I’ve been teaching (adults) for nearly 15 years, but I still get nervous sometimes when I’m due to address a large audience, especially if I haven’t spoken to them before. It tends to be worse when they’re peers and colleagues rather than students.
Here are three tips to help if you’re facing the same issue:
1 – Prepare and practise your presentation as much as possible beforehand.
2 – Start by asking the audience a question and listening to the response of one or two individuals. This gives you a chance to get used to the room and to control your breathing. It also reminds you that what you’re about to do is have a conversation, albeit a conversation with a lot of people in which you’ll be doing most of the talking!
3 – Speak slowly. This makes you sound less nervous straight away. It also gives people a chance of absorbing the information you’re presenting.
Once you get going, it’s usually easier than you think it’s going to be. And, as with so many things, the more often you do it, the more comfortable you’ll feel about it… so start volunteering yourself for those presentations!
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