Public Speaking and Its Drawbacks

[Me-Ike]

The night before one of the parts of my presentation-mess, I had a weird nightmare about him. I dreamed that he had taken the museum's janitor or technician hostage in his office. Then the SEK (German SWAT team) came and blast one of the doors of the museum open. Worried that they might damage the exhibits (well, further - WWII hasn't been too kind to most of the architecture parts exhibited there) he eventually gave up.
At one point during the presentation he said to me that I didn't need to be afraid of him and I just wanted to yell, "You don't know half of it!"

It really is the bottom of the barrel when not only your professor but also your mind sabotages you.

From a very egocentric viewpoint I must say, though, that archeology sounds like the better choice!

Or just talk about public speaking in general. Do you like it? Hate it?

I hate it! I'm a rather shy person and really dislike large groups of people. So being the center of attention is the greatest horror for me. I just can't concentrate and forget everything I wanted to say. I also think it's the biggest downside of studying; that you still have to do those stupid presentations. It's really frustrating, because if you're not particularly articulate, people jump to the conclusion that you don't know very much. But most of the time that's not the case. It's just that I hate to speak in front of so many people.

I am pretty much the same way. The teaching job just fell into my lap more or less and since I like a roof over my head as well as English I thought I'd give it a try. Anxiousness aside, it's really a fun way to earn your money while you're studying. It also helps a lot against that fear of performing.
Unless you are standing in front of a new class, of course.

I would have given them a cig break so they can all loosen up. Cig breaks can transform an entire room. It's a foul habit, but needs must...

Yeah, that actually would have been a very good idea. A little break and then back to grammar. I'll keep it in mind for the next time.

I've done my fair share of presentations at grad school and various conferences and I'm of a split mind on this.

On one hand, I really hate it: I agonize over every detail, I can't sleep for three days (well, not really, but still) and just I'm a nervous wreck over and over. Until the presentation begin.

Then I snap. Not only I feel calm and confident, but I actually had a great time, enjoying myself immensely and trying to engage people as much as I can (well, scientific conference are not the most exciting talk on the Earth, but I do my best to keep a bit of verve in the presentation).

A friend of mine is exactly like you in that regard. She had her very first lesson yesterday, agonized over it for days and then just rocked the class room with her sudden cool demeanor. Needless to say, I hate people like you with a passion. Just in case you were wondering.

I luckily haven't had major fuck ups yet, so no one really picked me apart. Can't imagine what I'd have done in your position, but not shifting the blame and taking the criticism (not to mention not ending up as a ball of sobs and tears) is the best way you could have handled it.

 

[Count Zero]

From a very egocentric viewpoint I must say, though, that archeology sounds like the better choice! :

It probably is. There's no going back, anyway, but I'm happy with it. The job prospects are dire, though.

I luckily haven't had major fuck ups yet, so no one really picked me apart. Can't imagine what I'd have done in your position, but not shifting the blame and taking the criticism (not to mention not ending up as a ball of sobs and tears) is the best way you could have handled it.

Yes, you really have to take it once that happens. A professor once picked one of my presentations apart afterwards in front of the class, of course, so we could all learn from it. It got worse and worse and sounded as I had done everything wrong. But it's just her style and she wanted to point out all the possible mistakes one could make. I eventually got an A for that class. Later, I took my final exams in one of my minor subjects with her and got an A as well. So, yeah, sometimes you just have to weather it out.

 

[iguana_tonante]

Standing your ground is a big thing though; even if there was a flaw, I think it'd be best to instead of stopping the person or apologizing, rather divert the person's attention to a tangent. Along the lines of "Ah, very good point, I'm glad you pointed this out as it hasn't occurred to me! Well, lets take that situation and build on top of it using the aforementioned methods..." [...]

It's one thing to admit you're wrong, but it's another thing to acknowledge a correct statement and build on top of it!

Yeah, that's a very good advice. I did just that in the end, but I was quite baffled with my supervisor's behaviour that I didn't react as smooth and charming as I usually do. I expected her to acknowledge her involvement in the process and join the discussion (just like she's always very quick to do when I present good results). I knew she was a bitch, but I never supposed she was also a slimy bitch.

Needless to say, I hate people like you with a passion. Just in case you were wondering.

