Your communication skills will improve with thoughtful practice, reducing the impact of stage fright or pre-performance nervous spells. Most students' presentation-day voice difficulties begin with their state of mind. Your voice almost always accurately reflects your psychological and emotional balance. It is your mental outlook that supports or undermines your message more than the physical state of your throat, tongue, and lips.
Some commentators in education and business communications coaching state over half of all communication is nonverbal or nonlinguistic. The sounds of the speech and the movements of the speaker can still communicate with listeners and observers who do not understand the language--it is remarkable the conclusions they draw from sound and posture.
The sound and energy of your voice broadcasts emotional messages along with the meaning of the words and phrases. The musical qualities of your voice--melodiousness, tone, pitch, rhythm, volume, and pacing--are like an artist's color palette, with a wide range of combinations.
Posture, body language, hand and arm gestures, and and facial expression will likewise reveal non-verbal cues about your state of mind. If you were to make a presentation using no movement at all and a monotonous voice, you would soon lose the interest of the audience. There you are, with a well-researched topic you've chosen because you're enthusiastic about it . . . and nobody pays any attention to you. Just living through the 5-to-10 minutes it takes for a student to push through and finish the exercise is hard on the student, the teacher who wants the student to succeed, and the audience, many of whom are students mentally rehearsing their own presentation and others parents and classmates' families who want the day to be a celebration of knowledge.
We all have something worthwhile to share--interesting facts, important issues, emotional connections, creative solutions--and when we have the courage to give it our best, we can feel wonderful and excited and proud. Nothing else compares to having spoken clearly heart-to-heart or mind-to-mind. Your discoveries, opinions, visions, and creations will leave them thinking, provoke a reaction, persuade them to take action.
As you discover your voice, you will identify your desired outcome--transmit knowledge, share experiences, connect with emotion, entertain, persuade.
You will think through how to establish a connection with the audience--pick up signals, establish rapport, use your strengths in visual, oral, text, animation, video, demonstration.
Tell the story again and again, time yourself, record yourself (and watch the results). Most students do not like this method the first time they try it, but those who stick with it and track their progress will make vast improvements as their confidence in their knowledge and their enthusiasm for their message emerges over multiple rehearsals.
Some commentators in education and business communications coaching state over half of all communication is nonverbal or nonlinguistic. The sounds of the speech and the movements of the speaker can still communicate with listeners and observers who do not understand the language--it is remarkable the conclusions they draw from sound and posture.
The sound and energy of your voice broadcasts emotional messages along with the meaning of the words and phrases. The musical qualities of your voice--melodiousness, tone, pitch, rhythm, volume, and pacing--are like an artist's color palette, with a wide range of combinations.
Posture, body language, hand and arm gestures, and and facial expression will likewise reveal non-verbal cues about your state of mind. If you were to make a presentation using no movement at all and a monotonous voice, you would soon lose the interest of the audience. There you are, with a well-researched topic you've chosen because you're enthusiastic about it . . . and nobody pays any attention to you. Just living through the 5-to-10 minutes it takes for a student to push through and finish the exercise is hard on the student, the teacher who wants the student to succeed, and the audience, many of whom are students mentally rehearsing their own presentation and others parents and classmates' families who want the day to be a celebration of knowledge.
We all have something worthwhile to share--interesting facts, important issues, emotional connections, creative solutions--and when we have the courage to give it our best, we can feel wonderful and excited and proud. Nothing else compares to having spoken clearly heart-to-heart or mind-to-mind. Your discoveries, opinions, visions, and creations will leave them thinking, provoke a reaction, persuade them to take action.
As you discover your voice, you will identify your desired outcome--transmit knowledge, share experiences, connect with emotion, entertain, persuade.
You will think through how to establish a connection with the audience--pick up signals, establish rapport, use your strengths in visual, oral, text, animation, video, demonstration.
Tell the story again and again, time yourself, record yourself (and watch the results). Most students do not like this method the first time they try it, but those who stick with it and track their progress will make vast improvements as their confidence in their knowledge and their enthusiasm for their message emerges over multiple rehearsals.
