On Mon, 21 Mar 2005 15:14:03 -0000 Alison Green
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> hello,
>
> Can anyone offer any useful new suggestions to allay presentation nerves
> please? I have written resources on presentations and give regular
> workshops on presentations so I probably know many of the usual
> strategies. However, I currently have a 2nd year student for whom this
> is a real problem and I'm running out of ideas. She has delivered the
> presentation to her sympathetic tutor in his office and has officially
> passed. However, he has suggested she delivers it again in front of a
> small group of students to help overcome her demons. Even though she had
> positive feedback, she's distraught at the prospect; not just anxious
> but weeping at the thought of this and future presentations in her final
> year. Any ideas?
>
> Regards, Alison
>
> Alison Green
> Study Support Tutor
> Room DLG20
> Ext: 65727
>
> This e-mail is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed and may contain confidential information. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender and delete this e-mail, which must not be copied, distributed or disclosed to any other person.
> Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Bournemouth University. Nor can any contract be formed on the University's behalf via e-mail.
This email and any attachment may contain information that is
confidential, privileged or exempt from disclosure under applicable law.
It is intended for the sole use of the legitimate addressee only. If you
received this message in error, please let me know and delete the email
and any attachment immediately. Thank you.----------------------
Sarah McCarthy
University of Exeter
Dear Alison and all
I sympathise. Presentation nerves are difficult to "train"
students out of. However, I sometimes find that students have a
fixed idea in their head of what a presentation should look
like. Many feel that a presentation is standing up in front of
an audience, pointing to visual aids and it is this that
intimidates them, as they then feel all the attention is on
them.
I often suggest that they have a word with their assessors to
find out if they are expected to present in a particular way. If
the answer to this is no, I then ask them if they would feel
happier sitting down and beginning with an audience discussion
(a bit like a seminar) rather than a didactic opening. This
takes the focus off them in the first few vital moments and may
make them feel more relaxed for the remainder of the
presentation. Students are often delighted to find out that
there is more than one way to do a presentation and that the
mode of delivery can be less formal than they thought.
Hope this helps
Sarah
|