6_TranC

Dear Professor Kim,

The biggest fear almost everyone has is speaking in public. Standing in front of a group of strangers or even your peers is a daunting task. You can’t help but feel nervous. Many of us would like to avoid public speaking entirely; however it is nearly impossible if you’re a business major. One of the most important aspects in the business world is being able to give a good presentation. To overcome this fear and to be able to present well, we need to know what our weaknesses are and what we can do to overcome them.

The most common challenges people have stem from being nervous. There is a feeling of dizziness, your heart is pounding hard against your chest, and your mouth is so dry your voice cracks when trying to speak. You feel insecure about people judging how you look are causing you cower instead of standing straight. You either try to get the presentation over with by speaking way too fast for the audience to comprehend or speak so low they can’t hear a single word you’ve said. Sometimes the nervousness is overwhelming and you just freeze. Luckily there are techniques to overcome this.

One important tip is to know your material thoroughly. Don’t just try to memorize what you’ve written down because you might forget something or get yourself mixed up. Flash cards are good for reminders of key points but you shouldn’t be reading off them. Make sure to keep the focus on the audience.

No matter how // cliché the saying, practice does make perfect. Don't just practice what you are going to say in your mind but rehearse out loud in front of a mirror. Go though the material exactly how you will be presenting. When you are a little more confident, practice in front of friends and ask for feedback. //

// Lastly, breathe. Don’t psyche yourself out. Most of your fears are imaginary and if you mess up, just roll with it. No one is born a perfect public speaker. It takes a lot of mistakes to improve in speaking to an audience. //