If you have neither a pen nor laser pointer, direct attention to things with an upward facing palm, never point. It shows more respect and doesnt intimidate people.
I think I might be retired.
Originally Posted by cocacobra
A lot of practice helps, the more often you do it the more it will become like second nature. You just got to bring it down a notch in your head too, because when you think it's a huge deal then you make it a bigger deal. Just act casual and say what you need to say without caring too much about what the audience thinks about you.
Originally Posted by Redundant
The trick is not to give a shit.
8/
These are probably the best answers in the thread. Confidence is knowing that no matter what happens everything is going to be alright. So just keep the assessment in perspective. It's not a super big deal is it? Of course you want to do well but it's not the end of the world if you slip up.
Next, realise that most likely no one else really cares. Think about how you feel watching other people public speaking like that. Ask yourself how their performance was. Most likely you'll just answer "good". As long as you're calm and confident it won't matter if you make a mistake anyway.
I've mentioned confidence a few times now. Unfortunately for people trying to become more confident it's not something that can be switched on. But what you can do is maximise your confidence in performing your assessment.
2 ways I can think of immediately:
1. Practice the fuck out of it. If you know that you know the poem inside and out then you will feel confident. If you are unsure about some of the lines you won't feel confident. Stick it up in the shower, on the wall beside your bed, behind the toilet door. Learn it.
2. Have fun with it. If you can genuinely enjoy performing that poem then you'll either forget about any worries you had because you'll be so distracted having fun with the poem and/or you'll have so much fun with it that any slip ups won't even matter to you because you'll be enjoying yourself anyway. How you go about doing that is up to you though.
I'm sure it'll be fine and when it's over you'll wonder what the big deal was. Make sure to breathe and let us know how it goes when you're done.
i'd imagine part of it is shifting focus from the knot in your chest to the fact that everyone there feels that same knot.
Think more narcissisticly when in front of an audience, and you might just be able to fake it till you make it
Think more narcissisticly when in front of an audience, and you might just be able to fake it till you make it
SuicideDo, the Brewtal Drunken Immortal.
Originally Posted by Solax
1. Practice the fuck out of it. If you know that you know the poem inside and out then you will feel confident. If you are unsure about some of the lines you won't feel confident. Stick it up in the shower, on the wall beside your bed, behind the toilet door. Learn it.
Yeah, a simple way to remember this is the line, 'piss-poor preparation leads to piss-poor performance'.
