# Senior Thesis Presentation



## polythene (Jul 22, 2007)

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## bowlingpins (Oct 18, 2008)

Can you approach this presentation as an opportunity to teach and influence a large number of people? Everyone will be looking upto you for those 30 minutes. You will be their leader in a sense. Does this motivate you try your best? This is the advice I got from my motivational speaker friend who loves giving speeches because it makes him feel powerful and important to be on stage.

Also, in my experience it is much easier to talk to large crowds (50-100+) compared to an audience of 10-20 because you don’t notice individual faces as much.


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## bowlingpins (Oct 18, 2008)

Ok, I admit that I take medications before all my presentations. They help a lot. It would be an option for you as well, but since you have to field questions it is risky to use them (especially benzodiazepines such as Xanax, Klonopin, Ativan) because they cause mental sluggishness. You could however try another class of medications called beta-blockers. They reduce physical symptoms of anxiety without causing any mental dulling. They are extremely safe and most doctors hand them out like candy, you won't have any difficulty getting a prescription for them.

Moving away from medications, how much time do you have left? If you have 3-6 months, it would be a good idea to join toastmaster clubs (http://www.toastmasters.org/). These usually meet twice a month but this is not enough for fast results! You could join 4 clubs simultaneously so that you are able to attend meetings twice a week instead of twice a month. I think they offer discount for multiple club membership. Here, in a low pressure environment, you could practice giving prepared speeches as well as impromptu speeches that help you think on your feet in front of an audience - great practice for the questions part of the thesis.


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## SilentLoner (Jan 30, 2006)

I'm really glad I don't have to do that for my graduation - but I did a similar thing last summer where I presented my independent research as part of a program I'm in to approx 30 people, ranging from fellow students to professors to the head of the department. The topic? Social Anxiety Disorder :eyes (specifically reasons for delaying seeking treatment - of which I'm personally guilty).

I was nervous as hell, not to mention I forgot the order of presentations and got called up earlier than I expected. I was chewing gum (more than one stick) and didn't have the chance to toss it and tried getting it to stick to the roof of my mouth so I could talk.

But for some reason when it was over people kept telling me how well I did - the head of a department actually told me I had "the voice of a professor." :um

Maybe it was the gum? Cool anyways. 

You can do it. I thought I would bomb but somehow didn't.


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