I have a speaking engagement today. The organizer said she expects thirty plus people. I haven’t done any public speaking since I taught high school over a decade ago. I’m very comfortable with the subject (vaccines) but a tad nervous about speaking in public.
Any tips to help make it easier?
Well first off you know more about it than they do, so don’t worry about that. Secondly, if you haven’t already, practice your talk at least once. If you have time, a good thing to do is to estimate how long you think your talk will last before you begin, and then time yourself. Nervous people often speak much faster than they normally do, so slow down and particularly try to control your breathing. If you don’t have time to do that for your entire presentation, take just one page or small section to try it out on to get a sense of your timing.
Another old trick is to try to burn off some of the adrenaline by moving about a bit. Even just squeezing your toes together works, and people can’t see you doing it - effective if you are speaking while sitting or stuck behind a podium.
If you taught high school before, you should be just fine. I know that one issue is that teachers sometimes feel more comfortable speaking before students - where they are a recognized authority - than speaking before peers. Again, you are the topic authority here, and the audience is there because they have an interest in what you have to say. You are just having a conversation where you do most of the talking.
LavenderBlue,
I teach 4-6 classes a semester, and perform before 180-240 students every day. Here’s some hints I can give:
If you make up an answer it WILL come back to haunt you.
They asked you to speak. They want your knowledge. Be flattered, not flustered!
Relax. Give your spiel calmly, in an even rhythm, in a constant, louder than normal but not shouting voice.
Breathe. I’m serious. Breathe. It is not uncommon to see a novice speak too long on one breath and nearly pass out, or rush to get that one last clause. BREATHE.
If you stumble, don’t be embarrassed- jump up, about an inch, land like you’ve just dismounted from some gymnastics event, hold your arms out and say “ta-da!” Or something else humorous. We all make mistakes like that- just make a joke, laugh, and move on- it will put everyone else at ease.
Make Eye contact- move eye contact around the room- let every section in the room feel as if you are talikng to them. (I have to move around the room; I cannot lecture behind a lectern, I need to directly engage my audience, but this may not be practical for your set-up.)
Don’t be stiff as a board, don’t gesticulate wildly. Relax and don’t think about how you are standing, or what am I supposed to do with my hands / arms/ legs/ body. Don’t think about it, just be you!
And if something does go wrong? Who cares? What are the chances that you will ever meet any of those people again? And if you do, I doubt any of them will remember, or care that you tripped over the word ‘splendiferous’ in your presentation, or your feet. No one will die, and your family will still love you.
Have fun! I love to tell people what I know- History is full of awesome stories, life is full of awesome information, be excited and enthusiastic to share your knowledge. I have the greatest job in the world: I get to read about fascinating events and people, and then go tell others about what awesome things I have figured out! We humans evolved as storytellers, you are taking up a skill and job that goes back, literally, hundreds of thousands of years. You are literally born to do this. Have fun!!!
I hope this helps,
Jim
When you’re standing up in front of the audience, pretend that they can see you naked.
The facts that you once taught high school and are comfortable with the subject matter puts you way ahead of most people when it comes to public speaking. Just make sure to practice a couple of times. Nervous? That’s natural. Just use that nervous energy to make your talk lively.
You’re going to be fine.
You’ve probably done the talk now (how did it go?) but just in case you haven’t, here is my addition:
Give yourself permission to be genuine and to react. You don’t have to put anything on. Just be real. You don’t have to fake knowing anything, you really do know what you’re talking about. And it’s ok if the lights are bright. And if the little voice in your head says anything nasty about how you’re doing, just let him say it. Don’t tell him to shut up, it only makes him louder. Just let him say it. Who cares if you have sweaty palms, or if you squint because if the lights? You’re giving a presentation. Just live it. It is always, always a thousand times more fascinating to watch someone be real, than to watch someone trying to be something they’re not.
Hope it went well! 
Pick one person in the audience at a time to “talk to”, and pretend you are just explaining something in a conversation. The rest of the audience will shrink away and you’ll be much more comfortable. Talking to a spot on the wall or a space between people will have the opposite effect, so don’t do that.
Except pants. You should definitely wear pants. Or a skirt, or dress, or whatever.
I did my best and they were very nice. There were over 30 people at the meeting. Thanks for all the tips. But I really don’t want to do this again. I’m just not a public speaker.
Don’t read from notes, talk to them like real people. Remember, these are adults and they want you to like them and want you to succeed.
Start with a joke, have a whiz bang ending and little in between. Don’t worry about not saying enough. You will. Have a good time.
Well done for bravely fighting ignorance in front of 30 people!
(And I really hope you did wear pants.)
Thank you. I did actually.
I was at the Essex Metro Immunization Coaltion in NJ. I talked about a) why I co-authored a book on vaccines and b) how we help use the media to reach parents who may be on the fence about this issue. Studies have shown that people tend to believe the comments on articles online just as much as they believe the article itself. So I suggested that people make an effort to comment on articles they find in the news.
There were other wonderful presenters including someone who talked about efforts to remind new moms about vaccines via cellphone messages:
The head of the organization is seeking people to help out with the organization’s website. If anyone would like to assist this very worthy cause please pm me.
Thanks!