done ... speaking not really a concern of mine and a slight anxiety is surely natural nerves (and can be beneficial / keeps you on your toes). However, if you ask my wife, my listening skills are a different issue!
Done and what an intresting post I have not done a lot of public speaking but the last time was infront of a board from the L.E.A. and good preperation as has been said was vital or the nerves could have got the better of me , but the one mistake i wont make again was turning down a glass of water to have at hand at the start. After 20 mins my throat was as dry as a camels armpit and affected my voice and consentration.But i still got my point across which is the main objective of public speaking.
Just completed it H. Done a bit of this myself in my time and agree with the "To Fail To Prepare Is To Prepare To Fail" suggestions. I also learnt that you should know the first three things you are going to say off by heart so you get a good start.
done mate. as backgound i was taught to insturct by veryvery good army Instructors. (they really are the best) For years I taught both knowledge subjects like military and Criminal law, traffic law, history and various silly things, and skill subjects like drill weapon training first aid and NBC Procedures. I also lectured to a group of about 150 soldiers from the rank of private to Lt colonel every week for 3 years in N Ireland (Different 150 or they'd have been bored to tears lol) I have even given a presentation to all of the assembled Chief constables and Inspectors of constabulary from all of England and wales. I agree with wha'ts been said. There is a saying in the Services, the 6 P's. Preparation and Planning Prevent Piss Poor Performance and it is totally tur. We worked on a ration of 3 to5 times the preparation time to the length of the lesson or presntation, depanding on the complexity of the subject. Anyone who thought he could do it in less usually failed and deserved to. with good training and someone to give you the confidence to walk out there on day 1 anyone can get away with it, although some, like they said I was, are naturals. By the time I was a Training officer I could virtually deliver a presentation on any subject if you gave me a couple of hours to read up on it, so long as it was within my general scope of knowledge. good luck!!
I remember those days all to clearly and I got out 20 years ago! To long ago for me to recall if teaching phased me or not tbh.
Done now H It’s funny but I used to work for a local charity and would have to talk to classes of Comprehensive school children which was daunting at the best of times. I missed work for about 6 months because of ill health (2 Strokes) where at first I lost all speech and even now 6 years later I still have problems but I found that I was more confident than before. Strange really.
Taff, i got out in '90 and can still remember individual lessons for some silly reason or another if something stupid happened. lol
Hi H, I've filled it in. Have not done public speaking, but I have given quite a few presentations and training courses. The first one is always the hardest, you never know if your speaking loud enough for the people at the back to hear you, or too loud so the people at the front feel they are being shouted at. The most intense presentation I had to give was to the Queen, did plenty of preparation for that one!
Done. Every presentation should have a beginning, middle and end. Sounds daft but it's true so as to avoid an endless ramble.
Tell 'em what your going to tell 'em, tell 'em and then tell 'em what you've told 'em. That's the beginning, middle and end Whoops described.
wow! Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to help out with this and for sharing your personal experiences, its a great help...and interesting reading I can relate to pretty much every comment so far... apart from presenting to the Queen. Exile, I can imagine the amount of preparation and nerves involved with that one
Bang H! Useless at presentations, speeches etc but still yet to undergo half the symptoms you got there... there's still time I suppose
Done mine H. Agree blue, exactly the same format I use. I've had mixed experiences over the years according to environment and situation. The easiest are those where you can get at least some audience participation and I try to get some content that encourages that especially if you can pose a question that gets them thinking. The hardest presentation I ever did was when working on a bid 20 years ago. I was presenting one element of the bid to last an hour on a subject I knew well. I'd done the prep including a dry run. The evaluation party were a mixture of wing commanders and squadren leaders with 2 consultants. In a darkened room with a projector in front and a screen behind I couldn't even see my audience so absolutely no feedback, no nods or shakes of heads. I found myself repeating things to try and ensure I got my points across, absolutely disconcerting. I didn't used to enjoy it, but quite look forward to 1-2-1 interviews or group presentations (100+). It comes with experience I suppose. I do like to at least see who I'm presenting to though.
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Done,not done any "Public" speaking,but have done loads of in house power point presentations.i found it got easier the more you do,and as you do more with more or less the same group of people.case of familiarity i suppose.good luck with it anyway
