Presentation Nerves

A friend recently asked a group of us for some tips on overcoming presentation nerves. Improving my own presentation skills was something that I had set myself as a CPD target for this year, and something that I have put some degree of effort into, although I guess really there’s nothing that quite compares to practice and experience. She received the usual suggestions, including imagining the audience naked and having a stiff drink beforehand. While presenting to an audience of 100 Swedes earlier this year, I also learned the value of having an audience that doesn’t speak your language as their mother tongue, thus forcing you to slow the pace down and be more concise, when the nerves are naturally trying to make you rush through the whole thing.

So, seeing as Warwick University is a community full of experienced presenters, I thought I’d throw the question open here and see what other tips I could gather, for the benefit of my friend and myself!

: 03 Aug 2006 17:02 |  Comments (1) |  Report a problem