reasons to not do a presentation

9 Clever Ways to get out of a Presentation

Hrideep barot.

• Body Language & Delivery , Presentation , Public Speaking , Workplace Communication

Ever attended a boring presentation and thought to yourself why am I even here; or worse thought you were going to give a boring presentation and had the same thought as mentioned above? Having to wait before your turn in presentation is the scariest feeling of all; contrastingly, going through with it and delivering a successful presentation puts you on cloud nine. 

A presentation is the procedure of presenting an idea, topic or thought to an audience using creative and effective tools. Presentations have many purposes, that is to inform, persuade, entertain, instruct etc. It may be addressed to a single entity, to a group or to a crowd. It is also being used in all types of fields be it education, work, sales; or even casual like giving a presentation to your friend about how your favorite movie actor is the best.  

Why are presentations necessary?  

Presentations are important to polish your skills and get you ready to face and interact with the real world. Some of the reasons highlighting the necessity of a presentation include engaging your audience. Engagement with your audience is important especially if your presentation is persuasive; it pushes you to face the audience and put your voice out there to grab the attention of the audience. Additionally, it helps you to see whether the audience is bored or interested. Also, if they are bored you could always use diversion to steam off the boredom. 

Moreover, there is much flexibility when it comes to presentations. You can easily modify points or change the topic in the presentation when and if needed to go in line with your client’s needs. Although it is not possible in the case of a printed. Subsequently, presentations make you do extra research and reference slides; in turn increasing your knowledge of your topic making it easier to even refer in future 

The main of the presentation is to deliver an important message or explain a topic in a brief or concise manner so that the audience don’t lose much of their time and use much of their brain power. 

Why do people avoid giving presentations?  

There are many reasons for people to duck down when given the opportunity to give a presentation. Being lazy, not taking up extra work, not good at making a presentation or having the presentation skills etc. However, the most common reasons for avoiding presentations are getting that uncomfortable feeling before presentation, fear of public speaking or the fear of boring out the audience or messing up. 

Infact, according to the website verywellmind.com around 77% of the population have glossophobia or the fear of public speaking (fear of giving presentations in front of people). This problem also arises because of people thinking that they are being constantly judged by their audience or people around them for every move they make. 

How to get out of Presentations?  

1) confrontation .

Confront your teacher or superior, talk to them and explain in detail how uncomfortable you are to present in front of everyone else and ask if there is an alternative solution or work you could do to earn the credits or ask for permission to give one on one presentation. Chances are that they might agree to your requests. 

2) Video presentation  

Ask the person in charge if you could have a video presentation instead of a live one, this way they could have you perform it in the form of a presentation and you would also be comfortable doing it in the absence of a live audience. 

3) Sick Trip  

One clever but unethical way to get out of a presentation is to call in sick or plan a trip for 2-3 days around that time. In the workplace this might spare you from presenting, as the presentation might continue without you. However, in school or college this may just simply postpone your chance to present or if you are lucky enough it will get you to present only in front of the teacher. 

3) Family Emergency  

Another unethical excuse to get out of a presentation is fake a family emergency call and get out of a presentation, same as before if you wish you to postpone your presentation, this might be of help. 

4) Less talk, more work  

If it’s a group project, with the permission of the authority, you can volunteer to do more research, technical and background work and in turn less speaking or none at all during your group presentation. 

5) Deleted Presentation

A reason specifically used so that you could postpone your presentation for some time is using this excuse that your presentation got deleted by mistake and that you did not take a back up. However, this could not be used in a group presentation and could be a little less plausible, because it is a very common excuse people used to get out of a presentation.

6) Home Emergency

home emergencies like pipe burst, water flooding, gas leak can occur anytime, hence becoming a very plausible and perfect way to reach late and miss the presentation. In addition no would ask you to show a photo of your house in a mess. So it is pretty much fool proof. (This could only work if you mention that you live alone)

7) Overslept

One of the commonly used yet barely doubtful justification for missing the presentation. You could say that you stayed up late practicing and preparing for the presentation and then you overslept and could not even hear your alarm as you by mistake put your phone on silent.

