Higher Talks

Please remember that Higher talk assessments begin on Monday. Here is the advice that I was going to give you today:


‘The bottom line is, public speaking isn’t drilled into us at school the way it is American kids – and it ought to be. Most of us only find ourselves in the spotlight as adults, having built it up to A Big Scary Thing in our minds. But because this now feels natural to me as breathing – I don’t just like it, I really and truly enjoy every last second of it – I’m constantly amazed by how many women say they couldn’t possibly do it. How unconfident they feel, in front of an audience. (It’s not exclusively a female issue – but perhaps men feel less free to admit it.) Fact is, today – even if it’s presenting a report to a board of executives, or standing up at the annual staff get-together to offer a few words of praise to a departing colleague – most of us are going to have to open our mouths to speak in public. Josephine Fairley-‘The Telegraph’



Hate giving presentations? You are not alone

Wallechinsky et al (1977):

Asked 3000 pupils “What do you fear most?”

41% placed public speaking at the top of their list

(above the fear of sickness, loneliness or death…)


Why do we hate talks so much?

Mostly we are scared of making a fool of ourselves in front of others, but please remember that you are in a HIgher class- evenryone is in the same boat and they all know how nerve-wracking it is. No-one is going to make fin of you, and since your talks are on an essay that you have already written and had marked- you can guarentee that your subject and techniques used are going to be good!

Why do we have to perform solo talks?

• It is highly unlikely that your career path will allow you to avoid speaking your mind publicly.
•  Information is redundant if it is not shared.
•  Organisations are aware that people prefer listening to messages rather than reading them.
•  Speaking to more than one person allows a healthy and dynamic exchange of views and is the quickest way to exchange information to a large number at once.
• There are also many cases outside of a career where an ability to speak publicly is incredibly useful: including interviews etc

Performing

What makes a good talk?


In order to produce a good talk you must be able to


• Organise and summarise complex information effectively.


• Communicate this information clearly.


• Manage time efficiently.


These are all skills which will help you learn.

 These are also highly marketable skills.


General performance tips



1. Finding the right register:

Most speech is conversational.

Most written text is grammatically convoluted.

 Getting the right balance between formality and informality in a presentation is very tricky.

• Avoid colloquialisms (“sort of” or “kinda”)


• Try to avoid erms and ums.


• You want your audience to respect you, not like you.


• Try to speak more slowly than you would normally.


• Use pauses for emphasis (as opposed to raising your voice)


• Don’t let your voice fade away at the end of sentences.

 Anxiety reduction


The easiest way to reduce anxiety is to have a well prepared and well rehearsed presentation.

However, if nerves are still a problem, try the following…


• Visualisation: Imagine yourself giving a brilliant presentation.
• Breath deeply.
• Relax muscles / Release tension.
• Take a script which you can read if all else fails.
• Do something else really stressful just before…(drastic, but works!)

Unfortunately, the most effective treatment for public speaking anxiety is exposure. E.g. it gets better with practice


Know your audience:

This is easy for you - they will be fellow students plus me.

In other words, the majority will know as much or less than you do about the topic.


Academics have to face a wide variety of different audiences.

I have talked about my research/teaching to:


• Members of the public


• Other teachers and SMT- including those outwith this school!


• Parents and pupils


• University pupils

In each case, the talk had to be tailored appropriately, but a good general rule is that it pays to keep things simple.


Practice


• Practice giving the presentation to a friendly audience and ask them for honest and constructive criticism.

• Be prepared for it to hurt!

• Act on it.

• Meeting the time-limit is very important, and requires practice.


• So practice out loud on your own with a clock.


• Practice can be counter productive - if its just winding you up, stop!

•Record yourself and watch back- embarrassing perhaps but then you can see your mistakes and fix them!

Misc

• Make eye contact.

• Talk clearly to the back of the audience.

• Don’t mumble the ends of sentences.

• Be enthusiastic (or pretend…)

• Ask me to warn you when you have two minutes left.

• The only way it gets better is to give more talks. So practice!

• Book yourself a treat for immediately afterwards.

 

Good Luck!