Public presentations advice and Toastmasters...does anyone belong? Could it help me...

[unsinkable]

...with nervousness/excitement doing my tours? I volunteer giving tours in my hometown.

It is hard to explain how I feel before the tours I am scheduled to give. It is like a mixture of being super-excited and really nervous. In a way it is like two sides of the same coin, if that makes any sense. Picture a Labrador who sees her favorite tennis ball and is happy but then reallyreallyreally wants you to throw it but is worried you're not going to! LOL

Then when I am done, I am exhausted! Granted, I just walked and talked for 90-plus minutes but I feel like I shouldn't be THAT tired. I feel like much of the exhaustion is because I have so much adrenaline before and during the tours.

Also, I have times during tours when I come up blank...either for a single word OR for anything to say. So I will check my notes, then can't find my place or the words, then realize everyone is staring and I haven't said anything...

I need a plan or something to do in these moments. 

SO...Toastmasters? 

Any other ideas?

[marbel]

I have done Toastmasters a couple of times in my life and it has helped me tremendously. An employer sent me years ago as a way to help me speak up  more in meetings, gain the ability to think on my feet and present.  Through that, I ended up working as a trainer for that company and loved that job. I would never have done it without the confidence I gained.

Then, when I finished homeschooling and started looking for work, I joined again. I ended up leaving when I got a job and it didn't fit in my schedule.

Go! If you have meetings in your area, you can go a few times with no commitment. DO IT!  

Edited January 11, 2020 by marbel

[wintermom]

You could do Toastmasters, but it isn't necessary. Sounds like you'll be getting a lot of good practice

Here are some thoughts - take or leave what ever makes sense to you. I used to teach physical education courses in Norway in Norwegian. I'm a naturally very nervous public speaker, just for background. I found these things really help me when preparing and doing public speaking.

Preparation is key:

- Notes are fine, but maybe not all in word form. Try diagrams or simply key words. It's too hard to find a "place" with lots of text that all looks the same.

- Learn your material so well that you can just start talking about the first thing that comes to mind. It doesn't have to be in a specific order. The more comfortable you are with the material, the easier and more naturally you will be able to talk about it.

- Have a really simple joke or 2 prepared and use them for each different tour. It will get everyone's attention quick and keep their interest.

- Don't feel you have to talk for 90 min straight. Ask some questions. It will keep people awake, interested and may be more relevant to them.

- Interesting stories about the people or places are also really interesting to hear and often easier to tell.

 

Things will get easier the more you do it. Just keep at it. 

Edited January 11, 2020 by wintermom

[katilac]

 

On 1/11/2020 at 10:13 AM, unsinkable said:

 Then when I am done, I am exhausted! Granted, I just walked and talked for 90-plus minutes but I feel like I shouldn't be THAT tired. I feel like much of the exhaustion is because I have so much adrenaline before and during the tours.

Also, I have times during tours when I come up blank...either for a single word OR for anything to say. So I will check my notes, then can't find my place or the words, then realize everyone is staring and I haven't said anything...

If this is fairly new, I think the exhaustion is normal. I just started teaching 90-minute classes with no sitting, and I'm pretty danged exhausted when done! 

I agree with index cards vs paper for notes. When you can't think of the right word or of anything to say, don't hesitate to be open about that. Also try and let go of wanting to use a particular word, that will help a lot. So: 

"I'm blanking on the word I want, but basically the idea that . . . " 

"Excuse me, I just need a minute to find my place . . . " 

On 1/11/2020 at 11:17 AM, wintermom said:

 - Notes are fine, but maybe not all in word form. Try diagrams or simply key words. It's too hard to find a "place" with lots of text that all looks the same.

- Learn your material so well that you can just start talking about the first thing that comes to mind. It doesn't have to be in a specific order. The more comfortable you are with the material, the easier and more naturally you will be able to talk about it.

 

- Don't feel you have to talk for 90 min straight. Ask some questions. It will keep people awake, interested and may be more relevant to them.

Things will get easier the more you do it. Just keep at it. 

Yes, it will get easier as you go! 

Do you have transitions built in from one section to another? It can help if the last part of one section refers to the next section. 

Key words and phrases, yes. I use color coding, so the kitchen (or whatever) part of the tour would have red notes, and main topics would have a BIG key word, which might then have phrases written under it. If there's a particularly tricky sentence that really needs to be word for word, I might write it as well, but the color coding and key words make it much easier to find (plus there aren't many whole sentences). 

And yes, ask questions! Not just, does anyone have questions? but: You might think they would do ABC, but actually they do XYZ. Why do you think they might do it that way? 

Seasider mentioned practicing Q&A style, and I like that idea. You can also practice your regular presentation in front of someone playing the role of an audience member with never-ending questions. You're gonna meet that guy if you haven't yet 😄 and you need to get a feel for which questions should be answered right away, which ones you can say we're going to get to that shortly, and which ones need to be deflected with that's beyond the scope of this tour, but the front desk may have some ideas for you to research. 

[katilac]

11 minutes ago, happysmileylady said:

My sister used to do tours at a dinosaur park.   

*insert Jurassic Park joke here*

[Farrar]

Everyone I know who has done Toastmasters felt it really helped them. You're getting the practice, but I think you probably want the support element too.

You may still feel exhausted to some extent though. That type of activity wears me out too - teaching, for example. I enjoy it, I'm pretty good at it, but I'm always worn afterwards. But that's okay. You do eventually get more accustomed, I think.

[unsinkable]

Thank you for all the feedback! I appreciate it and I am going to try to ask you all some follow up questions once I jot down some notes on what was already posted.

It might take me a bit to do that though. Thank you again!