8) Untimely Death of a Close Relative

You wouldn’t want to wish or use this unless it’s badly needed. Almost everyone might believe this excuse and more so may give you a full day’s break (although your reason should be full planned like what happened, how did it happen etc.) 

9) Personal Reasons

Here, you can simply say that you couldn’t complete the presentation on time due to personal reasons that you would not be comfortable sharing. The authorities might not ask you if you say that you’re uncomfortable sharing. Just in case they do be prepared with an excuse that sounds personal (example – you started menstruating and stained your clothes).

Can a teacher force me to give a presentation?  

Technically, a teacher cannot force you to present in front of the class; although they can strongly insist you to do so with the intention to improve your public speaking skills and decrease your stage fright. However, if you refuse to give a presentation, they could give a bad grade unless you show them an IEP (Individualized Education Plan – a legal document generally used for children with learning disabilities for personalized learning goals and needs). 

But this needs you to undergo an evaluation and is a lengthy process, on top of which it’s not applicable to get out of presentations at the workplace. So how can you successfully get out of a presentation without so many medical formalities? 

How do I tell the teacher/superior that I can’t perform a presentation?  

First and the most important of all inform them in advance. Don’t come up to them at the end moment, refusing to present. They wouldn’t be able to make changes or find an alternative to give to you this late. Besides, they will think that you are saying this only because you haven’t done your work or haven’t prepared for it and want to get away with it.  

Furthermore, be honest with them, tell them the whole truth and explain to them in detail why you can’t do the presentation. The more genuine you are, the more chance there is that they will understand your situation and help you out. 

Below is a template of the letter to write to the concerned authority/teacher and request them to allow you to not perform the presentation:

Pre-presentation jitters! What to do?  

Admit it or not, almost all of us have once had that feeling of nervousness running through our bodies before giving a presentation, thinking to ourselves “just get done with it already” or “I don’t want to do present anymore. What if I mess up? Somebody please get me out of this to be disaster!” So, how do I overcome that phase? There are quite a few ways to get rid of these jitters which include  

relaxing your whole body internally and externally to decrease the secretion of stress hormones, in turn slowing down the rate resulting in decreased anxiety making you calm and composed and ready to face the crowd. 

Listen to some music

it could help you calm down or distract you from terrifying thoughts (make sure your music has soft melody rather than it being anxiety increasing, bad thought inducing. 

Content familiarization

be fully familiarized with your content, learn about everything you need to know – questions, doubts, theory, statistics etc. This may make you become more confident on stage. 

Practice thoroughly

Try to practice thoroughly before in front of your friends or family and have them ask questions to create a mock environment which will help you get more comfortable in the real one. 

Talk to a close one

Have a conversation with a person who is close to you, this might help calm your nerves and gain you some confidence. Talk to them, tell them how you feel, they might have a solution or might give a pep talk to encourage you or simply their mere auditory presence could make you feel a lot better. 

Bioenergetics

So this is basically a way to loosen up your body a bit from all involuntary bracing that you are doing due to stress. Bioenergetics is a technique of stretching your body in weird ways and along with making weird sounds. This tends to open up your voice and make you more relaxed.

Some Tips to Give your First Presentation:

Here are some tips you can keep in mind when preparing your first presentation:

Pseudo eye contact

If you are nervous to look people in the eye while presenting, make a pseudo eye contact with them which means that look at empty spaces between the audience. Look at every empty space and it will appear like you are maintaining eye contact with them. However with the less amount of audience you could focus on anything on their face but their eyes.

Talk Slowly

Being nervous while on stage, one tends to unintentionally talk very quickly, this may make it difficult for the audience to perceive them and they might instantly lose the attention of the audience. Instead, what you could do is talk slowly than usual, this way you would be more conscious of your speech, seem more comprehensive and less nervous.

