....and I have been given my chance.

I've been asked to deliver a 45 minute lecture to 40 plus students.

Speaking in public make me kak my pants.

The last time I did it I was a best man - and was so nervous (there were 200 hundred guests).


So who here knows how to write and deliver a great university lecture? I need some serious help.

sorry can't help ..that is something I absolutley fear.....I can't speak in public ...ok what the hell is the org doing to me tonight ..pointing out all my biggest fears and things I dislike about myself lol

I've never done a Uni lecture but my tips are

Don't look at the crowd look past them.

Focus as much as possible, dont rush your words.

PRACTICE loads so you almost know it by heart.

Make your notes easy to read and handle (dont have heaps of little sheets which make it easy to drop them)

If you need to look @ someone, look @ someone you know. [if you know anyone].

Look @ someone who isn't looking @ you, isn't listening

Good on you for even wanting to face this demon. It shows courage and strength right there.

Try to:

Remember that the nervousness before the speech will fade significantly once you're up there. It always does.

Speak as if you're talking to one person instead of 40. The crowd is after all made up of 1+1+1+1+1 etc people.

Focus your attention on one person in the crowd who seems sympathetic.

Allow for questions at a very early stage in your speech. Making the event into a dialogue instead of a monologue eases the tension.

Speak slowly. Rushing through your speech will just make you nervous and you will make more mistakes.

Remember that it's only a speech. You won't get executed if it's not the most brilliant thing a human being has ever achieved.

You have obviously been asked to talk about something you know a lot about, and there is your advantage right there. Also if it is something you are interested and enthusiastic about, once you get talking and people are listening, you won't be able to stop.

I always died when addressing more than 2 people and wished the earth would swallow me up. At uni in our final year I had to give a lecture for one hour to 20 people. I'd been given a topic that fascinated me (I researched it thoroughly) and, I soon found out, fascinated the other 20 also. They hung on every word and frantically took notes and bombarded me with questions - it ended up running into most of our lunch hour but nobody wanted to leave. Turned out to be a high point during my degree course.

Remember, if you are prepared, trust that YOU know more about the subject than anyone else. When I had to do my first "show and tell" when I was a little girl, my dad came to my room, to put me to bed the night before, and whispered: "When you're up there, think: "You don't know shit. I will tell you MF's what's what."

LOL Seriously. I still do it today, but I have to giggle at it. I spoke in front of 400 students once, when I was a student myself. After that day I never feared a crowd again.

Don't look people in the eye, just look at their foreheads. The night before, visualise your applause afterwards. Keep visualising that. Do not even think about failing.

And a tip from my dear friend RudeBoy when I had to face that 400-ppl-crowd: "Sweetie, make sure you look great, even up to the lingery you choose, make sure you look, feel and smell great. Pull your shoulders back, straighten your back and lift up your chin."

Trust your knowledge, speak calmly and stay focussed on the words you chose. If you need a second to think about something, take a sip of water.

I am sure that you do just fine. Good luck!

What you really need to work on is being a good thread host. If you just leave everything unanswered like this it feels like a wasted effort for us who have tried to help.

stu241273 said:

Best wishes on your intentions to face one of your lifes demons

A week ago tomorrow - after being hit on the expressway by a semi doing around 60 mph - I had to get right back behind the wheel and drive 5 more hours to finish my trip to a friends funeral - talk about facing an oozing demon

Best of luck.

Mach said:

You did it and succeeded and you are a stronger person for it.
Lately I seem to be forcing myself out of my box...
scary but great once you get through it.

shanti0608 said:

I do feel stronger and as odd as it may sound, wiser

And even more deeply blessed then I already was aware that I am - a shift in priorities and seeing things in a new light

Brightest blessings to you Val & keep on keepin on outta that hun

- Be there 30 minutes before you need to start and make sure all your equipment is in working condition. Is the projector functional ? do the pens write ? Is there enough paper on the flipchart? Is there a wiper for the whiteboard ?
- Make sure your slides (if using them) have the information necessary to bring over your message. Don't use to much text, use graphics but don't overdo it.
- Don't move around to much. People hate watching a moving target.
- Use your hands to stress your words. But don't start waving around as if you're trying to fly
- Remember that those people are there to listen and learn from you, not just to make you feel uncomfortable or make you look like a fool.
- Try to make it a dialogue (like Retina said)
- Think about what questions they may ask and prepare for them.
- If somebody is interrupting you constantly about a silly little thing, ask them to discuss that thing together after the speech.
- If somebody is talking, annoying or whatever, walk up to them. Don't interrupt your speech but make them feel like they caught your attention and you're aware of them.
- don't refrain from interrupting your speech if somebody is talking loud or really annoying. Ask them if they want to leave if it doesn't interest them.

