{"id":2543,"date":"2017-11-27T21:17:02","date_gmt":"2017-11-27T21:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/?p=2543"},"modified":"2017-11-27T21:17:02","modified_gmt":"2017-11-27T21:17:02","slug":"lets-talk-about-talks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/2017\/11\/27\/lets-talk-about-talks\/","title":{"rendered":"Let’s talk about… talks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some people were just born public speakers. Others are terrible at it, they suffer from stage fright and should just avoid talking to crowds altogether.<\/p>\n

That way of thinking is very convenient but, unfortunately (or fortunately), not supported by facts.<\/p>\n

Most of us have attended some presentations or watched TED talks that left us with a feeling: \u201cWow, this guy knows how to get the audience\u2019s attention! I\u2019m so jealous, I wish I was like him\/her\u201d. What if I told you that this guy isn\u2019t \u201ca natural\u201d, but has been working very hard to sound so? What if I told you that you can give talks that people would enjoy listening to?<\/p>\n

If you asked my teenage self what my weakest point was, I\u2019d probably respond \u201cpublic speaking\u201d. I still remember the day when for some weird reason I ended up at a public speaking competition. I\u2019m pretty sure I had been forced to do that, otherwise I wouldn\u2019t have even entered the room. The task was simple: we were given simple topics such as \u201cMovies are better than books\u201d or \u201cSummer by the sea is better than in the mountains\u201d and needed to give a short impromptu speech. Easy peasy lemon squeezy, some would say. Well, I didn\u2019t. In fact, I didn\u2019t say anything \u2013 just stood there frantically looking for some words, but in the end ran away in tears.<\/p>\n

\"\"
My experience: formerly terrified of public speaking, now a TEDx speaker! Photo credit: Robert Gardner.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This was the day when I decided that something had to change. Even though I hated public speaking, I knew how important it is. Especially if you\u2019re a student or a scientist \u2013 a conference here, a workshop there, we just have to communicate our research. So I started to push myself out of my comfort zone. First step: I signed up for all public speaking competitions I could find. Second: worked hard to prepare. I started to prepare speeches, present them to friends, family and theachers, ask for feedback. How did the competitions go? No astounding successes, to put it mildly. Some more tears and embarassing moments. But also more and more often I was able to give a presentation without getting into a state of panic.<\/p>\n

Only a few years later I can say that I actually enjoy presenting, even in front of big audiences. Am I an amazing, charismatic, naturally talented speaker? Definitely not! But usually people don\u2019t fall alseep during my presentations, while I don\u2019t fall into tears. Let me share a few tips with you \u2013 tips that have worked for me and aren\u2019t necessarily supported by any reasearch.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Don\u2019t<\/b> write your speeches<\/b>, unless forced to do so (for example, TED and TEDx organisers require a written script). Of course it\u2019s easier to write a talk and memorise it than think on the spot, but there are some major disadventages. First, it requires a skill to sound natural while reciting a talk. Second, when you rely on your memory, you might blank out during your presentation and it\u2019s quite hard to get back on track. I recommend writing the key points and practicing before, if possible (i.e. if it\u2019s not an impromptu speech).<\/li>\n
  2. Don\u2019t focus on the audience<\/b>. Do NOT imagine they\u2019re all naked, it gets quite awkward, especially if you know people sitting there. Just look above their heads \u2013 it\u2019ll seem that you\u2019re looking straight in their eyes, which is exactly the effect you want. Blinding lights can actually help, because you won\u2019t be able to see their reactions and stress out about them.<\/li>\n
  3. Smile<\/b>. Even if you hate every single member of the audience and would rather stay home watching cat videos, pretend it\u2019s the happiest moment of your life. Fake it till you make it! The more you smile, the more you\u2019re likely to enjoy whatever you\u2019re doing, be it giving a talk or having blood drawn (ok, the last example is a bit exaggerated).<\/li>\n
  4. Have a drink.<\/b>\u00a0I mean water. Skip coffee this time \u2013 it\u2019ll not only get your blood pressure higher than necessary, but also your mouth will get really dry, which doesn’t help when you talk, trust me. I hope I don’t have to mention that you should save anything with % for the afterparty.<\/li>\n
  5. Practice<\/b>. Practice. Practice. And what should you do after you\u2019ve practiced your talk so many times that you’re sick of it? Practice even more.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Some people indeed are more talented and more confident when it comes to public speaking. If you\u2019re one of them, bad news: you also need to work really hard to sound so great. If you aren\u2019t so lucky (like me), good news: with some effort you can become a charismatic and confident speaker. Keep practicing and good luck!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Some people were just born public speakers. Others are terrible at it, they suffer from stage fright and should just avoid talking to crowds altogether. That way of thinking is very convenient but, unfortunately (or fortunately), not supported by facts. Most of us have attended some presentations or watched TED talks that left us with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1026,"featured_media":2546,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[127224,268,191443,625,163933],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-communicating-science","category-life","category-life-advice","category-phd","category-randoms"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1026"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2543"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2543\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2548,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2543\/revisions\/2548"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}