Presentation: Start and End   

The start is the most crucial point in the whole presentation. How you start will determine whether you will have your audience’s attention throughout or not. If your audience experiences a boring beginning, they will judge the whole presentation on the basis of the start and not focus on your presentation. Some interesting ways to start your presentation are using stories, weird facts, jokes, questions, games, or anecdotes. Starting in an unconventional way would give you an edge over others. 

For example, to give a presentation on your firm being the best tours and travels company, provides your audience with paper and pen to write their best and worst most hilarious travel memories and put them in a bowl to create a humorous and light environment at the start. 

Similarly, your ending must also be as impactful as the start. Make a strong statement at the end to make an impact on the audience or give them something to think about at end using rhetoric device like “Was your latest travelling experience as good as how we ensure ours to be?” forcing them to weigh the pros and cons of both the deals and thinking about your presentation for a longer time. 

For more effective opening slides, check out our article – 10 Of The Best Things To Say In Opening Remarks ; and our video:

Handing over the presentation to the next presenter, how?  

Now Peter is going to present about ‘xyz’ topic. Sounds a bit monotonous right? Because this is always the scene in almost every group presentation. Your team could try something different instead, like making a connection between your speech and the successor’s speech; similar to how you connect two paragraphs in an essay saying “now we know the importance of tea, but how to make one? My partner tom would now explain on how to make a tea.” and add in some more information on it. 

When to pause during a presentation?  

Whenever you give presentations remember that pauses are important, it helps give yourself and the audience some break and time to ponder upon. This is essential especially when you are having a solo presentation.  

Firstly, time them in your speaking after questions that could be answered (but not necessarily need to be, like rhetorical devices. Such as stand-up comedians ask a rhetorical question or crack an intellectual joke and wait for the audience to react, rather than directly jumping to the next joke or conversation. This makes their connection with the audience seem genuine and also makes the audience feel included. 

Secondly at the beginning of your presentation make eye contact with the audience for 3-5 seconds before you start. This somehow acquaints you with the audience and helps you to gain their focus. 

Lastly, take a pause after you make or convey a significant point. Take a pause for half a minute or so and let the information sink in and enter their long-term memory. You can use this technique even after explaining a complex point. 

Presentation gone wrong?  

We don’t give ourselves enough credit when a presentation is successful but we are the first ones to regret and crib for a long time when messing up a bit in presentation.

Lots of people make mistakes during their presentation possibly due to anxiety, some technical glitch or some kind of innocent mistake. However only some people learn from their mistakes and move ahead, the rest become embarrassed and develop presentation anxiety or stage fright and dread giving presentation for the rest of their lives. 

So how do we handle presentation mishaps in that moment?

1) First, when you realize your mistake, stop on the spot, take a deep breath, calm yourself down, find people around who understood your mistake but still gave you supporting smiles.

2) Next, explain your mistake and correct it, the audience will understand that you are just as human as everyone else in the room and can make mistakes.

3) Lastly take control of the situation and continue. 

4) Another way you could admit your mistake is to laugh at yourself, that is cope with humor. The environment would already be tensed when people have sensed your mistake and because they don’t know how to react to your mess up and that has made them uncomfortable enough. Therefore, to blow off the steam make a joke or laugh on yourself. 

How to make presentations fun?  

Nobody likes those boring presentations with the same clichéd slides, with all the information crowded inside and no visual imagery. One could use different presentation tools to make your presentation more visually appealing. Some sites even have games to add on the slides to make it interesting. 

Additionally, you could add videos, visual imagery, audios, social experiments, good examples, and animations etc. to captivate the audience’s attention. 

To know more about different tools of presentation visit our article : 5 Presentations Tools To Use With Multimedia Presentations

Conclusion  

Presentation skills must be developed since childhood since they are used in every field. However, if you are anxious to present and cannot face a crowd, it is important that you work on your public speaking skills to make it easier for you in the future. Additionally, you need to ask for help from your supervisors or teachers to improve your skills and make you a better communicator. One also needs to learn that their presentations wouldn’t always turn out as expected and that is okay, what is important is to show up, it is fine if you mess up; as explained in the show Brooklyn 99 that “two steps forward and one step back is still one step forward”. One should always keep moving forward, learning from all their mistakes and experiences. 

