# Presenting powerpoints/speeches, share you stories



## Jerry Rogers (Jul 7, 2013)

..assuming they were bad. If they weren't then by all means share your success stories..........I could use the inspiration. I'm an upcoming freshman in College (just a Community College for now) and I'm absolutely dreading the thought of even having to stand up in front of the class and say 4 words let alone a powerpoint presentation. I know that many colleges require you to take that "public speaking" course or something and that might look bad on my part. 

During High School, my presentations either ranged from mediocre to a stuttering (uuuhhm, like, uuhh, and then like) mess. Luckily though my presentation skills have increased SLIGHTLY (I don't say uhm as much) but I just know they will cycle again once I hit College in two months. 

Not to mention, I don't know how many monglickers I caught giggling at me when I presented (this was mainly in my History class in Junior year). Ugh, so annoying but luckily they are no more. 

Not to rant/be a pest, but yeahhh, share some of your success/fail stories that you had when you presented. Or just comment, troll, rant, idk. :boogie


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## wildgeese (Jun 26, 2013)

I took public speaking last year. It wasn't as bad as I thought. I got an A but it was still torture. I knew no matter what I would have a hard time with the actual speech giving so I threw all my energy into the writing of the speech. I actually did some really good work in that class. And then I practiced the speech over and over. That way the only thing I had to worry about on speech day was keeping my composure. All the prep work was key for me. And I always tried to be the first to give my speech so I didn't have time to psych myself out. If I survived it, you can too!!


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## shyvr6 (Feb 18, 2008)

It mainly takes repetition and feedback to become more comfortable. In my speech class, my last speech went fairly well since I was used to being up there. My worst presentation was my second one, because I had a video to show and it started playing, but I forgot to have it show on the screen. So I had to fumble over the switches in the dark and then start all over. By that time, my anxiety was really high and my voice was already crackling, so it turned into a hot mess.


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## SydKat (Jun 30, 2013)

My school doesn't require a public speaking class but I should probably take one anyway. It's just going to be really hard to push myself to do it. I didn't actually have too many presentations last year (I'm going to be a sophomore in the fall) but the ones I did have varied (success-wise) tremendously. Normally when I have to give a presentation I start out somewhat ok, but once I get into it I start to stumble over my words because I talk really fast/incoherently when I'm nervous. My mouth always gets really dry, my face turns red and I forget everything that I'd planned to say and that leaves me making up sentences that rarely make any sense. 

However, I did have one that went fairly well. It was the final presentation I gave last year and it was also the longest (15 minutes). This was for my freshman writing class and the assignment was easy; pick any historical event that impacted American history and argue why it was important. I chose to argue why Bob Dylan's going electric in the 60's was important in the history of rock and roll. I'm a huge Dylan fan so the assignment was actually pretty fun to research. By the time I gave my presentation, I was well-versed in the subject so that gave me a lot of confidence. Although I did stumble on my words a little, I thought I got my point across and was pretty happy afterwards. I think the key is to know/be interested in the topic you're presenting. If I don't know my topic, I tend to write out exactly what I'm going to say (word-for-word) and try to remember it for the presentation. That usually doesn't work for me because I usually forget everything that I'd planned to say. However, if I know the topic really well I can plan on improvising a little and that relieves some of the pressure of memorizing a script.


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## FerociousFleur (Oct 30, 2012)

SydKat said:


> My school doesn't require a public speaking class but I should probably take one anyway. It's just going to be really hard to push myself to do it. I didn't actually have too many presentations last year (I'm going to be a sophomore in the fall) but the ones I did have varied (success-wise) tremendously. Normally when I have to give a presentation I start out somewhat ok, but once I get into it I start to stumble over my words because I talk really fast/incoherently when I'm nervous. My mouth always gets really dry, my face turns red and I forget everything that I'd planned to say and that leaves me making up sentences that rarely make any sense.
> 
> However, I did have one that went fairly well. It was the final presentation I gave last year and it was also the longest (15 minutes). This was for my freshman writing class and the assignment was easy; pick any historical event that impacted American history and argue why it was important. I chose to argue why Bob Dylan's going electric in the 60's was important in the history of rock and roll. I'm a huge Dylan fan so the assignment was actually pretty fun to research. By the time I gave my presentation, I was well-versed in the subject so that gave me a lot of confidence. Although I did stumble on my words a little, I thought I got my point across and was pretty happy afterwards. I think the key is to know/be interested in the topic you're presenting. If I don't know my topic, I tend to write out exactly what I'm going to say (word-for-word) and try to remember it for the presentation. That usually doesn't work for me because I usually forget everything that I'd planned to say. However, if I know the topic really well I can plan on improvising a little and that relieves some of the pressure of memorizing a script.


I also try to memorize everything! And then I forget it all the moment I step up to present... but usually at that point, the material has sunk in, and I can sort of wing it! :b

I've had to give a lot of presentations in grad school, at least once every week, and it does get easier the more you do it. Practicing beforehand always makes you look more knowledgeable and feel more confident, and video recording yourself is especially helpful. You can also minimize your anxiety in other ways such as exercising and avoiding caffeine beforehand.

I've gotten pretty good at hiding my nervousness during presentations, but when I was younger, I was the most awkward person ever. I would talk too quietly, say things that didn't make sense, and get even more anxious when people laughed or gave me weird looks. Unfortunately, most of us don't get sufficient practice at public speaking, so it makes us feel like we're being thrown to the wolves.


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## Devon91 (Jul 21, 2013)

I did really well in my speech class. The main problem I had was a girl asking really dumb almost attack questions during my TSA speech. Luckily I was prepared and nailed them though. I even got extra credit because of it.

Same with work presantations, although I sweat pretty bad during these cant figure out why.


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## Greenleaf62 (Aug 1, 2013)

I've never been good at giving presentations and they still scare me. It used to be so bad that I felt like crying afterwards, and a few times I did (which sucks because I hate crying in public). I'm going into my 4th year of college this month and I had to take public speaking in my sophomore year. I was so scared that on the first day of class I was shaking, but I ended up with a B in the class and I did learn a lot. It did help me to improve my public speaking skills and I'm actually glad that I had to take it.


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## Naed26 (Aug 2, 2013)

The last speech I gave was last year either in my public speaking class or art history class; can't remember which but they both went the same way.

We were going in order according to where you were sitting and as it got closer to my time I could feel my heart beating faster, my breathing changing, and I noticed that I was sweating. When it was my time I was a nervous wreck my hands would not stop shaking, I was stuttering, and because my breathing had changed I sounded like I just ran a mile. 

But I will say it was better than when I was in high school and opted to take a voluntary speech class thinking it would help me. I was too scared and I only ended up giving one speech. In the end I ended up talking to my guidance counselor and getting transferred out of that class. So I guess you can call that improvement.


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## fries (Aug 5, 2013)

I skipped a class today because we are required to give a short presentation of how we plan to go about the first assignment. I'll be skipping the same class tomorrow, just in case. I skipped this same class once last week after having a panic attack. The lecturer is the head of department. I may be in trouble.

I forced myself to do one presentation last year, I needed to do it to pass a compulsory class. It was horrible. Before that i'd been getting myself out of any sort of speech since I was about 11 or 12.


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## GiantEnemyCrab (Jun 15, 2013)

During my last class presentation, I froze 30 seconds into it and forgot everything. I apologized and asked if I could have a moment. I then turned my back to the class, panicking loads, while the class sat and stared quietly at me awkwardly. I stumbled and stammered through the presentation and my hands were intensely shaking during and after. Oh and the speech was worth half my grade. 

Good day.


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## Sad Larry (Jul 16, 2013)

Speeches...oh boy... well, at least in my class. most of the students are too distracted by other stuff, they just dont care what im talking about or they fall asleep. So my anxiety level lowers a lot. If you get attention, just try to sound as professional as possible, practice what youre going to say over and over again. write it down many times. Im guessing your nerous cause you dont know the students very well. Just imagine theyre pretty much in the same situation as you are. Think about all the possible outcomes and plan all your responses ahead of time.


