PhD Discussion Forum

Arghh, this is driving me insane! I have always had a really bad fear of public speaking, even just doing 10 minute uni presentations were a nightmare - I get flustered, shaky, dry mouth, forget what I'm talking about and generally just balls it up. Anyway, my supervisor wants me to now take some undergrad seminars. I would truly love to do it (and get the money!) but I just can't imagine getting through it so at the moment I am shying away. I know how lucky I am because there's not a great deal of teaching going at the moment, and other PhD students are desperate to do some.

So, any hints or tips on how I can overcome this stupid fear? Or any on teaching in general?

Thanks :) I realise practise makes perfect, but it's just getting over those first few times!

I have a real issue with my voice which is what it stems down to, I think. I pronounce my Rs softly, have a funny accent and generally just dislike my voice a lot. I'm so conscious of it when I'm public speaking that I can't think of anything else.

I think I am probably expected to present at conferences further down the line too, which I am totally dreading.

Hey JenJen, you sounds just like me, about 18 months ago. I am also a very nervous public speaker and was horrified when my compulsary teaching block meant running sessions with 80 undergraduates with just me doing the teaching! To be honest, the first session I ran cost me a week's sleep, and I was even crying with nerves just minutes before the session. I decided I had to get over my nerves as I want a career in academia and need to be able to teach and present at conferences, and for the last 18 months have been involved in teaching, and have made myself present at four conferences. I cannot tell you how terrified I was at the first and second ones, but the third one was slightly better. And just last week I presented twice at a huge conference in America and got through it without stuttering, stammering, or crying! It was probably the highlight of my PhD, and 18 months ago I wouldn't have dreamed that I would be able to do that (even my sup said she was proud of me, and she isn't normally full of compliments!). So my advice is to get practising- it's not nice, but if you just start off presenting to your fellow students, then try a couple of small UK conferences (if that's where you're based!) then your confidence will begin to creep up. I really had to force myself to do it- it wasn't easy- but I am so glad that I pushed myself. Perhaps you could start the conference thing off with a poster presentation? That way you still get to speak to lots of people, but just a few at a time. And I think the teaching will be good experience- it will give you confidence and will look good on your CV. It might be worth speaking to someone from the counselling service or something if your anxiety is really bad- they often have tips for how to manage that sort of thing. It's not everyone's cup of tea but it helps some people! Good luck with it, hopefully in a year or two's time you will look back and see how far you have come! Best, KB

Have you tried toastmasters? It's aimed at people who hate public speaking and gives really practical training and helps people build their confidence. You get practice at speaking with others. I know a couple of people who have done it and found it really helpful. Also bear in mind that public speaking is generally acknowledged as being the most common fear that people have so you're not alone!

Hi,

It's not really a tip but... I did have that fear of talking in public, even for class-presentations. I had to do a long one in my third year as an undergrad': 30 minutes in front of a group of 20 or so, assessed (weighted at 60% of the final grade), and in a foreign language!
I suppose my biggest fear was to make a fool of myself, which I did - in fact, I spent the best of 15 minutes with a hand stuck flat on the top of my head. The girls in the front row were giggling all the way, and it took me that long to figure out what it was about! I realized it only once I eventually looked away from my piece of paper and saw a couple of them with their hands on their head too, grinning!
On the moment I wasn't sure I cared - all that mattered was to finish the presentation. Then during the quick break afterwards, the lecturer said he had loved it and gave me an amazing 90%, I swear. And the girls who were nicely mocking me all the way came to me, once the class over, to say they had loved not just my weird body language, but my presentation too, and now wanted to read the books I talked about.
Then I sort of saw the light: for THAT effect (the grade + creating interest), I was more than willing to make a fool of myself a bit... Mind you, now, when I speak in public, I'm still not so confident, but I don't feel like I'll die either - I say to myself that worst come to worst, I have a bit of a sense of humour to fall back on... and I try to control my hands, obviously  :p

Hi Jen,

besides the useful advice of practice before hand (and I cannot agree enough with this), there are a few other tips that I use. I learned these from a guy when I was with the local toastmasters group back in the USA.
1) Use note cards are reminders, and slip in a few extras that say things like 'Breath!' 'Smile!' or just draw a smiley face. It will remind you to do things that let you get your composure back and can easily forget when nerves are tights.
2) Keep a bottle/glass of water at the podium or where ever you are stationed for the majority of the speech. Take a small sip from time to time if you feel you are going too fast or have a dry mouth. Only a small one though or you will end up giving a presentation on how to quaff a drink in very little time. Again, it mostly breaks your nervous habits that nobody else is noticing.
3) Walk around while talking. Don't hide behind stationary objects or stand still. When you stand still, you do odd things with your hands and posture, and it sticks in the back of your mind. Walk around and the posture will be a non-factor. Added benefit: the audience thinks that as you walk around to in front of them, you are engaging with them in specific. If you have any friends that are into acting, ask them how to cheat a stance too, that will help you not turn your back on people while addressing only a small section of the audience. (It involves standing open shoulders to the group, but your voice - your face/mouth - is directed towards a particular point).

Odd 'fact': more people are afraid of public speaking than death... this means that people would rather be in the coffin than giving the Eulogy.
I don't know if it is true, but that was one extra tid-bit I got from my friend.

Good luck, relax and have fun. I still hate public speaking, but I have gotten used to it.

Thanks Keep_Calm (love the name ;))

Doesn't help that I got asked for ID buying Christmas crackers the other day. Doesn't do much for one's confidence!

I've commented before on a similar thread, and the number one bit of advice I would give you is...

People (i.e. your audience) want you to do well!

No-one wants people to go wrong when they are giving a talk/presenting/teaching, so they will actually let you get away with going wrong quite a lot because they want you to be good. If you can remember this then it should help your nervousness. You will be fine because you know what you're talking about, and even if you make a small slip then that actually doesn't matter - in fact no-one will notice.

Here's the tips I listed on the previous post on a similar topic. That topic was more about a general presentation, but most is still true for teaching:

"#1 bit of advice in any presentation situation is that EVERYONE WANTS YOU TO DO WELL!!

People are not hoping you muck it up so relax.

Other than keeping relaxed some other tips I use (I'm weird and enjoy presenting)

- Write out your first sentence on a cue card in full. Once you have the first sentence out it becomes easier
- Speak slowly - most people talk too quickly and um and err a lot. If you feel you are speaking a bit too slowly you're probably talking at the right kind of pace. Doing this allows you to make less mistakes on tricky words etc
- Don't worry about silence! A couple of seconds of silence doesn't matter. It will feel like an eternity to you, but no one listening will notice. Knowing this allows you to collect your thoughts if you get into trouble.
- Don't use too many slides with too much info. People will read the slide and not listen to you! A good picture or graph is useful, as people will have something to look at, but will hopefully still pay attention.

The big one though is the first one. If you remember that, relax, and don't care too much what others think then you'll be fine."


Hope that helps.