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stressed about a presentation
I have a presentation coming up for a class (university). I have always had a decent amount of anxiety surrounding presentation, though not an anxiety disorder or anything. I also have a slight stutter, which gets worse when talking in groups of people. I can deal with it, but it exists.
It's a group presentation, and one of the girls in my group is someone I know, I guess you'd say we're friends. We had the following conversation:
Her: You're not a nervous speaker when you're presenting, are you?
Me: Um, yeah, kinda
Her: *dramatic sigh* You're going to make us all lose marks
I don't really know how to deal with this. She was being completely serious. She doesn't seem to understand that I can't control it (and she has an anxiety disorder, so she knows what anxiety feels like).
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First forget about what she said. A good instructor will not mark you down for something you have no control over such as a stutter. It is the content of your presentation that is being judged first and foremost. Next is the manner in which you present your topic; not meaning how you speak.
I was in sales for most of my adult life. Presentations were part of my weekly life and sometimes I did not have the luxury of preparation as a client or customer would catch me in their place of business and ask if I could present something to his buyers or sales department. In these instances a visual aid came in handy as I could use it as a distraction as I formulated my remarks on the fly.
Not knowing what your presentation is if you can use a visual aid it will help you over come the stuttering as you can use it to slow your presentation and give you time to settle down and control your stuttering.
You stutter I believe under stress so staying relaxed is important to you. Another way to do this is to find a friendly face and talk to that person. Another and this is old school, is to picture everyone in the room naked except you. It seems funny but it does work if you can manage not to laugh.
Do whatever it takes to help you stay relaxed. If you use a rostrum take a picture of your pet, if you have one up with you and place it on the rostrum. when you feel your getting stressed look at the picture.
Most importantly for get what your friend said. She was transferring her stress to you or trying to. Don't let her. Relax and enjoy your presentation. Your in a classroom among friends there is nothing to stress about.
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