Work with an outline and notes rather than a copy of your completed essay. You will find this increases your confidence and improves your overall performance. You will lose your place in the text, or turn and face the screen, or panic because you've left out a carefully-memorized phrase.
Posture
Shoulders back and down.
Knees slightly bent--not locked
Monitor the stretching of your neck, jaw, and throat forward, usually an unconscious action to increase volume.
Shoulders back and down.
Knees slightly bent--not locked
Monitor the stretching of your neck, jaw, and throat forward, usually an unconscious action to increase volume.
Lips, Jaw, Tongue, and Palate
Relax your lips and allow your mouth to open properly. Because they are nervous or perhaps in an effort to look serious, many students tighten their lips, which affects their voice and limits the range of expressions for their face. Use the warm-up exercises on the Train Your Voice page to ensure you can speak with greatest facility in this moment.
Relax your lips and allow your mouth to open properly. Because they are nervous or perhaps in an effort to look serious, many students tighten their lips, which affects their voice and limits the range of expressions for their face. Use the warm-up exercises on the Train Your Voice page to ensure you can speak with greatest facility in this moment.
It's Not (Just) the Moment, It's the Movement
One: Establish the Center
On presentation day, members of the audience will focus on you in the opening moments, then naturally shift as you give them other items of interest and direct their attention to the details you want them to see.
You have an infinite variety of ways to begin your presentation, but as in chess, dance, or court and field sports, there are some opening positions that are better than others.
Whether you are in the classroom, in the hallway, or on stage in the cafeteria, multipurpose room, or commons, the beginning position is typically front and center. Beginning at the rear, behind the audience, or entering from the side, can be a dramatic flourish, but it is usually best to reserve them until you have greater experience getting and directing the attention of an audience.
So, lead from the front. Beginning in view and near the center of the presentation area gives the audience a chance to see and hear you and follow your lead. They need a moment to get a sense of your emotional tone--is this a solemn and serious topic or a wonder-filled joyous exploration of unusual phenomena?
Look out at the people on presentation day as your friends and family--because they are! You will have an audience small enough for eye contact. Some students get a charge of energy from that connection; others may want to diffuse their focus so the audience is a collection of fuzzy shapes, or look beyond the audience--past shoulders or over heads--to give the illusion of engagement without personal discomfort. Setting up the opening without being intimidated and without fostering a feeling in the audience that they need to "help" you by coaxing you through pauses and hesitations. The center is where you establish yourself.
Two: Take a Side
Every presentation will have a story behind it. It will offer the audience a series of events and cause and effect, either as your describe your learning journey or narrate the content of your topic or issue. As it progresses in the mind of the audience it will move, so you should move, too. Think about changing position when . . .
There is a change in location in the narrative;
There is a change in mood or emotion (vary your voice delivery as well);
There is a change in point of view (you are narrating two perspectives or positions).
If you walk to the right side of the presentation area, practice turning your body slightly to the left so the entire audience can still hear you clearly and see your facial expressions. If you walk to the left, then a slight turn to the right will be in order.
Every presentation will have a story behind it. It will offer the audience a series of events and cause and effect, either as your describe your learning journey or narrate the content of your topic or issue. As it progresses in the mind of the audience it will move, so you should move, too. Think about changing position when . . .
There is a change in location in the narrative;
There is a change in mood or emotion (vary your voice delivery as well);
There is a change in point of view (you are narrating two perspectives or positions).
If you walk to the right side of the presentation area, practice turning your body slightly to the left so the entire audience can still hear you clearly and see your facial expressions. If you walk to the left, then a slight turn to the right will be in order.
Three: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
The narrative of most stories is not a mathematical progression from success to success building on one another; there will often be obstacles in the way or failures. When you reach this point in your narrative, backing away from the audience can be effective body language. Think about increasing distance between you and the audience when . . .
A line of investigation you were telling them about ends in frustration (and in stepping back, you can raise your voice without shocking or scaring the audience);
The biography of an important person in your research records a failure or setback;
An issue seems even further from a solution.
