Blog Post By: Eveline Jiang November 2022
- Introduction -
Hello everyone!
My name is Eveline Jiang. I am a first-year college student attending The Ohio State University. I am a business student with a specialization in Finance and a minor in Business Analytics.
I have always been a rather shy and introverted person. Growing up, I loathed speaking in front of the class. My hands would become clammy, and my heart would start beating ten beats too fast whenever I had to stand on stage in the spotlight.
This being said, it may seem ironic to you that I chose to major in business; a field that requires quite a bit of public speaking skills in order to excel in. However, despite the uncomfortableness I felt while on stage, I always enjoyed speaking and interacting with others, and I did not want my lack in public speaking skills to stop me from obtaining a career where I got to work with other people.
Furthermore, I was confident that with practice and determination I could improve my public speaking skills and become more comfortable under the spotlight. With this belief in mind, I created a goal and found a book to support and help me accomplish my goal.
- Goal -
My SMART Goal: To improve my confidence in public speaking by the end of the semester by using various strategies from the book and by tracking my progress through the presentations I give this semester.
Public speaking is essential to success in the field of business. Many business classes are structured around giving presentations and pitches to an audience. Giving presentations is also a common occurrence in business careers. I created this goal, with the hope and intention that it would help lead me to success in my next few years of undergrad and in my future career.
- Book -
The book I chose was Steal the Show, written by Michael Port. According to Port, this book was written for the “I’m shy and I get visibly nervous when I have to speak in front of others” type of person (Port, 2015). I believed that this description described me perfectly, and hence, this was why I ended up choosing the book.
The book is split into three main sections: “The Performers Mindset”, “Powerful Performance Principles”, and “A Master Class in Public Speaking.” For the purpose of finding strategies to help me reach my goal, I focused the majority of my time on the last section of the book.
- Strategies & Tracking -
In the various classes I am taking this semester, I have given a total of six presentations. If you would like to learn more about what each specific presentation was about, click to open the collapsible list.
Semester 1 Presentations (in chronological order)
1. I defined a dignified life and argued how that was challenged during the Holocaust. [Oct. 11]
2. I taught psychology chapter seven to the class, which was about classical conditioning. [Oct. 17]
3. I taught psychology chapter eight to the class, which was about operant conditioning. [Oct. 19]
4. I defined freedom and argued how it was not present during the Holocaust. [Nov. 15]
5. I presented my business curriculum plan for my next few years of undergrad. [Nov. 21]
6. I presented on the remembrance of the Holocaust and how it effected second generation victims. [Nov. 29]
Strategy #1:
The first thing I focused on was incorporating interactive activities into my presentation. Interactive activities result in "a richer, more memorable experience" for the audience (Port, 2015).They help the audience remember your main points, and they make the audience feel more engaged and connected to the speaker/presenter (Port, 2015).
To Track this strategy, I created a chart. After each presentation I jotted down the interactive activity I used, my thoughts on how well it worked, and in the end the grade I received from the professor.
Title of Presentation | Interactive Activity Used | Thoughts and Descriptions | Grade Received |
Dignified Life | Poll | I polled the audience on a simple question and asked them to raise their hands as a form of answering. There was a low level of participation in this activity, but maybe I'll try it out again on a different presentation. | 90 |
Psych Ch. 7 | Gimkit Game | This is an online game, similar in style to Kahoot. The class seemed excited to try it out and the results from the game showed that many people paid attention during the presentation. | 93 |
Psych Ch. 8 | Pavlov Experiment | This was an experiment relevant to the psychology chapter. It allowed the audience to work in groups and understand the content better. | 97 |
Freedom | Poll | I tried the poll again, and this time there was a much better reaction. The majority of the audience participated and this helped me to understand the most popular opinions in the audience. | 96 |
Business Curriculum | Q&A | I paused throughout this presentation, giving the audience time to ask questions. I believe that this helped me clarify things. I also noticed that it was challenging to answer some questions and it allowed me to look at some things from a different perspective. | 100 |
Remembrance | Kahoot | The class seemed very excited for the Kahoot, as many of them were intensely playing to stay on the leaderboard. This activity was a good review of the information I talked about in the presentation. | 99 |
Through this chart, it is evident that the grades I received on the presentations had a positive trend.
I had different experiences and feelings during each of my presentations, but overall, I felt better audience engagement during the interactions. By adding in fun interactive activities, I could feel the audience becoming more interested and this led me to feel more comfortable and confident as the presenter. Therefore, this strategy was successful in helping lead me closer to my goal.
Strategy #2:
Another thing I focused on was the pacing of my presentations. It is important to speak at a normal conversation speed and it is important to speak with pauses (Port, 2015). Speaking too fast or too slow can lead to main points being missed and boredom, respectively. (Port, 2015). Furthermore, it is crucial that your presentation stays within the time limit you are given (Port, 2015).
To track this strategy, after every presentation I asked a couple peers/the professor to write down some feedback on the pacing of my presentation. Click on the arrows on the image below to browse through the feedback I received (there's a total of 12 feedback forms, two from each presentation).
I found the feedback to be extremely helpful to my presentations. I was able to use the feedback I received from my prior presentation to improve my next presentation.
As the semester went on, I believe that my pacing improved a lot. I learned that I liked to speak quickly whenever I was nervous and so, I gradually learned to slow down my pacing and talk at a speed that allowed me to seem more confident and comfortable under the spotlight.
- Takeaways -
One takeaway I had as I gave more and more presentations this semester is that the more comfortable and confident, I felt while giving a presentation, the more comfortable, relaxed, and happy the audience seemed to feel. I also experienced this whenever I was the audience. If someone appeared to be very nervous on the stage, I would always feel myself feeling a bit anxious and nervous for them. This ultimately goes to show the power confidence and being comfortable can bring while public speaking.
Through this experience I also learned the importance of stepping out of your comfort zone. During this semester I repeatedly pushed myself outside my comfort zone, and although, it wasn’t always an enjoyable or perfect experience, I learned a lot along the journey. In order to grow as a person, I believe that it is important to occasionally step out of your comfort zone.
The most significant takeaway I had from this project was that you do not have to be a naturally outgoing or extroverted person to give a good presentation. Learning strategies and having opportunities to practice public speaking will allow anyone to be able to improve their skills.
In the end, with a lot of hard work, practice, and determination, I was able to successfully turn stage fright into shinning in the spotlight.
- References -
Port, M. (2015, October 6). Steal the Show: From Speeches to Job Interviews to Deal-closing
Pitches, how to Guarantee a Standing Ovation for All the Performances in Your Life.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.