experienced a stage fright during a presentation? I am always pretty anxious before presentation, especially if it is a formal presentation. Therefore, I have dedicated this post to how we can deal with nervousness experienced during presentation.
A good presentation is about how well we capitalize on our voice quality and verbal and non-verbal cues. If the presenter gets nervous, the voice quality like volume and pitch of the voice will be affected and non-verbal cues would only show his/her anxiety. Hence, it is important to know how to keep calm during presentation.
The first trick is to be very well prepared by practicing the speech many times, rehearsal the presentation out loud exactly how it will be delivered and in front of the mirror. By doing this, one can also observe whether their non-verbal cues are appropriate. It is not enough to just type out a speech. As the old saying goes, “practice makes perfect”.
It’s common for people to tell you to breathe deep and slow to relax. That actually has a scientific explanation! As stage fright is caused by a biochemical reaction when body release hormone adrenaline to deal with stressful situation. By breathing deep and slow, you are actually capable to suppress the nervous system reaction to stress.
Lastly, the presenter has to take things easy and be CONFIDENT. It is important to not have overly high expectation for our presentation and understand that we cannot possibly please everyone’s expectations.
Do you have any other ways to deal with stage fright?
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Hi HuiXin,
ReplyDeletethis is a very useful post indeed as we all know that our formal presentation is up very soon. From your post, I get to pick up little tips such as rehearsing in front of the mirror which I have not tried before. =)
I have my own little ‘secret recipe’ to presentations too. And I have decided to share with my dearest ES2007S mates here. I have the habit of chewing sweets and mints before presentation to calm myself and at the same time, boost my confidence with extra fresh breath. (Trust me, this really helps!)
It is also important to convince yourself during the presentation that the audience are your friends, no matter if they are really your friends or not. Just make them your friends for the day! Try to inject some humour into the speech if the presentation allows as laughter will help to break the nervous environment you are in.
That’s all I can suggest! Hope it helps! =)
Cheers, Xiujun
Heyo Huixin!
ReplyDeleteWow, just in time for OP yeah. :)
I do not really have other ways to deal with stage fright, but from my past experiences, the most effective way is indeed to keep practising your speech and take slow deep breaths between each line. My mother is a poor victim of my bombastic speeches, despite her not understanding English, she is still able to pinpoint some common body languages I made. Thus, I would think rehearsing in front of a friend will help greatly too, he/she can identify several traits you do not know you exhibit during a presentation.
During the presentation, it is also essential to look at your audience for possible responses, like a nodding of head from them can give you assurance that you're going on the right track.
Thats about it from me! Good luck for your OP. :)
Regards,
Collen
hi Hui Xin,
ReplyDeletei agree with xiu jun that your blog on presentation skills come in time when all the groups are busy preaparing for their oral presentation.
Thanks Hui Xin for informing me that stage fright is caused by a biochemical reaction when body release hormone adrenaline to deal with stressful situation. I did not know about this previously. Thanks for the fact.
Like Xiujun and collen, i do feel nervous before and during the presentation. i feel that it is somehow or rather normal to feel nervous. Most importantly,I feel that the presenter ought to have eye conatct with the audience.
Okay gal all the best for your upcoming presenation.
commented by ramani d/o challiah
Hey Huixin,
ReplyDeleteVery timely and appropriate post! Stage fright is something which I've never recovered from since young, to be honest. The thing is, I do agree with you that taking deep breaths does help, A LOT, in making us less nervous before a performance or presentation. I usually count to five, each count accompanied by a long deep breath filled with thoughts like " IT'S GONNA BE OVER IN LIKE FIVE MINUTES AND THEN, ABDULLAH, YOU'RE GONNA GET YOURSELF A BIG MAC", then "OH MAN IT'S NOT YET OVER, OK THREE MORE BREATHS, BIG MAC BIG MAC BIG MAC"...and so it goes...
However, I feel that to really overcome stage fright, we have to take up more of such challenges. The thing is, I've read this somewhere, even amongst the best of performers, full-time presenters, celebrities, sportsmen, and so on, they still have a bout of stage fright before their performance. It's natural I suppose. But when they actually start their performance/presentation, the nervousness will disappear. This comes with practice and experience. Like the saying goes, what doesn't kill us, only makes us stronger!
I hope this helps, and see you soon for our group presentation meeting! :)
cheers,
abdullah
Hi Hui Xin,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the tips provided in this post. Perfect timing, counting down to my group's presentation in 2 more days.
For me, it seems like the more oral presentations I've done, the more nervous i get when the time arises for yet another oral presentation again. I think it may be because as the experience accumulates, there becomes more things to look out for during the presentation, hence it becomes overwhelming prior to the presentation.
I usually do not prepare script. I've tried it before but it does not work. This is because whenever I prepare script I will be more concern about what was I suppose to say in the script and at that moment,if I do not remember I will become unfocused and nervous. Hence, the way I prepare myself for an oral presentation is to have point forms in my head. Just briefly remember what are the things that needs to be mention and go for it.
My way of relaxing is to have loads of fun and laughter. That's more of my way of avoiding feeling nervous actually. It happens quite often, even when I am stressed.
p.s. Abdullah, your comment really made me laughed like crazy. Totally brighten up my day!
Thank you!
cheers,
siewcheng
Hey everyone!
ReplyDeleteAbz, you're so funny! Anyway, thanks for all the tips;) And I'm glad that you all find it useful. All the best for the oral presentation! ;)
Huixin
Hey Huixin!
ReplyDeleteThat's some pretty good advice from the gang! Anyway, how about the idea of picturing the audience naked? Anyone of you tried that? I'm always curious about it... Maybe for my presentation on monday I will try to do that and tell you guys if it works! hahaha
As for myself, I don't prepare a speech as well like SC, probably because its too much of a hassle! But I will try to relax myself as much as possible and clear my mind before a presentation! That's all!
Cheers,
reZa