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What Not to do During a Presentation-10 Biggest Public Speaking Mistakes

10 Public Speaking Mistakes: What Not to Do in a Presentation

1. data-dumping. too much information or too many slides and/or bullet points.

The biggest (worst) thing that a speaker can do is to Data Dump. This is where the speaker gives endless bullet points and endless slides with way too much data for a single sitting. As speakers, we often feel like, if we don’t tell the audience everything, we have failed as a presenter. In reality, though, that is really unrealistic. For instance, I have been teaching presentation skills classes for over 20 years. If I tried to explain to the audience EVERYTHING that I know about the topic in a single one-hour presentation, it would be disastrous. Instead, I would do much better to focus on just a few data points that will be most helpful to that audience, right now.

Great speakers know that a few items covered really well is always better than a lot of items covered in a cursory way.

2. Reading a long series of bullet points to the audience with little additional information

This mistake often occurs when the presenter is nervous about forgetting important parts of the presentation. They think that a lack of preparation is their problem. So, to reduce the nervousness, he/she will often add a bullet for every single data point covered in the presentation. This causes the “Read… Click… Read… Click…” method of presenting. Here is a reality check for you if you have ever used this technique…

IT DOESN’T WORK

Most speakers who do this will sound really boring. The technique also forces the presenter to cover EVERY SINGLE BULLET, no matter what. So when the speaker looks out at the audience’s reactions and sees them getting droopy and drowsy, he/she will often panic. The speaker will rush through the remaining points and seem very unprofessional in the process. This is one of the most common public speaking mistakes I see.

Instead, limit your main bullet points to just a few, most important items. Then use attention-getting pieces of evidence like stories, examples, analogies, quotes, audience participation, props, and the like. (We cover how to add each of these in the  Fearless Presentations  ® class by the way!)

3. Speaking while audience tries to read the slide

Coming in at #3 (and my personal pet peeve) is when a speaker provides complicated visual aids, but then doesn’t refer to it. I remember sitting through a company meeting once, where the speaker put up a slide with 10 bullets. Then, he just started talking. I kept looking at the slide as he spoke. I assumed that he was on bullet number four, but then he clicked to the next slide. Since he never referred to the slide, it didn’t really help us understand the content. By the end of the presentation, everyone was confused.

Remember that your powerpoint slides are there to help you explain your content. When you think of it that way, you’ll realize this is one of those public speaking mistakes that’s actually easier to do correctly in the first place!

4. Poor eye contact

This item always comes up high in survey results. However, we actually don’t see it occur much in our classes. The reason why is that if you design a great presentation, this typically fixes itself. For instance, if you are violating the top two or three of these tips, your going to be looking at your slides and your bullets (not your audience members). If you focus on just a few items and use examples, stories, and analogies to reinforce each point, you will naturally make good eye contact with your audience. (This one is the easiest one to fix!)

5. Repetitious or predictable gestures

I had a Business Law professor in college who I absolutely loved. He had phenomenal stories that kept us all entertained. However, he had one very noticeable habit that was actually pretty funny. Whenever he got a question from the audience that made him have to think a little, he would walk to the left part of the stage, pull Chapstick out of his pocket, and lather on the lip balm as he answered the question. It became so predictable, that, as the semester progressed, a few of the students were constantly asking him questions just to see how many times he would apply the balm in a single class.

My professor had gestures and movements that were predicable. As a result, these actions became a distraction.

Although we don’t do a tremendous amount of video recording in our presentation classes, we do a little. These short video sessions are essential to determine what our distracting mannerisms and habits are. Once we know about them, we can work on eliminating them.

6. Low energy delivery

Although this isn’t #1 on our list, in my opinion, I believe it is the most destructive to a presenter. High energy level and enthusiasm are the absolute, most sought after traits in a speaker. If you have low energy, your audience will see you as being boring. You will constantly see people on their phones or glancing down at their notes. Most often, people do this to hide their drowsiness.

