With many of us finishing up midterms and finals on the far horizon, I'm sure we're all realizing a large number of presentations we have to give for our classes. As an introvert, I can attest to the difficulties in projecting one's voice, making eye contact, and walking around the room. There are specific life hacks which I have found, however, which have helped me to not only calm my nerves before giving a presentation, but also staying calm during this action. So, without further ado, here are these tactics:
1. Do yoga the morning of
source: Alexas_fotos
We've all heard this advice time and time again— but hear me out, it may just save you from a stress binge! Yoga is known for its stress reduction effects. This calming is due to the stretching as well as the deep breathing you do when performing its poses. Go to a yoga class on campus (at WCU, there's one at 8 a.m. at the contemplative studies center!) or find a yoga video online to follow along too!
2. Send your eyes between the desks
In my public speaking class, my professor made it part of our grade to make eye contact. As someone who already struggles with this even with people I'm close to, I was scared. It's a skill I'm still working on which I realized I could not attain overnight as she wanted, so I did the next best thing— I faked it. Really, there's no way the professor can tell that instead of making eye contact with your fellow students that you're actually looking between them, so take advantage of that fact.
3. Smile
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash
Sounds dumb, right? Well, it's actually something that has saved me on multiple occasions. In a recent presentation, I found when I smiled after or during a pause that went on too long or stumbled on a word, I recovered more easily and felt more confident about the rest of my delivery. Even if it's a completely fake smile, as mine was, it'll eventually evolve into a real one as you get into the swing of your delivery.
Whether it's for a class this semester or for a position at a company, I hope you find that you are better equipped at giving a presentation after reading this article after learning about these three tactics.
