nuffnang

Sunday, February 08, 2009

Effective Presentation Skills: Don't Panic

photo from my personal archive (noticed the date??hehe)


How to Beat Panic When You Present
taken from: http://effective-presentation-skills.com/


If you panic at the thought of making a presentation, you are not alone. Several studies have shown that public speaking is the thing that people fear most – more than snakes, flying or even death. That means that, at a funeral, most people would rather be in the coffin than making the eulogy!


How can you get over this fear? Here are some tips:
Get there early. Make sure you get familiar with the room. Stand where you are going to give your presentation until you begin to feel relaxed standing there. Try out the audiovisual equipment you will be using.


Introduce yourself to as many members of the audience as you can before you start. This helps turn the audience into a group of friendly faces rather than a wall of strangers.
Whilst you are doing this, pick out a couple of ‘friendly faces’. During the presentation, maintain regular eye-contact with your ‘new friends’.


Keep a photo of a child, a spouse (a boyfriend or girlfriend maybe) or a pet near you. Look at it from time to time for reassurance.Breathe deeply and rhythmically. This will bring oxygen into your system, relax your throat and help you breath more slowly.


Act confidently even if you are not feeling confident. You will find yourself becoming confident.
Wear a rubber band around your wrist. Snap it if you are feeling negative thoughts.
Remember that it will soon be over. Twenty minutes is not very long in your lifetime!

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