Wow that's great, and congratulations.
erfect:
I take it your paper was really good. :applause:
I wish I had some advice but I've never faced such a thing before. When will this actually be? In the time between now and then is there any type of lessons you could take to help your confidence talking in front of folks?
Thank you. I can be overly critical of my own work, so it's hard for me to say.
I'm pointing that down, I'll look into it.
So it sounds like you want to do it! So we'll all have to help you figure out how.
How much time do you have to prepare yourself?
Firstly try to tackle those negative though patterns. This isn't an anxious time, it's a fantastic opportunity to attain confidence and practise your public speaking skills
The conference is months away, so in theory I have enough time to cover all the technical aspects and mentally prepare for it. I'm just not exactly sure how I'm going to accomplish that last part, despite all the time I have.
My self-confidence is very low, so turning it around and looking at it as an opportunity to build up my confidence offers an interesting, yet challenging, perspective. As hard as it may be for me, I think that's a good first step - to become consistent at dismissing the negative thoughts related to the event.
One thing I think that can be really helpful is to think that you already have managed to do it and people really enjoyed your presentation. I've read about some positive thinking techniques and thinking that you have already completed a challenge succesfully has helped me during many situations. Like you're already projecting in your subconcious how effective you when showing your ideas.
Good luck!
I often picture myself doing things beforehand in order to feel more in control.
I think that one of the biggest issues here is that I don't know the place nor the people, so it's hard for me to picture myself doing it. I can imagine it of course, but it doesn't feel real enough for me to settle down/feel in control I guess (if that makes sense). I never tried thinking about the outcome though, well, not on a positive note anyway, so your suggestion may come in handy.
Wow this sounds nerve wracking. Everyone is different, but I know in my case the best way to prepare would be to practice your lecture so well and so many times that it becomes something you do on automatic mode. And I would try to anticipate all the possible questions that could be asked and prepare a response for all of them. Not sure it's a sane way to go for anyone, but that's what I would do.
Now my solution when I want to make sure I don't chicken out of a difficult situation, is to make sure that my brain understand that I AM going to do it. Nothing else can happen. The option "not doing it" just doesn't exist. I'm not sure what I'm trying to say is understandable. I mean this way I can just put my body on automatic mode (yeah I like that mode) to carry me through it while my brain (also on automatic mode since I prepared it so well) keep calm and do what it has to do. And I breath and tell myself I can panic later but now is not the time. It probably sounds either stupid, obvious or unrealistic to apply, but I don't really know how else I can explain what I mean. The first part has kept me from missing many opportunities and the second part has spared me from losing my cool in public many times.
I hope it can help you a little, if not, well I tried.
Good luck for the conference anyway
This is good advice as well. I think I understand what you mean.
I do need to prepare very well beforehand. If I'm totally sure of what I want to say and that I'm gonna say it, I'll be peeling away one of the layers of unknown that makes me naturally anxious. I normally like to improvise, but that's out of question here, autopilot sounds much more enticing. Thanks for the good luck wishes.
I've never had to present in front of a panel but I did at a conference. Umm I would say the best thing is just to know your paper really well. That way you wont be struggling to remember details when in front of people. The better you understand your work the easier it is to just kinda go on autopilot. The good thing is you'll be in front of intellectuals and not some jeering crowd at American Idol. So even if you made mistakes I dont think people would be ****s about it.
Somehow I just assume people will make my life harder by default, but you do have a point. And in any case, I could always:
imagine you're Tony Montana.
JUST DO IT.
Backing away from this is just out of the question.
No matter how you feel about it, you're just going to go through it like a robot if necessary.
This is a great opportunity for you and the only person who will care about your anxiety is going to be you. The others are there to listen to the the content of your presentation. In the end, the packaging won't matter.
Half of success in life is showing up! Woody Allen
Thank you for the inspiring words. I do intend to force myself to do it, even if it hurts.
