M ANAGING PRESENTATION ANXIETY Learning Strategies, Student Academic Success Services Stauffer Library, 101 Union Street Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, K7L 5C4 Website: sass.queensu.ca/learningstrategies/ Email: learning.strategies@queensu.ca This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike2.5 Canada License. Learning Strategies, Student Academic Success Services, Queen's University, Kingston, ON http://sass.queensu.ca/learningstrategies
Managing presentation anxiety “Think connection, not perfection” When you begin a lecture, conference proceeding, seminar, or class do you think: Will they like me? Will I have anything useful to say? Will I sound smart, competent and professional? We often think more about ourselves while doing a presentation then we do about our audience, and this leads to increased anxiety or nervousness. Presenters who have mastered their anxiety have learned to focus more on the audience than on their own performance. You can learn to shift your perspective from “me” them “them” by asking What does the audience most need to hear from me today? Start your presentation with content, not fillers or personal details. Seek rapport with the audience: respond or adapt to feedback, smile, make (or appear to make) eye contact. Think about connecting t your audience, rather than continually monitoring yourself for your “perfect” performance. How does your nervousness about presenting in front of a group express itself? Consider your feelings, thoughts, body reactions and behavioural responses or actions. Do you tend to get all wound up and “over the top” or are you more likely to freeze and fe el paralyzed? Anxiety affects people in a few predictable ways including altered breathing (e.g. holding the breath or rapid shallow breathing) and increased muscle tension which affects vocal production, negative or critical thinking, feeling incompetent or unworthy or scared, and a tendency to avoid anxiety-provoking situations. The good news is that you can learn strategies to reduce your anxiety and become a better presenter through self-awareness, specific techniques and practice. Learning Strategies, Student Academic Success Services, Queen's University, Kingston, ON http://sass.queensu.ca/learningstrategies
Strategies to Reduce Presentation Anxiety Preparation and practice are the fundamental ways of reducing your anxiety. Refer to the handout on Presentation Skills. In addition, there are techniques related to working with your mind and body as well as your delivery. 1. Mind- Body Strategies The primary targets in a cognitive-behavioural approach to anxiety reduction include i. learning to control your breathing, and ii. replacing negative, punishing, and under-mining thoughts with encouraging, more realistic, positive thoughts. Both these methods are considered skills and therefore require practice. Calming Breath Exercise: 5 In – 5 Hold – 5 Out This calming breath exercise will help you achieve a deep state of relaxation quickly. A note of caution: avoid taking several excessively deep breaths and stop the exercise if you feel faint. 1. Sit erect but relaxed in a chair, lie down or stand comfortably with your knees slightly bent. Relax (drop or lower) your shoulders if you can, and relax your mouth and throat by slightly dropping your jaw. 2. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth at a normal pace and depth for a few breaths. 3. Now focus on the air moving in and out. Breathe in for 5 counts. Learning Strategies, Student Academic Success Services, Queen's University, Kingston, ON http://sass.queensu.ca/learningstrategies
4. Pause and hold your breath for 5 counts. 5. Exhale slowly, through the mouth, to a count of 5. 6. Feel the “balloon” in your belly deflating slowly. Exhale fully. Repeat 5 -10 times or more. Observe your level of muscle tension and calmness/agitation before and after the exercise. Try to remember the feeling of calmness; check in with yourself periodically and use this technique to bring yourself relief. When giving a presentation you will not have many opportunities for a series of calming breaths, but sometimes a single calming “5 in, 5 hold, 5 out” breath will break a cycle of growing anxiety. In addition, you can take a calming breath at the end of every sentence or two, which doubly serves to reduce your anxiety and slows your pace to enable the audience to think about your presentation. Re-Writing Your Negative Thinking Observe your own thinking- is it helpful? disabling? We all have messages in our mind that are like well-worn tape recordings. Some of those messages serve to encourage us to grow (ask deeper questions, do better, go faster, get it right), some are comforting and complimentary (good job, well done, nice effort). Some messages in our heads make it hard to persist or try new things (you’ll never get it, no one will hire you, you’re just not good enough). Your Coach, Your Critic With practice, you can re-write the script in your mind to make it more helpful, and you can then use these empowering thoughts anywhere, anytime. Learning Strategies, Student Academic Success Services, Queen's University, Kingston, ON http://sass.queensu.ca/learningstrategies