A church I used to attend was led by a fantastic pastor who led very detailed studies. His style, however, was very low energy and lots of detail. Anytime I felt my eyes getting heavy, I’d quickly look down at my Bible. I was afraid that if I kept looking at the pastor, I’d fall dead asleep.

Please don’t put your audience through this! Your audience will never have any more enthusiastic about your own speech than you do. Kick up the energy a little, and your audience will love you. (For more details, view  Enthusiasm: The Secret to Great Presentations .)

7. Shop-talk and industry-specific terms or complicated verbiage when simple will do

We all have internal acronyms that will make absolutely no sense to people outside our organizations. Be careful not to insert these into your oral presentation. Even in my company, internally, we get tired of saying Fearless Presentations class over and over. So, when we are talking to each other, we just say, the FP class. If I’m giving a presentation, though, and I use this acronym, I will confuse a lot of people. So, be careful about your industry semantics.

The biggest challenge with this, however, happens because of insecurity. When a speaker is going to be delivering a presentation to an audience who he/she sees as being highly educated or more successful, the speaker will often fill the presentation with, what I call, “Harvard Words.” They will start to say things like…

“Diminishing Social Anxiety of Making Public Speaking Mistakes while Disseminating Knowledge to Vast Audiences of Information Gatherers”

They this complicated verbiage, because they want to appear educated in front of the group. In reality, though, they sound confusing. Instead, just use plain, everyday language. (By the way, if you haven’t figured it out yet, the phrase above is just a complicated way to say Fearless Presentations.

8. Monotone voice, or a narrowly ranged voice shows lack of emotional interest in the subject

The monotone voice is just an offset of the low energy speaker above. This version, however, often occurs when the speaker is reading a speech or delivering a memorized speech. Avoid doing these things and kick your energy up, and you will stop this symptom very easily.

9. Useless words—too many filler words or sounds that make the speaker sound unsure of his/her content

Fillers occur when we get nervous. The more nervous the speaker, the more fillers. We have found that people who attend our classes reduce their fillers pretty dramatically automatically because we help them increase their confidence. So, if you find that you are using a high concentration of ers, um, and you know, come to one of our classes, and we will help you eliminate this challenge very quickly. (For more details, visit How to Eliminate Ers, Uhms, and Other Fillers in Your Speeches .)

10. Going overtime without consent

There are very few things more disrespectful to an audience than going overtime. For instance, let’s say that you are at a conference and the schedule says that lunch will be at Noon. The speaker, right before lunch, though, is a little long-winded. At exactly 11:50 AM, people are going to start looking at their watches. At 11:58 AM, they will start to squirm. By 12:01 PM, the speaker will start to get dirty looks. At 12:05 PM, the entire group will be lost.

One of the great things about the presentation outline that we teach in Fearless Presentations ® is that it helps speakers create presentations that hit time frames EXACTLY. In fact, if the organizer came up to one of the graduates a few minutes before the speech and said, “I know we gave you 30 minutes on the agenda, but a few speakers ahead of you have gone over. Can you do your speech in 20 minutes instead?” Our graduates would look back at the organizer, smile, and say, “Piece of cake.” The process allows you to adjust your content on-the-fly without reducing the retention or understanding from the audience. For details, you can view the class syllabus at Public Speaking Class .

Need Help with Any of These Public Speaking Mistakes (What Not to do During a Presentation)?

Obviously, we are biased, but the Fearless Presentations ® class can really help people who have nervousness when they present, and as a result, they use a lot of filler words. The link to the class will show you the curriculum as well as a schedule of upcoming classes. Whether you go to our class or not, if you struggle giving presentations, a good class can really help!

For more information, call us toll-free at 1-800-975-6151 or complete the form below.

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10 Common Presentation Mistakes

Avoiding common pitfalls in your presentations.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

Most of us have experienced dull, irrelevant or confusing presentations. But think back to the last really great presentation you saw – one that was informative, motivating and inspiring. Wouldn't you love to be able to present like that?

