Public speaking...

[Kitten Kong]

We have a local group, here called Hamilton Davies Trust. Who basically help out in the community, issuing grants etc, to local causes. They do a LOT of good work for the community.

They also do some workshops, one in particular is called IT and biscuits. (Ran by our friends at Talk Talk).. Argh.

Anyhow, I have just been approached by HDT, to see if I would be willing to do a series of talks to the IT & biscuits crew.

They know that I write a column each month in the local mag, and are impressed with the things I talk about each month. And would like me to expand on some of the topics I have talked about.
Initially it would be just the one presentation, but could lead onto a more permanent gig.

Sounds like a good idea, and a win/win for me. But I am sh!t scared about public speaking...

 

[mraikes]

Yup. For most people it's right up there with the fear of death. Which is kind of strange in these "Look at me!" modern times of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. when everyone seems to crave attention.

The only way to get over such fear is to just to do it. Be prepared, have notes/outline, speak on material you're knowledgeable and comfortable with.

In the 90's a part of my livelihood was traveling the country, speaking and teaching, followed by a more stationary job teaching most every day. I was quite good at it, but I never got over being nervous/scared every single time. That continues to this day.

In the minutes leading up to going on stage I'm a wreck - not that anyone can tell. I have a pretty good poker face no matter how I feel.

But about 10 minutes into a presentation I relax and start to feel comfortable. That cycle of panic and relaxation has never gone away. Once I recognized it, I embraced it. I know what to expect and just push through.

For me, a key is to intentionally have more structure, sticking more closely to my script and notes, for the first few minutes until I can relax a bit and things get easier.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Years ago I did about 10 years of BNI groups (business network group). really made me more comfortable getting in front of groups of people.

 

[Markverhyden]

I too started out with teaching classes, but corporate work. Interesting enough I never really had that panicky feeling about publicly speaking to groups. Like anything else, practice makes perfect. One tip. A major impediment when addressing a crowd is when the speaker looks people in the eye, for some reason that can cause problems. It's important for the audience to think the speaker is making occasional eye contact. The trick is to never look at their eyes. Always concentrate just above, the top of their head. Unless someone is with 5-6 feet they will never know that you weren't making direct eye contact.

One group that been around for ages is Toast Masters International. They have a presence on your side of the pond. Give them a ring.

https://www.toastmasters.org/find-a...e=53.9438&longitude=-2.5506&autocomplete=true

 

[HCHTech]

Something I always found useful if you do Q&A, Rehearse a couple of responses ahead of time in case you get questions trying to drag you off-topic or into a corner.

"Yes, that's certainly an interesting discussion going on in my industry. I'd prefer to stick to the topic at hand, though. I'll leave my email address at the end in case you want to discuss that when we both have more time."

Another tip if you know the folks that will be attending is to "plant" a good question or two with one or more people to use just in case you ask for questions and get terrifying silence in response.

You get the idea. Better yet, skip the Q&A altogether.

 

[Markverhyden]

you get questions trying to drag you off-topic or into a corner.

Make sure to you annotate that on the notebook you have handy.

 

[ChrisTech]

Sounds very similar to me in the past. I found that once I knew what I wanted to say and had good notes, I relaxed after 5 minutes or so into the talk and actually enjoyed it.

You will get nerves initially, but once you get in your stride, it will be fine. Good luck!

 

[sapphirescales]

I've never understood why so many people are afraid to speak to an audience. I mean, I'd be embarrassed to sing in front of an audience, but that's because I can't sing. I'd be just as embarrassed singing in front of one person as I would be singing in front of five thousand people.

I've given several presentations in my time and I've never felt even a bit of nervousness. So long as you know what the hell you're talking about it shouldn't be an issue. My biggest audience was probably around 1,000 people. It felt the same to me as the presentations I used to give in high school to a class of 30 people.

I about died when I had to sing in front of the whole school in Japanese. It f*cking sucked. I f*cking sucked. I was never good at Japanese, let alone singing it. Though it did help that no one knew what the hell I was saying anyway, save for the students that took Japanese class. If that's how most people feel about public speaking then I really feel sorry for them.

 

[Moltuae]

Good luck Nige. Rather you than me

I hate public speaking. However, it's not so bad if you're speaking about something you're passionate and knowledgable about.

I'm more of a listener/thinker myself, unless i have something important to say. ("some people speak because they have something to say; some people speak because they have to say something"). Even in small business meetings (<10 people) I'm known for my silence. I rarely speak unless someone asks a technical question ... then they can't shut me up!