How? 1. Write positive self-statements that leave no room for self-doubt. Make your statements a. realistic b. believable c. use “I” , in the present d. positive, simple, direct 2. E.g. I can do this (NOT- “This is going to be terrible - they’ll think I’m stupid”) a. I have practiced, I’ll be fine. b. This was ok last time, I’ll just do my best again. c. I know what I am talking about. 3. Practice these statements often, first in situations where you already feel comfortable, and then at times when you typically feel nervous. 4. BELIEVE that you can overcome years of negative thinking as you practice saying these positive self-statements. For more detailed suggestions see also “Fixed and Growth Mindsets” and “Mindset Online.” Learning Strategies, Student Academic Success Services, Queen's University, Kingston, ON http://sass.queensu.ca/learningstrategies
Improving delivery skills: Techniques for common challenges Problem #1: Nervousness before a presentation Strategies: Prepare and practice before you actually perform. Memorize the first few sentences in advance. Review the opening statements just before you perform. Do physical warm ups • Vocal exercise (opera singers do scales) • Body (athletes stretch) Breathe (count 5 in, 5 hold, 5 out, about 8 times). Use positive self-talk: be your own coach. BELIEVE in yourself. Problem #2: Going off track: forgetting, losing concentration Strategies: BREATHE, visualize yourself in control. Refer to notes or ppt. Buy time: “Let’s summarize…” or “Any questions?”. Summarize: restate most important points. Forgive yourself – it happens! Find your place and keep going. Problem #3: Poor vocal production, e.g. shaky, thin, quiet, no sound Strategies: Warm up, before your presentation. Sip warm water. Check posture and head position: shoulders lowered, knees slightly bent, chin tucked toward chest, straight spine, jaw dropped when not speaking. Pause at end of each sentence, and breathe. Project (throw) your voice • lower your voice register • bounce voice off wall, column to increase the volume Learning Strategies, Student Academic Success Services, Queen's University, Kingston, ON http://sass.queensu.ca/learningstrategies
Problem #4: Accent among ESL speakers Strategies: Practice difficult words or critical words beforehand, and get feedback on pronunciation. Speak slowly to improve your articulation and allow audience time to process content . BREATHE. Watch your audience for feedback, to anticipate questions, request for clarification. Repeat or rephrase key information as you go. Put key information on ppt. Problem #5: Handling the Question & Answer Period Strategies: Prepare answers to likely questions, in advance. Instruct audience as to when to ask questions (during? at the end?). Open Q&A using an open question format (Who has the first question? or What topic should we begin discussing?) rather than a “yes/no” question (Are there any questions?) or refer to the issue you posed as a discussion point during your opening comments. Listen carefully to the entire question. Repeat question aloud to clarify the question and enable audience to hear it. Stop and think about your response. Answer briefly and coherently. It is OK to say “I don’t know”. Consider offering to find out and respond later. Invite the audience to discuss difficult, controversial or interesting questions. Sum up the significant aspects of your talk and ideas generated through Q&A, to re- establish control of the session. Offer thanks to your audience for their participation. Problem #6: Stimulating Discussion Strategies: Propose a theoretical, applied or deep question at the beginning of the talk, and open the discussion period with that question. Invite the audience to think privately o pair with a partner and briefly discuss their ideas o share with the larger group. o This often overcomes shyness in expressing a view by getting some feedback first. Learning Strategies, Student Academic Success Services, Queen's University, Kingston, ON http://sass.queensu.ca/learningstrategies
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