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## Nono441 (May 14, 2012)

Well, once I had to do a powerpoint presentation, there were around 14-15 people there, and I kind of mumbled my way through, it was obvious nobody understood what the hell I was saying, at the end I said it was lame and my teacher agreed lol. So yeah, I failed that.

Second time I had to present something with 4 other people, and they didn't really like me (forced groups and all that) so they only had me say one line or something, I felt like such a retard.

Finally my last presentation last year, again with 3 other peeps, I just said **** it and decided to fade into the background and ended up being completely ignored (is that good or bad?).

In two months or so I have to do yet another oral speech with a group and I'm kind of stressing out, though fortunately that'll only be in front of a couple people to grade our work and not in front of the entire class (or I would've dropped out pronto)

I really hate this. I could jot down a dozen more experiences but regrettably this textbox is too small to contain them.


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## dogsbestfriend (Jul 31, 2013)

Oh, I haaaate having to give presentations. They give me so much nerves and sleepless nights.

HOWEVER, just a few days ago, I was able to survive a group report (in front of a HUGE class) which I've been worrying about for the past 2 months. As usual, I prepared my spiel, yet I was so scared that my voice might shake as I report. I was also worried that my hands might shake as I try to hold my index cards. Moreover, I was worried that I might be the one to make my group look bad. However, I made it through (without shaking and everything), and I was even able to spontaneously answer one of the questions thrown at us by one of our classmates. 

All my worries eventually went down the drain, and I was actually satisfied with the way I presented. It's still far from how brilliantly others can present (they don't even need index cards, plus they can carry themselves confidently), but I'm way more than happy that I did better than I expected. What helped me get through this relatively well is that I practiced like crazy days before the presentation. I removed my glasses so I couldn't see my classmates' faces, which significantly lessened the nerves (yes, my eyesight is THAT bad). ALSO, I didn't eat hours before the presentation - what my stomach feels is hunger, and not butterflies. So now, I resolve to starve myself before any presentation so all the nervousness can be lessened... also to remove my eyeglasses.


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## Nono441 (May 14, 2012)

dogsbestfriend said:


> Oh, I haaaate having to give presentations. They give me so much nerves and sleepless nights.
> 
> HOWEVER, just a few days ago, I was able to survive a group report (in front of a HUGE class) which I've been worrying about for the past 2 months. As usual, I prepared my spiel, yet I was so scared that my voice might shake as I report. I was also worried that my hands might shake as I try to hold my index cards. Moreover, I was worried that I might be the one to make my group look bad. However, I made it through (without shaking and everything), and I was even able to spontaneously answer one of the questions thrown at us by one of our classmates.
> 
> All my worries eventually went down the drain, and I was actually satisfied with the way I presented. It's still far from how brilliantly others can present (they don't even need index cards, plus they can carry themselves confidently), but I'm way more than happy that I did better than I expected. What helped me get through this relatively well is that I practiced like crazy days before the presentation. I removed my glasses so I couldn't see my classmates' faces, which significantly lessened the nerves (yes, my eyesight is THAT bad). ALSO, I didn't eat hours before the presentation - what my stomach feels is hunger, and not butterflies. So now, I resolve to starve myself before any presentation so all the nervousness can be lessened... also to remove my eyeglasses.


Hmm removing the glasses is an interesting approach, I might have to try that one day..


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## BKLD (Aug 8, 2013)

I hated speech class in high school, and I'm not looking forward to it in college (it's a prerequisite for the vet tech program for some reason). I never did well, but luckily my teacher was great and passed me anyways. There was one time when I had laryngitis on the day of one presentation. It was a group project, so I stood up there with the rest of my group, but when I tried speaking, but it was so inaudible that I was told to just sit down. It was a little embarrassing, but at least I didn't have to finish my presentation.


