Do You Get Nervous When You Have To Give Presentations?

I'm taking a course called Human-Computer Interaction, which is about the design process for computer devices. On the first day of the class, the instructor said that presentations will be very frequent (I died a little inside when she said that). In fact, I had to give one today. Prior to the class, she made a list of randomly selected students and split them into two groups; the first of which presented today, the second of which presents next Tuesday. I thought that I would get lucky and be part of the group that's supposed to go on Tuesday. Boy, was I wrong. With only ten minutes until the class was over, she called my name. And the next person is...Adrian. I said to myself, DAMN! I started off really nervously; it was very apparent from the sound of my voice. However, I actually became much more comfortable as the presentation continued. I'm actually looking forward to the next one. Hopefully, I won't be nervous at all. How about you guys? Do you like giving presentations? Share your stories.

I hate giving presentations... I get nervous at first.. but after the first 10-15 minutes, the nervousness goes away.Bloodseeker23

Wow. You've had to give presentations that were longer than 15 minutes? The thought of that is horrifying.

Yeah, always.

You just have to be prepared; have all your information, know exactly what you're gonna say and when you'll say it and bit of liquid courage(:P) and you'll do fine.

Not at all. And I always improvise a lot. I gave speeches in front of everybody from junior high kids to military personnel.

As the person in front of the audience, you have the power to influence it. The thing that worried me the most was the audience's behaviour. But you can control that too. Talk louder, make fun of them, deviate from your speech. Being entertaining is the key in my experience.

That, and eye contact.

yeh definately.. i normally get over it once i start talking. unless its in quite a small class and i know them all, then its all good.

i dont think i could travel around giving presentations to large groups of people and such or be a teacher..

I remember once I took 10% off my mark just because I wanted to procrastinate til the next day. That was a written speech though, I hate them. The last presentation I did we had to get a box of stuff from our childhood and explain the story(-ies) behind them, I quite enjoyed doing that one, I got quite a few laughs and it made me feel alright. I got 10% off that one too though, but just because I forgot my stuff at home the first day. I basically just despise ELA :cry:

I had to do it constantly in the Army, but Igot pretty used to it. It wasn't easy though...

Not really, even when I was younger we had to make a speech every year and present it to our class, then if you were good enough to your grade, then if you're really good, to the school. I just have a knack for being able to present in front of people. Don't know why.

yeah i get scared and my heart goes crazy but if i have to do it i do it

Sometimes, but it depends on the class and my classmates. If it's a small class and the people are very social and easy going then no I don't. If it's a big class that I don't know anyone then yeah I hate it.

No. As long as the rest of me is presentable. If Im my casual wear then I feel a little like. "There judgeing me because my shirt has a skull and my hat is to the side, and why arent his pants on his waist?"In school I would wear a tux if I had to present somthing silly yes but the people I was presenting to ate it up.

Yeah I get really nervous but as soon as I start I'm perfectly ok.

Only at the very last second for some reason; usually I'm perfectly fine up until it's my turn to present.Theokhoth

I'm the complete opposite. I get nervous like the 5 mintues before my go, but once I'm up there I get zoned in.

I hate giving presentations. I don't do too well in crowds so when I have to stand up in front of many staring eyes, I do begin to panic.

In certain circumstances, I can convert my nervousness(don't know if that's a word) into eccentricity. I gave a small presentation in my business class once and apparently my eccentric movements and jokes made the whole thing pretty entertaining. Entertaining in a good way that is :P Still, I don't want to give another one any time soon.

Yes! My knees will shake, my neck will stiffen, and I'll stumble over my words with a cotton mouth. :|

Presentations..... Gah.

I'm reasonably nervous up until the point of delivery - at which point it go one of two ways:

1. Nervousness and delivery will get worse and worse until I finish, or

2. I find confidence in my interest in the topic, in which case it will go ok

Either way, I always hate giving talks. Im not the best speaker at the best of times - but perhaps this is just bad memories of tightly packed english classes and low confidence.

Yes! My knees will shake, my neck will stiffen, and I'll stumble over my words with a cotton mouth. :|

racer8dan

If I'm tired I will be nervous. If I'm not, I gotta fill myself with confidence before he calls my name.

I always am a little nervous walking up to talk to the class but one i get into I don't really care. And if you think it is hard to present in front of your whole class, think about performing for an audience of 2500 people every night at an auditorium like I did for this one performance!

[QUOTE="racer8dan"]

Yes! My knees will shake, my neck will stiffen, and I'll stumble over my words with a cotton mouth. :|

rawsavon

I never want to give a presentation but I don't get nervous about it either. I usually go over what I have to say enough so that I don't need any notes.

The biggest presentations I gave were usually to movie theater-sized audiences. The slide briefings themselves weren't a problem. But afterwards, some of them always ask questions not directly related to the presentation. I always made sure I reviewed not just the subject matter but everything else that may be related to it. That's why I bring all my reference material with me.

Big time!:|

Isometimes twitchand the tone of my voice is different:(

[QUOTE="Bloodseeker23"]I hate giving presentations... I get nervous at first.. but after the first 10-15 minutes, the nervousness goes away.BluRayHiDef

Wow. You've had to give presentations that were longer than 15 minutes? The thought of that is horrifying.

Heh, I remember the 20 minute presentation we had to give in spanish 5 in high school.

No, I'm actually quite good in presentations... and I seem to be better at on the spot chat, instead of planning and preparing something to say.

Yeah I hated taking speech I talk to fast when I get nervous berserker2389

If I know what it is I'm talking about and/or I know the audience would have no idea if I started talking out my ass, then no, I don't get nervous. I only get nervous when I'm ill-prepared and my audience is already informed on the subject.

Yes, but I usually write good reports.