# How to deal with presentations and oral exams in uni?



## SusanStorm (Oct 27, 2006)

I started studying again last fall and last semester went fine. This semester I'm freaking out because we have several presentations and one oral exam. I'm really struggling with doing stuff like that. When I studied before I would only chose subjects who didn't have any presentations or oral exams,but I can't do that now.

I'm wondering how I'll get through it without having a panic attack or that I'll be so anxious that my mind will go blank. When I get really stressed out my mind will just go blank and I won't remember anything. I've even forgotten where I live when that happens so I'm really afraid about that happening.

Also I'm wondering about group work. How to deal with that? I have so many bad experiences with it, and I'm also freaking out about thinking about if we have to form the groups ourselves. Last time that happened I was without any group and the professor had to find a group for me. 

Stuff like this is really anxiety provoking for me and I'm wondering how to deal with it and make it an ok experience? I don't want any setbacks now that I'm finally getting somewhere and feel like I'm doing some progress.


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## farfegnugen (Aug 16, 2010)

Well, I'd manically pace about and probably puke in the bathroom. Really though, your best bet is treat it like you're telling a story, letting each step or explanation unfold and how they relate to other steps, then kind of rehash everything to sum it up. It simple but it works. The story aspect keeps you from having to remember everything. So it's important, at least for me, to be well prepared, then practice a lot telling your story. I still get nervous doing it, but it works.


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## novalax (Jun 7, 2013)

I study and learn the material to an exacting degree such that I may check out while giving the presentation. There is a unique comfort in knowledge.


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## AllTheSame (Mar 19, 2016)

I would over-prepare, like has already been mentioned. It's what I used to do when I was in university and it most def helped. I'm doing the same thing for a dinner and a meeting I have with clients next week at my job. By the time it gets here I'm going to know everything backwards and forwards.

As-needed meds for anxiety also really help me tremendously in situations like that. I'm taking Gabapentin right now and it helps me get through situations that I would normally really struggle with (or not be able to get through at all).


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## January (Nov 16, 2016)

Anytime I have to take a class that includes any sort of presentation, I put in extra effort to make sure I'm getting high marks on all the other assignments so when I inevitably screw up during the presentation, it doesn't result in a terrible grade overall. And like others have said, over prepare. I go over the entire presentation for hours and days and sometimes weeks beforehand, until it's memorized and I can repeat it easily while doing something else. I'm still a mess the day of, I can't eat, I tremble like crazy, I take the bus to campus because I don't trust myself to drive, but I'd definitely be worse off if I didn't have everything memorized.


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## SusanStorm (Oct 27, 2006)

I'll over-prepare for it. I'm thinking that it might be some of the reason why it has gone so badly before. I've just gotten so anxious that I can't make myself prepare enough and that makes me even more anxious. We have to do two presentations and one oral exam. One of the presentations is at least in a group,but the other one is alone :afr

I think I'll ask my doctor for something that going to calm me down. I don't normally use any meds,but in this kind of situation I think it's ok just to get me through it.

Ugh,this is horrible. I just struggle so much when all eyes are on me and I have to perform and being judged. Even people without anxiety struggle with it, so I'm probably not alone.


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## solasum (Nov 17, 2008)

Over-preparing helps since you'll have to compensate for being so anxious that you forget some things. I always tried to know exactly what to say beforehand. Either read off of a notecard (but often looking up and around and making eye contact) or the PowerPoint (even if they're not meant to be read off of verbatim). Conversely, I like to avoid preparation altogether at times so I don't get nervous thinking about it beforehand. I suppose I have a couple of public speaking events coming up this semester...


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## Unknown Trooper (Jun 28, 2016)

Since over-preparing was mentioned multiple times, I'll chime in with a different view just so people get even more confused (just kidding, different views help right?). 

Maybe it's because I'm also a stutterer (mild for the most part, severe under stress), but over-preparing messes me up greatly because I know exactly what I want and have to say and that makes it even harder for me. It's a vicious cycle of my brain going "Say X thing, you damn useless mouth" and my mouth refusing it, thus increasing my anxiety because I'm messing up, making it even harder to say stuff and keep my composure in general.

Nowadays, I just Kurt Cobain the whole thing (that's my favourite way of saying "improv", Kurt was really great at making stuff up on the spot). I do learn and prepare very well, but I don't make a mental plan of what I'm going to say or do. I just kind of "wing it", in modern terms. It doesn't bring me the best grades most of time, but it saves me another humiliation.


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## Greys0n (Mar 30, 2016)

Luckily, I have no problem with oral presentation. Mostly my problem is related to its creating. That's why I often ask for help some wrting service or look for tips from here https://www.essaymasters.co.uk/argumentative-essay/topics . If you have problem with public speaking then you need more training in the front of the mirror.


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## Virgo (Jun 27, 2016)

I'm gonna be a mixture of over-prepare BUT WING IT in the sense that, you practice the knowledge so you know it inside and out, but do not script every single thing word for word. Only organize knowledge in your head. I mean please don't get me wrong, know what you are going to say, know what the heck everything is. Memorizing many sentences is fine. But if you focus too much on word-for-word script you will just fall under anxiety. Don't rely on that. You just won't remember it all. Because when you don't remember what's next, your mind is not used to the idea of improvising at this point, it is just trying to desperately remember what the script was. Allow yourself some leniency.

It depends on the presentation. I had one where I did a mixture of that and I still crashed under the anxiety and, though I didn't mess up, I was physically a mess. I was just straight up shaking, sweating, voice trembling, face red, etc. People felt really sorry for me. Everyone was really nice in that class so several, even people I didn't know, sort of comforted me after. But vocally, no, I really didn't mess up or say anything wrong come to think of it.

I had two oral exams in college which both turned out differently. I made sure I perfectly knew the terminology inside and out but I just winged it for the most part and it went very well, we got into a pretty engaging conversation. The next time, I was so confident about it, I said I'm just going to wing it again. But I didn't quite study as much of the terminology. That one went pretty bad, lol.


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