This article looks at 10 of the most common mistakes that speakers make when giving presentations. By avoiding these, you'll make your presentations stand out – for all of the right reasons, and none of the wrong ones.

Mistake 1: Not Preparing Enough

Steve Jobs was a famously inspiring speaker. His speeches may have looked effortless, but, in reality, each one took days or weeks of preparation.

Careful preparation is essential. The amount of time you spend on planning depends on your situation, but it's a good idea to start early – you can never be too well-prepared.

Proper preparation also helps you to manage presentation nerves . When you know your material inside and out, you're far less likely to feel nervous. Our presentation planning checklist and Skillbook " Even Better Presentations " can help you to plan your next event properly.

Mistake 2: Not Familiarizing Yourself With the Venue and Equipment

Imagine that your presentation starts in an hour. You arrive at the venue and, to your horror, the projector won't work with your laptop. The slides you spent hours preparing are useless. This is a disaster!

You can avoid a situation like this by taking time to familiarize yourself with the venue and available equipment at least once before your presentation.

Often, the sorts of problems that can jeopardize your presentation will be situations beyond your control, but this doesn't mean that you're helpless. Conduct a risk analysis to identify potential issues, and come up with a good "Plan B" for each one.

Mistake 3: Ignoring Your Audience

Sometimes, speakers can get so wrapped up in delivering their presentations that they forget about the needs of their audience.

Start your presentation by telling your audience what to expect. Let them know what you'll cover first, whether and when you'll stop for a break, if you'll be taking questions during the presentation, and so on.

Providing these "signposts" up front will give your audience a clear idea of what to expect, so that they can relax and concentrate on your presentation.

Mistake 4: Using Inappropriate Content

The primary purpose of any presentation is to share information with others, so it's important to consider the level you'll pitch it at.

Do some research on your audience. Why are they here? How much do they already know about your topic, and what do they most want to learn from you? It's no use giving a presentation that's so full of jargon that no one understands you. But you wouldn't want to patronize people, either.

Try to put yourself in people's shoes, to get a clearer idea about their needs and motivations. You can also greet individuals as they arrive on the day, and ask questions to get a feel for their level of knowledge. This will also help you to personalize your presentation and make a connection with each person in your audience, so that they'll be more attentive to what you say.

Mistake 5: Being Too Verbose

Short, concise presentations are often more powerful than verbose ones. Try to limit yourself to a few main points. If you take too long getting to your point, you risk losing your audience's attention.

The average adult has a 15- to 20-minute attention span. So, if you want to keep your audience engaged, stick to the point! During the planning phase, make a note of the themes you want to cover and how you want to get them across. Then, when you start filling out the details, ask yourself: "Does my audience really need to know this?"

Our articles on the 7 Cs of Communication and Communications Planning have more tips for communicating in a clear, concise way.

Mistake 6: Using Ineffective Visuals

Poor slides can spoil a good presentation, so it's worth spending time getting yours right.

We've all seen slides with garish colors, unnecessary animation, or fonts that are too small to read. The most effective presentation visuals aren't flashy – they're concise and consistent.

When choosing colors, think about where the presentation will take place. A dark background with light or white text works best in dark rooms, while a white background with dark text is easier to see in a brightly lit room.

Choose your pictures carefully, too. High-quality graphics can clarify complex information and lift an otherwise plain screen, but low-quality images can make your presentation appear unprofessional. Unless an image is contributing something, embrace the negative space – less clutter means greater understanding. Use animation sparingly, too – a dancing logo or emoji will only distract your audience.

Mistake 7: Overcrowding Text

The best rule of thumb for text is to keep it simple . Don't try to cram too much information into your slides. Aim for a maximum of three to four words within each bullet point, and no more than three bullets per slide.

This doesn't mean that you should spread your content over dozens of slides. Limit yourself to 10 slides or fewer for a 30-minute presentation. Look at each slide, story or graph carefully. Ask yourself what it adds to the presentation, and remove it if it isn't important.

