# First Grad School Presentation



## cir (Nov 21, 2012)

Today I had to present in front of my cohort and professor. I was very nervous. My palms were sweating, my mouth was dry, I felt the heart beat rise, my stomach started to twist up, and then I got the urge to pee.

In spite of all this, I got up and started speaking. I started to feel shaky, but kept going. Since I had prepared 15 minutes worth of slides, but found out I had 10 minute limit, I started rushing through a few sections. Luckily, my dry mouth prompted me to take a drink of water. That slowed me down a bit, but I automatically made this dorky "aaahh" sound after taking a sip. It must have been funny since a few of my classmates giggled. Then I said something awkward about my mouth getting so dry which drew a couple more laughs. I felt like such a idiot.

I finished my presentation 9 minutes 30 seconds. Then I sat down to answer questions. The Q&A session went well. My peers were more curious about my project than the previous presenters. But there was just one question that was too simple and I gave a snotty answer without thinking. I felt horrible after, since I didn't want to humiliate the student.

After the whole ordeal, I ran into two of my peers in the hallway. They both complimented me on the presentation. I went back to my lab to get some work done, but couldn't. The stimulation continued and prevented me from concentrating. So I decided to "walk it off" outside. I ended up seeing the girl who asked that one question. I approached her (for the first time in the semester) and explained that I was nervous and apologized for the snotty answer. That I probably didn't understand her question. She was really nice about it and explained that she didn't word it correctly. Then she said, "Nervous? You did great job and really know your stuff. I couldn't tell that you were nervous." Then she took off for class. Later I read my professor's evaluation and to my surprise, all 5s (out of 5) on the rubric except for talking a bit fast. His comments were all very positive.

My "awkward and dorky" talk ended up being well received. I thought that my peers would see the nervousness spewing out of my ears. It turns out they couldn't tell. I don't think I've ever been that nervous before, but I learned a lot from it. I learned what to expect in future presentations, to ask for clarification on questions, and that my peers can be supportive and genuinely interested in my work. For a socially anxious loner like me, that was worth learning.

Sorry for the long post, but hope it helps someone out.


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## devin880 (Apr 30, 2011)

Wow. Great job! Presentations are always hard and it sounds like that went really well for you.


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## x7Stopeandstare (Dec 1, 2012)

Kudos to you on overcoming your nervousness!


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## Awkto Awktavious (May 11, 2011)

Thought it said "First grade school presentation" lol

I hate presentations. Especially when they ask questions- thats always tough. We always think we look super nervous, but people can't usually tell.
Congrats! Glad it went well!


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## Triacastela (Jun 25, 2012)

Congratulations on the presentation! I'm in graduate school too and the presentations are my least favorite part.


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## uzipaz (Nov 19, 2011)

That was great to read the that you went through that successfully and confidently....
I am an undergrad student but I can relate to how it feels before going on the stage in front of 50 people...

It only gets better when you actually start presenting and all those nervous thoughts automatically go away... Congratulations and keep up the spirit...


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## FerociousFleur (Oct 30, 2012)

Congrats!!!  It's awesome that no one could tell you were nervous. Getting people to laugh is also a great skill. Next time it will probably be even easier for you.

And it's great that you approached the girl who asked that question. If it were me, I probably wouldn't have approached her and just dwelled on the situation, lol.


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## cir (Nov 21, 2012)

Thanks for the replies and support y'all. I'm hoping the nerves go away with more practice, since at some point they'll put me in front of a classroom to teach.

I was so revved up I didn't think twice about approaching that student. If I hadn't, I would have probably dwelled on it too.

I have another, much longer, presentation today. I'm hoping it goes just as well as the first.


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