Standing in front of a class

[Dimensional Transition]

Nothing ever went wrong. I have to give presentations and stuff every year, but for some reason, I completely shut down today. It started out pretty well, but after 4 sentences I completely forgot what I was talking about and I just got this gigantic dark feeling of 'you're gonna fuck this up so bad', I stumbled over my words and just told the teacher I couldn't do it and sat down again. Nobody in my class laughed at me or so, they seemed to understand, but I still feel really shitty about this. Since when have I become that nervous kid with the weak voice in front of class? What the hell? It was even about a subject that's really interesting to me, so I was pretty motivated to tell people something about it.

The teacher's giving me another chance next monday. Any advice? (Besides looking at a spot on the wall just above everyone and stuff)

 

[EditorOne]

1. Don't worry about it.
2. For the rest of the time up to your presentation, focus on the subject matter, even if you're tired of it. Drill deeper into it than necessary.
3. Don't worry about it.
4. Write down an outline of how you're going to move through stuff and stick it in your pocket. Writing it down helps cement it in your memory; putting it in your pocket gives you reassurance you can get back on track instantly.
5. Don't worry about it.

FYI, drawing a blank happens to everyone. It's why newscasters and politicians often have a teleprompter. If you dwell on it and try to figure out why it happened you'll make your hair hurt, get nervous, and prepare a path for failure. Additionally simple fatigue can make your brain not work right the same way it can make your muscles not work right. If you fuss yourself into sleeplessness over this, it won't help.

If you must analyze, though: Whenever this or something like this happens to me, I'm usually either actually tired out and can't find a word in my head, or tired to death of the process or subject and my brain is sort of rebelling.

 

[Da Blob]

well, the fear of public speaking is really quite common. It seems rather odd that this is a late developing trend for you (?). Personally I overcame my own hesitancy by realizing that a public speech was just a performance - a bit of theatre where I was to play the character of the narrator, a fantasy and a fiction where I pretended to be someone I was not...

Somehow, that change in my POV really helped and i eventually developed a "Public Speaking persona", which was a mask to hide behind, as well as a good method to improve my performances - via rehearsals, stage presence, nonverbal cues etc.......

 

[Dr. Freeman]

i eventually developed a "Public Speaking persona", which was a mask to hide behind, as well as a good method to improve my performances - via rehearsals, stage presence, nonverbal cues etc.......

Same here. I no longer have any issues with public speaking. (It is still scary sometimes)

 

[deadcaribou]

What I do (usually works well):
> Rehearse once, either alone or in front of my wife (scarier than any crowd)
> Write a stripped down outline of presentation (bullet points only)
> When presenting complex stuff, try to memorize it in the form of a story
> Just before the presentation, a few long & deep breaths
> During the presentation : speak slooowly (makes you easier to understand and gives you more time to think) and remember to breathe!

No universal technique, but there are some good hints in the thread; you'll find what works for you

 

[Dr. Freeman]

What I do (usually works well):
> Rehearse once, either alone or in front of my wife (scarier than any crowd)
> Write a stripped down outline of presentation (bullet points only)
> When presenting complex stuff, try to memorize it in the form of a story
> Just before the presentation, a few long & deep breaths
> During the presentation : speak slooowly (makes you easier to understand and gives you more time to think) and remember to breathe!

No universal technique, but there are some good hints in the thread; you'll find what works for you

Typically, I rely on improvisation when I speak publicly. When I am not feeling as confident that I can stand the pressure, I bring an outline to guide my thoughts. While able to talk endlessly about a topic, I may not be able to keep it within a time limit. The lack of fear is just a trick of the mind.

 

[digital angel]

Out of curiosity, was there something about this speech that makes it especially importatnt to you?

I agree that you'll find out what works for you. Does it help to try and think of this speech as a way to have a conversation with your audience?

 

[Dr. Freeman]

Tell yourself this.
Syllogistic proof that you cannot mess up.

Major premise: awesome people don't mess up on presentations.

Minor premise: you are awesome.

conclusion: therefore, you don't mess up on presentations.

(ignore the false premises)

 

[xbox]

Nothing ever went wrong. I have to give presentations and stuff every year, but for some reason, I completely shut down today. It started out pretty well, but after 4 sentences I completely forgot what I was talking about and I just got this gigantic dark feeling of 'you're gonna fuck this up so bad', I stumbled over my words and just told the teacher I couldn't do it and sat down again. Nobody in my class laughed at me or so, they seemed to understand, but I still feel really shitty about this. Since when have I become that nervous kid with the weak voice in front of class? What the hell? It was even about a subject that's really interesting to me, so I was pretty motivated to tell people something about it.

The teacher's giving me another chance next monday. Any advice? (Besides looking at a spot on the wall just above everyone and stuff)

Dont worry about it, they probably understand, or have similar feelings about public speaking.
I noticed I have to be mentally prepared to give a presentation in front of the class, to avoid nervousness.
Just keep telling yourself many many times that you have to speak in front of class, and perhaps go over your presentation again. Telling myself works..
Good luck next time

 

[Dimensional Transition]

Thanks everyone, I have found some new tips here I can definitely use.

1. Don't worry about it.
2. For the rest of the time up to your presentation, focus on the subject matter, even if you're tired of it. Drill deeper into it than necessary.
3. Don't worry about it.
4. Write down an outline of how you're going to move through stuff and stick it in your pocket. Writing it down helps cement it in your memory; putting it in your pocket gives you reassurance you can get back on track instantly.
5. Don't worry about it.

FYI, drawing a blank happens to everyone. It's why newscasters and politicians often have a teleprompter. If you dwell on it and try to figure out why it happened you'll make your hair hurt, get nervous, and prepare a path for failure. Additionally simple fatigue can make your brain not work right the same way it can make your muscles not work right. If you fuss yourself into sleeplessness over this, it won't help.

If you must analyze, though: Whenever this or something like this happens to me, I'm usually either actually tired out and can't find a word in my head, or tired to death of the process or subject and my brain is sort of rebelling.

Yeah, I had the story in front of me on a paper, but for some reason I just kind of failed...
I was really tired though, that might be an explanation. I've had bad sleep for the past 3 days(I don't think out of stress for this speech though).

Out of curiosity, was there something about this speech that makes it especially importatnt to you?

I agree that you'll find out what works for you. Does it help to try and think of this speech as a way to have a conversation with your audience?

I'm not sure... It's for a grade, so maybe that's what getting me nervous... But I've done it before in previous years. It's about the legal status of cannabis(We could choose out of about 5 subjects, and I chose this one because I know the most about it.), maybe I'm subconsciously nervous for being judged or something? I know a lot of teachers think I have a 'drug problem' or am a pothead, even though I don't smoke weed every day or every week for that matter...

 

[digital angel]

[QUOTE
I'm not sure... It's for a grade, so maybe that's what getting me nervous... But I've done it before in previous years. It's about the legal status of cannabis(We could choose out of about 5 subjects, and I chose this one because I know the most about it.), maybe I'm subconsciously nervous for being judged or something? I know a lot of teachers think I have a 'drug problem' or am a pothead, even though I don't smoke weed every day or every week for that matter...[/QUOTE]

As a lawyer, I say...tell them all about it. You'll do fine.

 

[ElvenVeil]

all that looking at the wall etc etc, seems rather pointless in your situation imo. As you said, you never fail at these tasks (except for this time) , so what you need is not those trickidy tricky solutions.. What is important, imo, is that you accept that you failed, and stop placing a judgement on that failure, and relate it to your own person.. If you keep judging yourself because of this, then it is a fear that will return the next time you are to present something.
It is known that mistakes are often made when people are nervous, therefore you need to just accept that it happened, get on with it, and then you are not nervous the next time, and all is well..

 

[A22]

When doing a presentation I like to think of myself as a teacher. And something like this:

YouTube - Dexter advice to Cody

 

[Dimensional Transition]

It went alright in the end.
I got a 7.5/10, which is high, considering I had a shaky voice and kept saying 'uhh' and had to re-do sentences. The teacher told me the speech in itself was very good but that I had to work on the way I present myself...(I had NO idea!)
Fucking acute fear of public speaking... It still sucks it just popped up from one moment to the other. Otherwise I'm sure I could've gotten a 9/10. And I'm not even a grade-greedy person, I just felt like I had to prove myself this time.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

What I do (usually works well):
> Rehearse once, either alone or in front of my wife (scarier than any crowd)
> Write a stripped down outline of presentation (bullet points only)
> When presenting complex stuff, try to memorize it in the form of a story
> Just before the presentation, a few long & deep breaths
> During the presentation : speak slooowly (makes you easier to understand and gives you more time to think) and remember to breathe!

No universal technique, but there are some good hints in the thread; you'll find what works for you

Yeah, this. I know it's over, but in the future, stripped down outlines seem to work best for me. At first I was nervous, but it's no problem now in terms of that. Although I still can lose my train of thought due to self-consciousness. The trick is to get into a narrative mode and zero-in on your topic.