Mistake 8: Speaking Incoherently

Even though we spend a significant part of the day talking to one another, speaking to an audience is a surprisingly difficult skill, and it's one that we need to practice.

If nerves make you rush through a presentation, your audience could miss your most important points. Use centering or deep breathing techniques to suppress the urge to rush. If you do begin to babble, take a moment to collect yourself. Breathe deeply, and enunciate each word clearly, while you focus on speaking more slowly.

Our article on better public speaking has strategies and tips that you can use to become a more engaging speaker. One useful technique is storytelling – stories can be powerful tools for inspiring and engaging others. Our Expert Interviews with Annette Simmons and Paul Smith have tips that you can use to tell great stories.

Mistake 9: Showing a Lack of Dynamism

Another common mistake is to freeze in one spot for the duration of your presentation.

Some presenters feel most comfortable behind the podium. Try to emulate great speakers like Steve Jobs , who moved purposefully around the stage during his presentations.

As well as working the stage, he used gestures and body language to communicate his excitement and passion for his subject. Pay attention to what your hands are doing – they're important for communicating emotion. But only use gestures if they feel natural, and avoid being too flamboyant with your arms, unless you want to make your audience laugh!

See our Expert Interview, " Winning Body Language ," to learn more about body language and what it says to your audience.

Mistake 10: Avoiding Eye Contact

Have you ever been to a presentation where the speaker spent all of their time looking at their notes, the screen, the floor, or even at the ceiling? How did this make you feel?

Meeting a person's gaze establishes a personal connection, and even a quick glance can keep people engaged. If your audience is small enough, try to make eye contact with each individual at least once.

If the audience is too large for this, try looking at people's foreheads. The individual may not interpret it as eye contact, but those sitting around them will.

It takes practice and effort to deliver a good presentation. But, if you know how to avoid the pitfalls, your presentations will be great.

Common presentation mistakes include not preparing properly, delivering inappropriate content, and speaking poorly.

Time spent on careful planning always pays dividends. Check out the venue, and familiarize yourself with equipment in advance to avoid possible problems.

Keep your content clear and concise, with visual aids to match. And make sure that you pitch it at the right level for your audience's understanding, so that your presentation doesn't patronize or bewilder.

Remember, public speaking is a performance. Practice speaking clearly with a slower pace than your normal speech to avoid "rapid-fire" delivery. Use eye contact, body language and gestures that complement your message to keep your audience engaged.

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10 Ways to Avoid Presentation Failure

April 28, 2023

We’ve all sat through bad presentations – the kind that make you want to check your email or scroll through your social media. Maybe you’ve even had a presentation failure at work.  

But why do some presentations fail to engage and inspire, while others leave a lasting impression  , preparing a business presentation is a real skill; a core business skills.  and it’s a skill you can learn.  over the last 15 years we’ve coached thousands of people to be brilliant business presenters. , do please call us and we’ll tell you about our business presentation coaching – it’s fast and good value., in the meantime, we share the top reasons for bad presentations, with tips on how to avoid the fails., here are 10 reasons for presentation failure.

Let’s review each of these reasons in more detail:

1. You don’t prepare enough

If you haven’t put in the time to research and rehearse your presentation, it will show. You’ll deliver a bad presentation. You may fail to land your message, stumble over unfamiliar words, or struggle to answer questions from the audience. Make sure you give yourself enough time to prepare and practice to avoid presentation failure.

2. You have a poor structure

A poorly structured presentation can leave your audience floundering, unable to follow your train of thought, leaving them bored and disengaged.  Take time to plan.  What’s the overarching message or purpose?  What are your key points and are you providing clear evidence for each one?  Does your presentation have a logical flow? And, most importantly, do you start with a powerful opening and close strongly?

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3. Over-reliance on slides

Slides can be powerful visual aids, but if you rely on them too heavily, you are on track for a presentation fail.  Slides should support your presentation, not drive it. You should be the focus of the audience’s attention, not your PowerPoint deck. 

Perhaps you don’t even need slides at all – many business leaders never use them.  Or think about what other visual aids you could use instead – powerful pictures, physical products, films or flip charts.

