I realize that for a large number of people, presentations are scary.
I'm not one of them.
My fifth grade teacher made us all research and do a report on a randomly assigned U.S. state. (Mine was Indiana, for the curious among you). I was absolutely terrified of getting up in front of my classmates to speak. My mom told me presentations were just to prove what I knew, and I was going to have to do it all my life, so I'd better practice. My dad told me he knew I could do anything I set my mind to, and he expected me to do well. Armed with those two things, I practiced for days until I could recite my entire report from memory with zero notes (driving my parents and sister nuts in the process). I got a perfect score.
My mom was right, I have had to present things all my life, first as a student, then as a teacher. And not long into my teaching career, I got tapped to do presentations to other teachers and administrators and education professionals. At first it was small groups, and then larger and larger. When I became an administrator, I continued to give presentations, usually to parents, but sometimes to other teachers and administrators as well. In all the presentations I've given, my smallest crowd was two. My largest was well over a thousand.
And you know what? I still don't get nervous. Presentations are just telling what you know. The way to prepare for them is to know a lot.
Last week, I had a presentation to give in my Melville class. Stakes were high: the professor of the class will also be part of the team who decides if I am accepted into the PhD program at my University next year. I did have some extra time to prepare, thanks to the Polar Vortex. I used the extra days to re-read everything, pour over cross-references on the internet, and outline (and practice!) my discussion notes.
All said and done, the presentation went well. My classmates participated, I got a "good job" from my professor, and I can honestly say I gave it my best go.
Now I just need to figure out what I'm going to do my Melville research paper on ...
Go forth and write!
I'm not one of them.
My fifth grade teacher made us all research and do a report on a randomly assigned U.S. state. (Mine was Indiana, for the curious among you). I was absolutely terrified of getting up in front of my classmates to speak. My mom told me presentations were just to prove what I knew, and I was going to have to do it all my life, so I'd better practice. My dad told me he knew I could do anything I set my mind to, and he expected me to do well. Armed with those two things, I practiced for days until I could recite my entire report from memory with zero notes (driving my parents and sister nuts in the process). I got a perfect score.
My mom was right, I have had to present things all my life, first as a student, then as a teacher. And not long into my teaching career, I got tapped to do presentations to other teachers and administrators and education professionals. At first it was small groups, and then larger and larger. When I became an administrator, I continued to give presentations, usually to parents, but sometimes to other teachers and administrators as well. In all the presentations I've given, my smallest crowd was two. My largest was well over a thousand.
And you know what? I still don't get nervous. Presentations are just telling what you know. The way to prepare for them is to know a lot.
Last week, I had a presentation to give in my Melville class. Stakes were high: the professor of the class will also be part of the team who decides if I am accepted into the PhD program at my University next year. I did have some extra time to prepare, thanks to the Polar Vortex. I used the extra days to re-read everything, pour over cross-references on the internet, and outline (and practice!) my discussion notes.
All said and done, the presentation went well. My classmates participated, I got a "good job" from my professor, and I can honestly say I gave it my best go.
Now I just need to figure out what I'm going to do my Melville research paper on ...
Go forth and write!