FOR YOURSELF
- switch of your own cellphone
- if you wear glasses, and they slide of your nose. Put them right by using the legs instead of pushing them up in the middle. It will make you look more intelligent
- if you have to wipe the board, wipe it top to bottom instead of left to right. The latter makes your ass wiggle funnily

Have a ball !

shanti0608 said:

talking about getting out of the box ...
moving to a country full of savages


after all there's no better place than the learning zone.

Mach said:

Much love and continued growth to you and to all of us really.
May we never stop learning and growing

One4All4Ever said:

Now you tell me


Ha!! Too late, this country is stuck with me...unless I get thrown out



Yes I have a lot to learn about this place
It sure is beautiful this time of year though

I *LOVE* public speaking and do it every time I get the chance. The bigger the crowd, the better. I've never met a microphone I didn't like.

Here is what I think is important to giving a good speech:

1. Write an outline. Don't try to write the speech first - that's hard. Organize your thoughts and write an outline first. In fact, give yourself three or four tries at the outline. You'll be amazed at how many ideas come out of that, and your biggest problem will change from "How do I fill 45 minutes?" to "How do I possibly get all this said in 45 minutes?"

2. After the outline is finished, construct the actual speech from it. Basically, fill in the outline with complete sentences and paragraphs.

3. Remember - you are the boss. You have the floor. You have the microphone. Nothing beats the microphone. Nothing.

4. Speaking of microphones, I like hand-held the best. If they set up a podium for you, that's OK but if you can take the mic by hand and move about, it's better. That way, you'll break up the pacing - which is good - and you get the blood running in your body, which is also good. If you deliver a few minutes from behind the podium, then take the microphone and move in front of the podium (and closer to the crowd), it's dramatic. It also connects you with the audience.

5. If the microphone is a clip-on job, be SURE to test it. A lot of those mics are omni-directional, which means the mic has to be pointed at your mouth for it to pick up your voice. I was at a seminar two weeks ago that had multiple speakers, and everyone clipped the mic onto their lapel. You could only hear them through the mic when they turned their head toward their lapel. Not good. So if you have a clip-on mic, clip it so that the mic points at your mouth. Don;t worry about style points. And if you can't test it before the speech, then make sure you test it as soon as you take the podium. Ask the audience to tell you if they can hear you, but don't say, "Is this thing on?" Do it like this - "Hi, everyone. I want to make sure this microphone works. Can you hear me in the back? OK, great. Let's get going."

6. Open with a joke. It doesn't have to be a side-splitter, either. If you're uncomfortable telling jokes, use a line like, "Hello. I've been asked to speak about this topic for the next two hours but luckily for you, I'm going to get it done in 45 minutes". People will laugh or giggle at that, and everyone will immediately like you.

7. From time-to-time, get the audience to participate. Ask them a question, such as "Raise your hand if you've ever _____?" Make sure it's a question that lots of people will raise their hand to. Then after they raise their hand, say, "Me, too. Well, here's what that means...etc. etc."

8. I disagree with asking for questions from the audience during the speech. It's a speech, not a conversation. What will invariably happen is that your speech will go off on a tangent from which you probably can't return. Disruption will occur and you'll lose your audience's attention. I can't tell you how to get it back, either.

9. If there is a heckler, tell them, "Hey, let's leave the comedy to the professionals." That line usually gets a laugh and quiets the heckler.

10. Use numeric framing at certain points. Numeric framing establishes credibility. List your points one by one and count them off on your fingers. Here's an example: "I'm going to tell you three important things about nuclear fission. Number one (hold your pointer finger), it's here to stay. Number two (hold up your pointer and middle fingers), it should only be attempted under controlled circumstances, and number three (hold up three fingers), it's expensive but very useful. Now, let's talk about point number one."

11. Practice, practice, practice. The less you have to look at your notes, the better your speech will go. When you think you've got it down, do it once more and videotape it if you can. Watch the videotape. At this point, you're not looking for ways to change the text of the speech - you're looking for physical and/or verbal things you can do to make the speech more interesting.

If you do these things, then number 12 will be easy:

12. Relax.

You'll do great. Good luck!

My only advice is to pee before you do it.

Nervousness and a full bladder are not a good match.

Some fabulous advice. Thanks orgers.

I've confirmed today that I'm going to do it.

As you've suggested RodeoSchro, I've started thinking about an outline and it is amazing how much I can find to talk about.

I am very worried about control of my nerves though. I understand that I should feel confident because I know more about my subject than the audience, and that I will prepare well - this is what I did for my best man speech last year....however, I could not get control of my nerves, and did visually display these when I started speaking.

My worry is that my voice will wobble, I'll shake, and that I get a strange thing where the muscles in my neck shake through nerves, which shows when I lift my head to take a sip of water etc.

I know that it will get easier as I get into the speech, but those nerves are a killer.

You have all given some really good practical advice...I can't thank you enough.

stu241273 said:

Good luck...you sound prepared.
My biggest fault is talking too quickly and softly in front of a group of ppl.

You will do fine
[Edited 10/29/07 14:52pm]