4. Lack of energy and enthusiasm

If you’re not excited about your presentation, your audience won’t be either.  If you look bored, they’ll feel bored.  Make sure you bring energy and enthusiasm to your talk.  Smile, make eye contact, use a strong and confident voice. 

Show that you’re passionate about your topic, that it’s important to you, that you believe what you’re saying.  Your enthusiasm will be contagious – and it will help you carry your audience with you. 

5. Ignorance of your audienc e

Have you thought about what your audience really wants and expects from your presentation?  What’s in it for them?  If you don’t take the time to understand their needs and interests, you’ll lose them.  If you lose your audience you’ll have a presentation failure.

Instead, carefully consider what matters to them, show you care about them.  Use language and examples that resonate with them.

6. Too much jargon

Jargon and technical language can be confusing and off-putting for your audience, especially if they’re unfamiliar with your business.  A typical bad presentation includes too much industry-specific jargon, acronyms and technical terms.  

The best presentations use simple, clear language.   Sometimes it helps to imagine that you’re a teacher, explaining difficult concepts to a teenager.  If your 15-year-old niece or nephew grasps your story, so will everyone else.

7. Lack of engagement

Making an emotional connection with your audience can often make the difference between a successful presentation and a failed presentation.  

Try asking questions, soliciting feedback and encouraging participation.  Get your audience involved.  Make them feel engaged.

8 . You are too formal in your presentation

Your presentation should reflect your personality and individual style.  If you’re too formal or stiff, it will feel as if you’re holding your audience at arms’ length, lecturing rather than informing them.  Be authentic and let your personality shine through.

9 . Irrelevance

There’s no point giving a technically brilliant presentation if it’s out of date or simply not appropriate for your audience. Your material should be relevant and timely. Keep it as topical as possible.  Use up-to-date data, anecdotes and examples. 

Avoid talking about things that may be interesting in their own right, but have no relevance to the subject of your presentation – or your audience may simply tune out.

10. No clear call-to-action

It’s important you’re clear about what you want your audience to do, think or feel at the end of your presentation.  A clear call-to-action is always the best way to close.  It may be that you want them to buy into a big change in your business, or take part in a survey.  Or you may just want to challenge them to think differently about something, or make a change in their behaviour.  To avoid bad presentations make sure your audience knows what you want them to do – and make it easy for them to do it.

How to be sure your presentation does not flop

Discover why presentations fails and avoid failed presentations.

How to Make Sure Your Presentations Don’t Flop

Great presentations take careful planning and preparation. By avoiding these 10 common pitfalls, you can create something that engages, informs, and inspires your audience.  You’ll avoid a failing presentation at work.

Remember to focus on their needs, inject energy and enthusiasm. Start strong and end with a clear call-to-action. With these simple tips, you can ensure your presentation doesn’t flop, but leaves a lasting impression.

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For 15+ years we’ve been the trusted choice of leading businesses and executives throughout the UK, Europe and the Middle East to improve presentation skills and presentations through coaching, training and expert advice.

Unlock your full potential and take your presentations to the next level with Benjamin Ball Associates.

Speak to Louise on +44 20 7018 0922 or email [email protected] to find out more and discuss transforming your speeches, pitches and presentations.

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Here’s an assignment with a high degree of difficulty: give a presentation about how to present. 

I’d tackle this challenge by starting with an exercise that involves the audience right away. For example, ask participants to share the worst presentation habits they’ve encountered.

This not only warms up those in attendance, it sets the stage for the content you’ll share.

And, along the way, you’ll get a whole host of techniques you shouldn’t do. Here are 15 mistakes presenters make. You may know most of these, but it’s worth a reminder that you should never:

• Forget that you’re up there not to promote how wonderful you are, but to provide value to the audience.
• Lose focus of what the audience needs from you. One way: Before you start talking, ask, “What do you hope to learn/achieve from this meeting?”
• Fail to set objectives. Even if you don’t share them with participants, know what you want to achieve.
• