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Public speaking is tough

speaking.io

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Re: Public speaking is tough

#101

Post by damontal »

bkm wrote: post #28
nostromo wrote: post #4

Here's two pieces of public speaking advice nobody will tell you about, but actually work. 1) Beta-blockers. Ask your doctor. 2) Alcohol. Obviously, be careful with this. :) But having a drink really will take the edge off. This works better when giving a toast as a best man than it does at work. It could probably work at a conference too. Other than this, for a big talk or pitch, I just practice until I'm blue in th…

Betablockers are for those who want a quick emergency fix (not judging, they have been good help to me as well). A 20-50 minute aerobic workout has the same net effect for many (healthily burning adrenaline instead of using high blood pressure medication to reduce anxiety). Be sure to check Dr. Medina's brain rules for presenters: http://www.slideshare.net/garr/brain-rules-for-presenters

but working out before something like a speech where you can be nervous and have an elevated body temp is a bad idea because you will be much more prone to sweating. i've experienced this and it is terrible.

Re: Public speaking is tough

#102

Post by bane »

manmal wrote: post #97
bane wrote: post #17

I'm a so-so to "good" public speaker. I used to be a terrible public speaker. I'll probably never be a great orator or Steve Jobs, but I'm pretty happy with my presentation skills. In group settings, I'm often the one chosen to give the public presentation. Some things that improved me: 1) My university undergrad CS program required a semester of public speaking. Everybody hated it. It's probably one of the top 3 mos…

Do you write word-for-word scripts, or just loose collections of keywords? I've never managed to give a good speech while trying to exactly recite a prepared script, I either screwed up or it sounded as if I was just reading it off (vs really talking to the audience). I also struggled to find the current position in the script when looking down. Completely memorizing doesn't work since I just can't. My best talks (ba…

I totally agree. Coming from a teaching background, I'm much more comfortable with working off of a loose framework of bullet points, then filling in the talk with my own anecdotes and narrative.

Still, practicing a few times helps me remember, in a broad symbolic sense, what I'm going to improvise. It's a bit like jazz or improv comedy. You build up a body of material and just draw off of it at the appropriate point, using your bullets or slides or whatever as a "pointer" into your own memory.

I've had to work off of a word-for-word script a few times and it's very hard for exactly the reasons you mention. I remember practicing a speech like this 20 or 30 times because I kept losing my place in a couple spots in the speech whenever I looked up.

It's probably why teleprompters are so popular these days. If you watch the president give a speech, he appears to be looking around, but in fact he generally looks directly at one of two or three transparent teleprompters.

Re: Public speaking is tough

#103

Post by jccalhoun »

As someone that has and is teaching public speaking my number one tip: sound like you care.

I can't tell you how many terrible speeches I've sat through where the person was saying "this is really important and means the world to me" but sounded like they didn't care at all.

Number two: don't write out ever word of your speech. It is public speaking not public reading. Being able to read a text out loud without sounding like you are reading is a skill and you should learn to speak from notes/outlines first because that is easier to sound like you are talking with us rather than at us.

Re: Public speaking is tough

#105

Post by peteri »

For talks to user groups where I'm generating new slide decks and demos one piece of advice I was given was reckon on around 1 hour of prep for each minute of speaking time. The successful stuff that I've done seemed to match this.

Also for a one hour time slot you'll probably actually want around 40 minutes of material allowing time for introductions and a Q&A session at the end.

Re: Public speaking is tough

#106

Post by singold »

nostromo wrote: post #4

Here's two pieces of public speaking advice nobody will tell you about, but actually work. 1) Beta-blockers. Ask your doctor. 2) Alcohol. Obviously, be careful with this. :) But having a drink really will take the edge off. This works better when giving a toast as a best man than it does at work. It could probably work at a conference too. Other than this, for a big talk or pitch, I just practice until I'm blue in th…

About the Oculus Rift app, I saw some years ago a documentary about phobias, where some investigators used a VR headset to treat height phobia for example.

It was really primitive (doesn't had head motion sensors and the 3d rendering was nothing realistic) but they said it had positive effects.

Re: Public speaking is tough

#107

Post by pessimizer »

Public speaking terrifies me. I seem to do alright if I follow five rules:

1. Don't bail and run out of the room screaming.

2. Don't ramble. Don't leave your outline for an anecdote or further explanation - trust your outline to be good. If you have to meander because you did your outline at the last minute and you know it kinda sucks, if you then meander while meandering, you've lost the game and no one remembers what you were talking about.

3. Don't "umm," "right," or "ok." before and after anything you say.

4. Don't laugh at your own jokes (at least don't do it before you finish getting them out.)

5. Remember that you don't look as nervous as you feel.

Re: Public speaking is tough

#108

Post by mathattack »

nostromo wrote: post #4

Here's two pieces of public speaking advice nobody will tell you about, but actually work. 1) Beta-blockers. Ask your doctor. 2) Alcohol. Obviously, be careful with this. :) But having a drink really will take the edge off. This works better when giving a toast as a best man than it does at work. It could probably work at a conference too. Other than this, for a big talk or pitch, I just practice until I'm blue in th…

Practicing is VERY under-rated. If I've practiced a speech 4 times, I've nailed it. Practicing with people who are willing to call me out on "Ummms" is great too. Having a hostile practice audience works wonders. It is painful to watch an unprepared speech or demo.

Be VERY careful on alcohol. The downside is enormous. Appearing drunk at a formal speech is a career killer. Even if you have only 1 beer, if someone sees you drinking and then sees you make a mistake, it could be a career killer too.

Re: Public speaking is tough

#109

Post by nostromo »

mbenjaminsmith wrote: post #90
nostromo wrote: post #4

Here's two pieces of public speaking advice nobody will tell you about, but actually work. 1) Beta-blockers. Ask your doctor. 2) Alcohol. Obviously, be careful with this. :) But having a drink really will take the edge off. This works better when giving a toast as a best man than it does at work. It could probably work at a conference too. Other than this, for a big talk or pitch, I just practice until I'm blue in th…

I say just man (or woman) up and accept the fact that you are nervous. After a few packed conference rooms or board rooms you'll find it gets easier. Skip the drugs. It's valuable to realize why you are nervous. If you were asked to get up in front of 200 people and stand there silently for 10 minutes you wouldn't think twice about it. You're nervous because you're trying to accomplish something: secure investment, w…

I get where you're coming from, but what you don't understand is that phobias are not rational. They can't be reasoned away. If you've ever had one, you'd know.

Scared of heights? Man up and go bungee jumping. Agoraphobic? Just spend an hour locked in a box. Depressed? Man up and feel better...

During the few years in which I was stuck in a stage-fright mindset, I learned that phobias work in the unconscious mind. You can know your content well, you can tell yourself there is nothing to worry about, you can prepare perfectly... and you can still be overcome with adrenaline that can cause you to freeze up, shake, and get sweaty.

In a sense, you are right, the way to get over it is by facing it and doing it. However, you have to face it in a controlled, safe, incremental way, otherwise you run the risk of making the phobia worse.

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