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Kick ass IOP in a month for someone with stage fright?


Guest Aniruddh

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Guest Aniruddh

Hey Guys,

 

So my IOP is scheduled for 4th, 5th and 6th of March (2015) and I am freaking it out because I haven't done anything for it besides finalising my topic with my teacher. I am doing my prez on The Great Gatsby and I watched a couple of IOPs on YT and they were EPIC!! There's no way I can reach that level of perfection because of my stage fright!

 

The first part I need advice is how to get the content itself. My topic is rather broad so I'll have to do a lot of re reading first because I haven't touched the book since we finished it in school (a couple of months back). How much time did you guys take to actually get all the analysis down on paper? I am planning to finish my analysis in about 10 days and spend the rest of the time practicing.

 

Am I giving too less time to analysis, because honestly my presentation skills suck and I speak very fast, especially when I get nervous, which I do when I have to speak in front of the whole class. I feel extremely intimidated, and I am not able to speak properly. I really need to get a good grade for my IOP because I am aiming for at least a 6 in English.

 

Please help me out!

Aniruddh

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hey man, seeing as I have a kind of stage fright myself, i figure i could help a bit. Firstly, why dont you try (before going on stage) taking a few minutes to review your notes and if there is time, listen to some music. that calms me down. Nextly, have a friend in the audience who you trust and ask them to smile, and generally be positive towards you. look at him/her whenever you get nervous, or the whole time. Finally, remember that worst comes to worst, you can always bull**** your way through it. in one of my IOPs, I forgot about 2 minutes worth of things. but because I had reviewed and researched enough, i bull****ted my way (albeit, it made sense with what i had before), and got a 7. While I agree that is not a model way to work, its always a possibility.

Finally, i guess the last thing you can do is trick yourself. Try telling yourself that you can do it. it really helps. and if you panick on stage. take a second to breathe. just make it appear like your clearing your throat.

hope this helps you man, and best of luck

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Hey Guys,

 

So my IOP is scheduled for 4th, 5th and 6th of March (2015) and I am freaking it out because I haven't done anything for it besides finalising my topic with my teacher. I am doing my prez on The Great Gatsby and I watched a couple of IOPs on YT and they were EPIC!! There's no way I can reach that level of perfection because of my stage fright!

 

The first part I need advice is how to get the content itself. My topic is rather broad so I'll have to do a lot of re reading first because I haven't touched the book since we finished it in school (a couple of months back). How much time did you guys take to actually get all the analysis down on paper? I am planning to finish my analysis in about 10 days and spend the rest of the time practicing.

 

Am I giving too less time to analysis, because honestly my presentation skills suck and I speak very fast, especially when I get nervous, which I do when I have to speak in front of the whole class. I feel extremely intimidated, and I am not able to speak properly. I really need to get a good grade for my IOP because I am aiming for at least a 6 in English.

 

Please help me out!

Aniruddh

Which presentations were epic? And why can't you reach this level ever?

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I have my IOP in two days so I feel your struggle... :unsure:

 

The analysis part depends on the work you've chosen and since it's The Great Gatsby, I definitely recommend reading the book again. It also depends on what aspect you're going to talk about because the book itself is very broad. Mine is on the creature's actions in Frankenstein so I recommend narrowing your topic so that you have less to analyze and yet you could go in depth with it. I started working on presenting my IOP a week before it was due and I feel fairly well-preapared. However, I know people who started a day before and still got a 7.... It strongly depends on your own preferences and how much time you need.

 

If you're really worried about the stress part, the best solution is to make sure you know exactly what you're going to talk about. That way, even if the stress gets you and you forget the presentation the way you planned it, you will still be able to pass, because you will have the required knowledge to speak freely on the topic. I'm not sure if it could make your life easier, but a lot of teachers recommend making a powerpoint or some other type of visual aid so that, in case of some doubt, you can always look up to it and perhaps breaking the eye contact from your teacher would help you get back on track.

 

You can also try imagining that you're simply talking to your friend about some casual matters. That way you won't be so tense about the teacher's eyes being constantly on you. Likewise, speak slow. That's also something that gets many people lost since it makes you get lost in your own thoughts when you speak fast.

 

I hope you'll do good and don't stress that much!!! It'll be great! :D

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ok love

as someone whose done speeches and dances and performance and acting etc in front of heck loads of people i have some advice for stage fright

 

literally all you need to do is think happy thoughts but i don't think thats the answer you want so here is a quick list

  • believe in what you're saying. if you don't believe it then how are you gonna make other people believe it?
  • practice practice practice practice practice practice it!! goes without saying. you want to know every word, every slide change, every pause, the intonation you're bonn say different things in, when you're going to look at different people
  • if you're using a powerpoint, put it in presenter mode, so on the projector it shows the slide but on your screen it shows the current slide, the second slide and the time you've used up so far. this will help you with speed and knowing whats coming next etc
  • have an IOParty. my friends and i did this to practice our presentations and give each other criticisms to improve and we all did pretty well so would recomend
  • look at each and every person in the room. make sure you look at the person in the back corner on each side, look at the teachers. divide your audience up into different areas (by people) and make an effort to look at each area in rotation. 
  • it helps if you're friends with your classmates because looking your friends in the eye is less scary than looking at a stranger in the eye
  • positive, welcoming body language: stand straight, shoulders back, chest open, chin up, and smile :)
  • don't have your speech in front of you. have points on palm cards. if your reading of a speech you'll probably read faster and not look around as much. 2/3 of your marks from this come from your presentation so you can have the worst content in the world and still get a 4 really
  • if your friends stress you out, stay away from them on the morning of because i know that stressed me out doing mine
  • get a normal amount of sleep the night before, have a normal breakfast on the day of then just relax and let it go how it goes because its not the end of the world.

 

if you need any further help then message me <3

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The IOP is stressful, trust me. If you saw me do mine, I would've seemed calm and collected, but really I was freaking out. It's all about preparation for the IOP. Finish your presentation quickly, and practice practice practice. I practiced till my voice was sore! I got a seven though :)

 

As for the actual content, go through with a pad of sticky notes and point out everything that seems important. In the end, grab your laptop and stuff it into one word or powerpoint and you're good to go :)

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