"OMG you're such a great public speaker!! I loved your talk!"
A student said this to me as I was walking to my house last week. I politely said thank you and started thinking.
'Are you kidding???" Still to this day, after speaking to over 25 classes about either social issues, the Women's and Gender Studies blog or about India, I still get butterflies in my stomach. I seriously have to close my eyes and breath 10 times before I go into a classroom.
I've noticed that the audience is more responsive when I tell them about my self. A funny story here and there and possibly a joke or two... People apparently think my Indian family stories are HILARIOUS! Especially the one where my mother sneakily convinced me to meet a potential marital partner... (2008 India Trip-Story for another time).
Some things I do before I speak ANYWHERE...
1. Breath
2. Call my ma or pa (Yes I still NEED my parents)
3. Remember everyone in the audience has either tripped once in their life and burps
(yeah I know it's weird, but it helps me to realize that they are normal and not super dooper elite and scary)
4. Close my eyes and think of my husband
5. Smile right when I walk in
Things I do during my presentations...
1. Smile
2. Make eye contact with one person for more than 5 seconds
3. STARE at the people yawning or on the phones (my biggest pet peeve)
4. Take my time
5. Be Honest- If I do not know the answer to a question, I let them know that!
6. Ask questions to get the audience involved
Hope this helps!
-Bina Rachael
A student said this to me as I was walking to my house last week. I politely said thank you and started thinking.
'Are you kidding???" Still to this day, after speaking to over 25 classes about either social issues, the Women's and Gender Studies blog or about India, I still get butterflies in my stomach. I seriously have to close my eyes and breath 10 times before I go into a classroom.
I've noticed that the audience is more responsive when I tell them about my self. A funny story here and there and possibly a joke or two... People apparently think my Indian family stories are HILARIOUS! Especially the one where my mother sneakily convinced me to meet a potential marital partner... (2008 India Trip-Story for another time).
Some things I do before I speak ANYWHERE...
1. Breath
2. Call my ma or pa (Yes I still NEED my parents)
3. Remember everyone in the audience has either tripped once in their life and burps
(yeah I know it's weird, but it helps me to realize that they are normal and not super dooper elite and scary)
4. Close my eyes and think of my husband
5. Smile right when I walk in
Things I do during my presentations...
1. Smile
2. Make eye contact with one person for more than 5 seconds
3. STARE at the people yawning or on the phones (my biggest pet peeve)
4. Take my time
5. Be Honest- If I do not know the answer to a question, I let them know that!
6. Ask questions to get the audience involved
Hope this helps!
-Bina Rachael
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