Connecting with Your Audience: 3. Presentation Tips
Nervousness
Some of you are less likely to become anxious than others. It’s just another way we are different from each other. If you never get nervous and don’t think this will be a problem for you, then this training section may not be needed. However, if you are like many of us who get nervous when talking in front of groups of people, even kids, then the following information is offered to help you feel more confident when the time comes to go into the classroom.
Nervousness is a natural bodily response. Adrenaline is the reason EVERYONE gets nervous. Adrenaline is a hormone that prepares your sympathetic nervous system to “fight or flee” in response to a stress or a threat. It happens without any conscious control, and is a positive thing when we are actually faced with danger that we must react to, for adrenaline likely drives the flow of blood to muscles to provide increased strength when people have been able to lift a car off a person or run farther than usual. When public speaking is perceived by the mind/body as a stressor, then our adrenaline responds.
An adrenaline rush may cause one or more sensations:
- Dilation of our eye pupils
- Faster breathing
- Shallow breathing
- Heart pounding and racing
- Increased sweating
- Feeling shaky or nervous
- Trembling or shaking
- Dizziness
3. Presentation Tips
Quiz