Don't worry, I hate people like myself with a passion, too. Especially during the horrible night before the presentation.

I luckily haven't had major fuck ups yet, so no one really picked me apart. Can't imagine what I'd have done in your position, but not shifting the blame and taking the criticism (not to mention not ending up as a ball of sobs and tears) is the best way you could have handled it.

Thank you so much! I guess being too high on adrenaline had something to do with that.

 

[Misfit Toy]

I'm now more comfortable speaking to a few thousand people than I am with say three or four.

I am too - there isn't a 'comfort' problem for me in public speaking. That said, I've never had to 'defend' a topic to an audience.

 

[Mallory]

The only time I get nervous any more is when there's a half million dollar contract riding on my presentation and my CEO is watching. Fortunately, my success rate is pretty good (IMO).

 

[mimic]

I am studying to be a teacher. One of my classes is a methods course, where we discuss ways of teaching science and some of the challenges unique to science. Part of the class involves a peer teaching exercise in which we pair up and teach the rest of the class a 45 minute lesson on a topic of our choice, which is videotaped and then the class critiques it. The previous two pairs had a rough go of it, so I was a little nervous. It went pretty well, though. Comments were nearly all positive.

 

[Holdfast]

I used to hate public speaking, but at some point when I was a teen, something switched around and since then I've increasingly enjoyed doing it.

Granted, I'm usually in teaching or in other equally dominant/exposition-based roles, so I don't have much at stake beyond personal pride at doing a good job, but still, I enjoy doing it. Also, I tend to teach the same subject matter again and again, so I've developed a fairly standard patter/spiel including a few tried and tested quips/gags/one-liners that is easily adaptable to different audiences. That helps, too.

Sometimes though, you just get a tough room. Stand-up comics understand this concept. The atmosphere of a room is very sensitive, and if it's a tough crowd, it can take a LOT to turn it round and even then it won't necessarily be possible. The thing is, it's NOT your fault, it's the audience's. After all, the talk works 90% of the time, so it can't be the issue. So yeah, that's my way of dealing with tough crowds - blame them for being idiots.

 

[cyph]

ahhhh! Finally gave the presentation today, it was a fantastic experience! Man, I LOVE it when I get the chills in my face and spine when I know I said something and the audience makes a BIG connection, or swoons or whatever... I have to stop myself from smiling!!

ah... awesome sauce.

 

[Me-Ike]

^Very cool! Congrats!
I've sometimes given a class after which I received very positive comments, but I never rocked so hard that someone swooned.

From a very egocentric viewpoint I must say, though, that archeology sounds like the better choice! :

It probably is. There's no going back, anyway, but I'm happy with it. The job prospects are dire, though.

Tell me about it. My major is English and my minors are Philosophy and Spanish. No idea what I am going to do with that afterwards, but I am still increasingly glad that I studied something I enjoyed.

I am studying to be a teacher. One of my classes is a methods course, where we discuss ways of teaching science and some of the challenges unique to science. Part of the class involves a peer teaching exercise in which we pair up and teach the rest of the class a 45 minute lesson on a topic of our choice, which is videotaped and then the class critiques it. The previous two pairs had a rough go of it, so I was a little nervous. It went pretty well, though. Comments were nearly all positive.

Sounds like a very helpful approach! This is somthing I completely missed. I never learned anything about didactics, I just happened to know about the subject.

I used to hate public speaking, but at some point when I was a teen, something switched around and since then I've increasingly enjoyed doing it.

You discovered that people are looking at you, you and you alone?

Sometimes though, you just get a tough room. Stand-up comics understand this concept. The atmosphere of a room is very sensitive, and if it's a tough crowd, it can take a LOT to turn it round and even then it won't necessarily be possible. The thing is, it's NOT your fault, it's the audience's. After all, the talk works 90% of the time, so it can't be the issue. So yeah, that's my way of dealing with tough crowds - blame them for being idiots.

Heh, I am going to use this as my credo for everything. I don't rock? You are an idiot.
In my weaker, more rational moments I must admit, though, that it was probably a mixture of both a tough crowd and a nervousnesss enhanced stiltedness.


I am not going to reply to everyone who posted here, but I am grateful for every little story. Shared misery is fun misery.