Speaking to the students
She had a bad experience when making a presentation to 100 people at university in Korea. “I had prepared a lot but when I went on the stage I was frightened and everything became blank. I was shivering a lot and saying stupid things, so after that experience I did not really want to speak in front of people.” I observed Nim when she presented her work in class, in preparation for their presentations to publishers Dorling Kindersley. “I think I was a bit nervous,” says Nim. “But if the setting had been more formal, I would have been much more nervous. This was presenting on the table and so much easier.” Why does the formality make her more nervous? “It’s much more tense and people expect something from you. And that expectation translates to pressure for me. The bigger the audience the worse it is. One more person and then there’s one more expectation for me to manage.” If the Dorling Kindersley presentation was optional, would she still do it? “Yeah, I definitely would do it. Even if I’m not good at it and even if I am scared, I don’t want to regret afterwards that I missed an opportunity.” Nim’s attitude has proved fruitful. After the presentations, she was chosen to present at the DK offices to a large group of executives. As a direct result she has now been offered a 6-month placement. So, even though Nim was nervous, she still went ahead and did it, and this is tangible evidence that speaking in public gets you employment opportunities.
nim’s Feedback Nim attended ‘Presenting to Industry’. “The feedback was useful, I learned that gesture and reaction is important and that you can approach presentation as a performance.” Actually presenting to DK was easier: “I practiced a lot so felt more confident compared to the feedback session. And it was in front of a small group of people and one person Phil Ormerod from DK - so it was a relaxed atmosphere. Nim also attended ‘Speaking Out as a Creative presentation skills made easy’. “It was nice to hear from 4 different person (including you). All of them had a personal style of speaking and I learned that interacting with the audience is really important as well. Also useful advice, like make the presentation simple and clear with three core messages, although I don’t know how to apply it yet. “I still fear public speaking, but practice make perfect.”
Key points • Nim has experienced some barriers with language and cultural differences • She gets nervous when something is more formal • She found the ‘Presenting to Industry’ event useful but was more relaxed actually presenting to DK • ‘Speaking Out as a Creative - presentation skills made easy’ was useful with good tips, but she doesn’t know how to put it into practice yet. • She got a work placement after presenting to DK
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