For as long as I can remember, I’ve both hated and feared presenting; Something I unfortunately had to do a lot as a student. However, after years of forced piano recitals, school concerts, and public speaking events, I’ve begun to enjoy presenting. However, many people don’t share my sentiments, as evident from an analysis done by STATS. Because of this, I’ve decided to write a short poem to illustrate the terror and anxiety the very concept of presenting gives us, no matter how well we actually perform.
Showtime
Pray, play, fade away
Black light, white noise,
Pitch, bright grey.
Shiver
Shock
Shaking hands
Sharpened mind
Deep breath in
Tell your lies.
Singing your eulogy
Digging your grave.
Carved on a headstone
Words you don’t want to say.
Words you created
Words you once knew.
Damned if you don’t
Damned if you do.
Frozen in fear
In Winter we Fall.
Lose the battles
But learn from them all.
High noon, heart pounding
High stakes, pure gold
Ebb to the flow.
Caught in the cold.
Storm before the calm.
Bracing for tears
War before peace.
Your sentence is near.
Nothing to fear
Nothing to lose
Nothing lost
But a chance.
Take it
Use it
Deserve it.
Redeemed.
Accepted.
From fractured to whole.
Brought back to life,
Score that last goal.
Breathe
Leave
Take your seat
Born a butterfly
Freed as a bee.
If you’re anxious about presenting, which is something you’ll likely have to do as a student, I have four tips to give to you;
- Practice your script ahead of time. Pretty obvious as to why you want to do this, but it’ll improve the confidence, pacing, and clarity of your speech. Even if your script isn’t phenomenal, people naturally pay more attention to the people who sound like they know what they’re doing.
- If you want to improve your public speaking skills, listen to other people’s performances and see what you can improve on. If your main goal is to survive the presentation, and you’re already very nervous, then don’t pay attention to the people before you. Whether it be true or not, you’ll end up telling yourself how bad you are compared to them, making you even more anxious.
- Breathe before you begin. Breathe during your presentation. Breathe after you end. Taking a deep breath before you begin will help you calm down and improve your presentation quality. Breathing in the middle will help you control the flow and pacing of your speech. Breathing once you finish will help you calm down and stop you from thinking your usual,”OHNOIDIDSOBADWHATAMIGOINGTODONOW?!” Breathing is also kind of essential for living, so TLDR: Just remember to breathe.
- All presentations can be redeemed. End strong, and that’s what people will remember. However, learning to start strong as well isn’t a bad idea.
If you have stage fright, it never goes away. But then I wonder: is the key to that magical performance because of the fear?
– Stevie Nicks
Here is a video covering a few other tips that you may find useful.
