I’m 24(M) and it really hit me today after a college presentation that I was the only one who got nervous to point where you could hear it in my voice and I often struggled to say what I wanted to say.
Despite that situation I already knew I wasn’t good at communicating but being that I’m a business major it is very important. What can I begin to implement to improve over time?
7 comments
If someone asks you a question pause first and then answer . It shows respect, poise and the importance of the question.
Record yourself on camera and see how you sound and read out loud for 30 minutes a day.
Kind of a cliche answer but prep. The fear and nervousness usually comes from a lack of confidence. This can be a lack of confidence in your knowledge of the content, your image, etc. Take control, prepare absolutely everything so it will all go your way and you won’t be as nervous.
I’m usually really nervous before presentations and I write stuff down on cue cards but never end up using them. Writing out what you say regardless of whether you reference them during the presentation or not, will help you formulate your thoughts.
To add something that hasn’t already been said here :
You can observe 2 to 3 eloquent people to get inspiration and good practices. Stick the closest to your needs :
A presentation at work -> a prepared show, like an educational video, a Ted talk, …
Want to improve for day to day situations -> live improvised performances, typically streamers.
Most importantly, have realistic objectives :
Choose people you appreciate and can imagine yourself emulating. You can’t become a complete different person, only improve who you are. And don’t just copy them mechanically, this won’t seem natural. You take some good bits and apply them to your own situations.
This worked for me alongside lots of practice.
1. Talk into a camera for just couple minutes per day (just say how your day went and what happened) and review it for yourself, you’ll see plenty of things you might want to get rid of or improve
2. Realize that pretty much *everybody* is nervous when presenting, you just might not see it that clearly.
3. Replace your filler words like “umms” and “uuuhs” with “Now – ” and if you feel confident with it, straight up short pauses. It’s also perfectly fine to start a sentence and take a pause after the literal first word like “The” and think for a second. You’re obviously thinking and the audience knows you are about to share your thoughts. It’s fine.
I’ve been told (also a business major, later on a consultant) that when I pause in the middle of a sentence, it’s obvious that I’m being thoughtful as to presicely how to phrase what I’m about to say. So that gives you an idea about whether that’s automatically assumed to be “struggling”. It’s not.
Practice by yourself as much as you can, and if you have a good friend that can lend you 10 minutes, practice with them and (important!) ask for their honest feedback.
Work part time as a server. If you try it can get you really good at talking off the cuff and being able to banter.