communications and presentation skills

[STUPID ME]

I don't feel good, I need someone to help, if I cannot help my self, then who can? I need to keep an eye on my communications skills, how can I improve them? Or how can I create them, since I don't have any considerable communication skills in fact. Any one can help? May be I need to start by building confidence, I know I should practice that, but how to start? I have many fears, some times even if I feel the courage, and I start to face it, I don't always feel satisfied about my performance, I cannot show my ability, I fall when am speaking, or in stead of talking I start focusing on my grammar or pronunciation . my face get blushed, and i don't feel relaxed, I cannot make balance between what my tongue should deliver and what my mind should think of. When I start to give a speech I feel that I miss all the words that express what I'm intending to say, although my language is not that really bad. I can write down my ideas in a perfect and incredible way but I cannot say them. This is my last semester in university, my gpa is 3.4, one month that parts me from holding my b.s.c in finance, I have achieved many successes in my life, but not to deliver a speech or communicate with others freely . Who believes that?

[REDHEAD24]

oi oi

go down the pub , have some guiness it wll make a man of u .......i hope

[velvet lady]

eh? is it me, is he he talking cr%%ap?

i`m soooooooooooooo tired i`m reading stupid threads!!!!!!

happy boxin day.......... just had beans on toast to counteract the junk thats beens consumed

[jno]

other people can help where you can't help yourself. There are way of improving public speaking if you feel you need to do this. The usual tip is to address yourself to one person, not a crowd. (It can be anyone in the crowd, and someone who has no idea he is your target.) Then talk just as you would talk to a single person.

Do a search for 'public speaking' on amazon; there are lots of books that will help.

[factor-fiction]

One tip is to keep it simple. From the way you have written this question I get the impression you need to be more concise- think about the message you want to give and say it in plain English. Less is more. Speaking will get easier with practice and soon you will even find you enjoy it.

[wildwood]

For a start you need to change your logon name here. Don't keep putting yourself down, there are plenty of people who are only too willing to do that.

To be honest, read your own Q as if you were someone else and then consider how boring this 'oh poor me' attitude sounds.

You are obviously not without literary skills so get googling for some courses on self confidence in your area. It is no good wishing you would have done this or that when you realise you've wasted half your life on being afraid of things that can't hurt you.

I have helped out at a youth club in the past and can assure you that once you are more confident you'll be amazed how well you can speak in public and enjoy life more in general.

Good luck.

[daff55odil]

You need to start by emailing friend, and ask them to correct you if you make a mistake, the more you talk, write, email the more confident you`ll be...

[cj69]

You could try joining a public speaking club. I am sure theASC( association of speakers clubs) will have a website with local contact numbers. I was a member of my local one in tameside for a few years and it was a good help with confidence in giving presentations etc. As well as teaching me the skills to speak effectively in public I met many interesting and good people.

[littleoldme]

Bit of a specialist subject here, as I teach this sort of thing at FE level. The first thing - and I apologise that this sounds obvious, but it's true - is practice. Then some more practice. Perform the whole presentation to yourself as many times as necessary before the big day so you are confident in what you are going to say. This doesn't mean you can't ad lib on the day - but at least you will have the nucleus of your speech clear in your head.

If you are using slides or a flipchart, don't put too much on them. They should act as a signpost for your audience and a memory aid for you. If you need to use handwritten notes to help you through, this is fine, but look at them before you speak - you're presenting to the audience, not your notebook.

I wouldn't go along with the 'focus on one person in the audience' theory as this may make the rest of the audience feel ignored. Make eye contact and vary where you make it - you'll also feel less "stared at" if you're looking at different people.

A little appropriate humour can often work wonders for getting the audience on your side - as long as the presentation is suitable for it. A presentation on increasing road deaths, for example, should probably be humour-free. Most talks, however, will benefit, but don't overdo it - it's not a comedy routine.

Lastly, but by no means least - KNOW YOUR SUBJECT!!! There is nothing, and I mean nothing, worse than hearing the dreaded words "Er, actually I think you're wrong there" coming from the audience. So do plenty of research and be as prepared as possible for the questions they may ask (they'll always surprise you at least once). This will increase your confidence no end.

Sorry about the long answer, but I hope this is of use.

[naturekid]

It sounds like your problem is not one of communication, but one of self-image. Sorry for being so blunt, but you've made that very clear. A little more confidence in yourself, and thorough knowledge and passion of the topic about which you are speaking will do wonders for delivery. Hope this helps.

[mastadon]

ignore the haters. i know what you mean, everybody feels like this sometimes and anyone that says thay don't is probably just an arrogant fool. my only advice would be to slow down. don't be afraid to pause, don't be afraid to slow down. look people in the eye, smile, believe in what your saying and others will too. CHEESE. but true. just don't go too far, know that you worry about what you say for a reason, because you care about wether it's true or not.

[Tha-Flash]

This is weird and you probably wont do it but what do you know really well? Like off the top of your head. Maybe its cars, exercises, psychology, maths, gardening, fishing, basketball, whatever it is... Take something from it.. Lets say Maths, what do you know about Maths?

Actually stand up and practice speaking about how addition/subtraction works and how it is useful in our daily lives. This is FLOWING. It's thinking while you're under pressure.

It's none of your business what other people think of you.

Even if this is worst case scenario, it doesn't mean ****. It doesn't define you as a person, it's one thing.

This isn't about adding things TO YOU. It's about taking barriers which have been put up which have served some kind of purpose, although they're not useful now and you just need to take them down.

I wish you the best of luck and a Happy New Year.

[Tha-Flash]

First realise that mistakes are fine. Do what you can to fix them but don't go out of your way if it means wasting time.

Some people spend soo much time doing the borders, backgrounds and images and forget about the CONTENT.

Steve Pavlina.com has some free podcasts you can download on confidence (plus some other interesting stuff)

Just keep focusing on moving forwards.

You really need to switch up your negative self talk. It has to be powerful, positive and challenging.

This requires awareness.

How does one become confident at something? By doing it over and over again. Practice is key. There is no failure, only feedback. When you hear the word PRESENTATION, you shoudl think "Haha, a challenge!".

You already have confidence. If you can recognise confidence in others, you have it. Everything you see in others you 'know' on a subconscious level. It's just a case of getting in the right state of mind.

When you reach a comfortable, confident state of mind you will subconsciously start to take on natural behaviours and thought processes which are beneficial to you. You will be on a roll, you will feel on fire, you will know you're the BOMB!