By the same guideline, consider approaching the front of the presentation area when . . .
The narrative of the topic reaches a success or victory;
You want to share (perhaps lowering your voice for effect) a success or discovery you want to share;
You have a moment of sudden realization (a stroke of genius).
The narrative of most stories is not a mathematical progression from success to success building on one another; there will often be obstacles in the way or failures. When you reach this point in your narrative, backing away from the audience can be effective body language. Think about increasing distance between you and the audience when . . .
A line of investigation you were telling them about ends in frustration (and in stepping back, you can raise your voice without shocking or scaring the audience);
The biography of an important person in your research records a failure or setback;
An issue seems even further from a solution.
By the same guideline, consider approaching the front of the presentation area when . . .
The narrative of the topic reaches a success or victory;
You want to share (perhaps lowering your voice for effect) a success or discovery you want to share;
You have a moment of sudden realization (a stroke of genius).
Four: Restoring Balance at Journey's End
Most narratives of student research will end by closing the cycle or circle; you end up close to where you began. You may choose to finish by returning to the center position. Alternatively, if you would like to leave the audience with the impression that you're in a better place than when you started, concluding at the center-front of the presentation area will place you in a "power position," ready to answer audience questions. If an issue has two sides and you have decided where your convictions are, aligning yourself with the side of the presentation area where you discussed that side of the argument is a subtle message of your conclusion. If the solution to the issue is uncertain or in doubt, a variety of positions are possible to communicate using body language.
Most narratives of student research will end by closing the cycle or circle; you end up close to where you began. You may choose to finish by returning to the center position. Alternatively, if you would like to leave the audience with the impression that you're in a better place than when you started, concluding at the center-front of the presentation area will place you in a "power position," ready to answer audience questions. If an issue has two sides and you have decided where your convictions are, aligning yourself with the side of the presentation area where you discussed that side of the argument is a subtle message of your conclusion. If the solution to the issue is uncertain or in doubt, a variety of positions are possible to communicate using body language.
While you have chosen the content of your research topic out of genuine curiosity rather than foreknowledge of the ups and downs ahead, every event has a story, and there will be distinctive shifts in perspective, point-of-view, progress, and setbacks along the way. All you need to do is pay attention to the energy flow of the story you have chosen to share and think through your movement from place to place in the presentation area. There are few really horrible positions from which to deliver your presentation (except perhaps under your desk, face down, using a chipmunk voice). Just be open during your rehearsals to the energy of the story and play along with your movement until you get the hang of it.
The Applause is Not Always Just for You
When you perform or speak in front of a crowd, your presentation is a gift you bring to the audience. At the end of your speech or demonstration, the audience's applause is their gift back to you. It can signify the energy you've displayed, the power of your thoughts, the courage of your convictions, or your bravery in weathering the complex emotions attached to public speaking.
So, don't waste the moment, or make your audience feel like you won't receive their gift. Many times, as soon as a student finishes their presentation, they are hustling offstage fast. Some are close to tears from the stress; some go sit with their family and have a quiet (or not-so-quiet) meltdown; some feel they haven't given their best and want to retreat and distance themselves from the just-finished presentation; some have done quite well but the effort has left them drained. Please, think through those possibilities now and resolve to stand still, acknowledge the audience, and accept the gift of their applause.
The applause is also an acknowledgment that the day is special to many in the room: families (often extended families, grandparents, brothers and sisters) that took the time to arrange their day to come to school; the support of homeroom classmates and teachers; the realization that school can be a place where good things happen and students take charge as experts and investigators. Applause also sets the tone for the next student's presentation, and gives them an opportunity to organize their thoughts, displays, and artifacts to ferry them to the stage while the audience is focused on you.
Your actions don't end when you sit back down, either. You will have a role in every presentation. Show genuine interest in your classmates' presentations as an audience member; give them a reason to show genuine interest in your presentation. Applaud what is good about your classmates and what is possible in this classroom. Celebrate what you have done instead of regretting afterwards what you've left undone.