school help: I think I ruined my group presentation today. - Help.com

yeah hope so.

Yes, note cards would have helped. Will do that next time. I just didn’t have time though because of everything else I had to do. Memorizing less is a good idea too, if you do it too much it messes you up.

Yeah that’s true. It’s possible that it wasn’t as horrible as I thought. Maybe from the POV of the students/teacher it was ok. It’s probably just in my head lol. We did cover most things, just not as much as I planned. It was probably good enough though. I’ll find out soon enough I guess.. Thanks.

chev.jame wrote:
These things happen. And the fact is, not all of the other presentations were that good, either!

There’s an art to giving presentations. You need to rehearse the material, of course, but you also have to practice relaxation techniques and ways to build up your confidence. It’s best to try to break the ice before you really launch into your presentation . . . a little bit of a humorous intro. You could say something like, “I know that torture is supposed to be illegal, but if you will just bear with me for about five minutes . . . !”

You can also imagine that everyone in class but you is stark naked, or that they are all wearing pink tutus. That gives you a sense of power and mastery over the audience.

And remember that no one is going to kill and eat you; they know that they’re going to have to get up and give a presentation, too!

We actually did attempt to break the ice. I played this minute recording of a radio show that we created whuch it was meant to be light and funny. A lot of people laughed, but some didn’t and those people who didn’t laugh I kept thinking about and I think that made me uneasy.

oh and I heard about the naked thing, but what if I end up naked instead? lol.

Good points.. Thanks!

linuxya wrote:
DOn’t look for fault. It doesn’t help anything.

I can tell you I’ve done plenty of group presentations and found them incredibly frustrating.

Focus on what you’re going to do about your performance anxiety… it’s easy to deal with it. Just start talking more in public, talking more in classes, join Toastmasters or some other club.

As for working with others, take a class on leadership skills.

As frustrating as it sounds… it’s far better to learn how to deal with these problems than to get upset about past performance.

What your troubles tell you is you would benefit from practice… that’s it. No need to feel bad about it.

Thanks.. You’re right, I do need to practice! I’ve never been good at presentations and the only way to get better at anything I guess is to practive.