I have to do a presentation tommorow, help

Hey Caponis! Hope all's well! I have 2 degrees in theatre and am actually a trainer of presentation skills for large corporations. There are a number of reasons people hate public speaking. The biggest reason is nerves. Nerves are a result of you focusing on yourself...you know everyone's looking at you, you don't know what to do with your hands, or where to look! And on top of that, you have to speak and make sense! So a few tips... Stand with your legs hip width apart, arms at your sides. This may feel unnatural, but it will ground you and allow you to use your arms to gesture. Gesturing is important as it allows you to expend energy that you'd other wise use to fidget or pace around the room (Ever watch Robin Williams do his act? You get dizzy from all the pacing!!!). Gestures should be above your waist so everyone can see them...and so you don't look like a dolphin or Barney! Lots of people clasp their hands or put their hands in their pockets, maybe hide behind a lecturn and bang on it, or use a laser pointer...no, no, no! GESTURE! That way, everyone will be able to see what it is that you're talking about, you'll keep yourself from being monotone, not to mention keep everyone's attention. So where do you look as you give the presentation? I know this may sound crazy, but look people in the eye as you speak with them. Try this: give one thought to one person. Pause. Find another set of eyes; give that person a thought. Pause. Find another set of eyes...you get the picture. You can practice this by focusing on objects around your room or try it with a few friends. This allows you to take your time and BREATHE!!! Something you may forget to do! By pausing (and breathing), you'll also eliminate any "um's", "uh's", and "like's." All of this won't happen naturally. You must practice it. The best thing you could do is to get someone to record you practicing. That way, you'll be able to see and hear what you look like. I don't know if you already had your presentation. If you did, I hope you did well. You can practice these skills and you'll be well prepared for your next one. Best wishes, ThatJerseyGirl

you cant you are about to face the worst exsperiance of your life .lol just do it every one else in your class will be feeling the same way .so face it do it and you will be fine

What I used to do was just focus on ONE person in the entire room..and only make eye contact with them. The room will appear much smaller.. and you'll only see that one person!! It helps, trust me. Good luck! :]

An algorithm: * Take a 20-minute conference talk. * Expand the 5 minute introduction to 20 minutes to drive home the problem, why it's important, and the gist of what you've done. * Do the rest of the conference talk, minus the summary and future work. * Add 10 minutes of deeper stuff from your thesis (to show your depth). It is okay lose people outside of your sub-area (as long as you get them back in the next bullet). * Do the summary and future work from the conference talk in a manner accessible to all. * Add 10 ten minutes to survey all the other stuff you have done (to show your breadth). * Save 5 minutes for questions (to show that you are organized).