6_GungonJ

Dear Professor Kim,

Presenting in front of the class has always been a challenge for me. I tend to be nervous and anxious because I start worrying about how the audience would react to the presentation. I start feeling the “butterflies in my stomach” and when I talk in front of the class, my voice cracks and I become soft spoken. With this reaction, I start rushing my presentation so it will end right away. I’m not really confident in giving speeches so I avoid eye contact and I just focus on word-for-word reading on the index cards.

Being unprepared for presentations is my weakness. I write down the main points to go over in class, but I do not practice the actual speech. When it’s time for me to present, I know the main points, but my speech become choppy and inconsistent with the main points. This makes me look non-credible and the audience loses their interest on my presentation. Another weakness is my body language. I look uninterested when giving a presentation and it makes it less entertaining to the audience. I stand in one place with no gestures that gives enthusiasm.

A good way for me to overcome these problems is to practice my speech thoroughly with my topics as well as practice my speech in front of different audiences. By going over my presentation every day for an hour before the due date, I will be prepared and my speech will transition smoothly from topic to topic. Also, practicing in different types of audience, large or small, will give me experience of talking in front of different people and will give me confidence to speak clearer, effectively, and confidently. This will let the audience know I am a credible person that they would not lose interest and that they will find my presentation interesting and entertaining.

Hopefully these steps I’m taking will make me more confident in presenting in class and be better prepared with my topics.

Your student,

John Gungon