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## Kalliber (Aug 18, 2012)

I get my strong mexican accent. I presented once and it gave me a panick attack. infront of 40 people.. My accent was strong everyone asked to repeat myself. I was so humiliated


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## Nono441 (May 14, 2012)

Xaist said:


> I get my strong mexican accent. I presented once and it gave me a panick attack. infront of 40 people.. My accent was strong everyone asked to repeat myself. I was so humiliated


I know how you feel :squeeze I have problems with my accent too


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## Holly91 (May 22, 2013)

My worst presentation (in high school) involved me actually shaking....though I got a good grade. The second worst was in French class. It was a small class- me, my ex, a "friend", and a guy I never spoke to, plus the teacher. I couldn't do the accent, my grammar was bad and my pronunciation was probably bad. My face was burning up and my voice was shaky. I think I did ok, but can't remember.

My best presentation was in university a few months ago. We had to choose our own topic do all the research, come up with a presentation on our own and present on our own to half a class for 30 mins and have questions asked on the spot about your chosen topic. I had a first in that presentation. I had been very nervous BUT I managed to memorise most of the speech, and had a few short notes in case I got stuck. 

I think that's the key though really good preparation and practice. After that it's just reeling it off


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## Shadow2009 (Sep 25, 2010)

ALWAYS DO YOUR SPEECH FIRST!

When you do it first, it's over with and you can relax. Everyone else is too nervous to really concentrate on you. If you leave it 'til last? Everyone else is fine and comfortable and focusing 100% on you.


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## blu xo (Dec 27, 2012)

I had this really bad presentation in high school where my voice sounded really shaky and just weird. Other times I'd usually get red in the face or get sweaty palms but this one was a big mess. So traumatizing.

Anyway, in college I improved dramatically in public speaking and just in general improved on my ability to communicate more effectively with people. Freshman year I would blush and usually ended looking down at some index cards the whole time I was presenting but by senior year I just got into the habit of practicing a lot at least a week in advance. If the topic was difficult I mostly memorized but tried to deliver my presentation so that it didn't seem like I just memorized. 

Don't worry! The more presentations you do, the better you'll get!

^It also definitely helped to do presentations first like the previous poster said!


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## reese27 (Aug 15, 2013)

One of my worst presentations ever was in high school in math class. I am horrible at math and I was not confident in the material to present but I was going to just do my best. My mom had volunteered to pick up some food because we were having a end of the year celebration type of event which included presentations for our final assignment. My mom was not working at the time and she didn't mind bringing the pizza we had ordered. After dropping off the food, my teacher invited my mom to stay. This just made me even more uncomfortable during my presentation. I couldn't think straight and I completed several math problems wrong. My classmates even called me out on it in front of my mom. I totally blanked out. I was working with a partner and he had to finish our presentations. Our classmates turned in evaluations on how we did and I had some really bad comments. It was so embarrassing because my mom witnessed my horrible presentation. This experience continue to haunt me but since I have given some really great presentations. When I tend practice my speech and know exactly what I am going to say it helps me to deliver a great presentation.


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## Anonyone (Aug 21, 2013)

Doing a power point in college is pretty much the same as in high school: cotton mouth, stuttering, shaking, sweating, blushing, and your voice sounding smaller than a mouse's.


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## J0HNNY (Jul 17, 2013)

Preperation is the key


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## Charmander (Sep 5, 2012)

Shadow2009 said:


> ALWAYS DO YOUR SPEECH FIRST!
> 
> When you do it first, it's over with and you can relax. Everyone else is too nervous to really concentrate on you. If you leave it 'til last? Everyone else is fine and comfortable and focusing 100% on you.


Best advice. :yes


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## Armitage (Aug 23, 2013)

*Perspectives?*

I like some of the ideas I've read here. I completed speech class and was even a tour guide once, but since SA it has been a new challenge. Now I face a 45min speech, hence me even joining this site. As others have said, I suppose I must prepare extensively. 
BTW, does anyone have a suggestion on the right perspective?
What I mean is, do you take it lightly and nonchalantly, summon your courage, attack it like an enemy, try to make it seem fun, build an android to take your place, etc.?


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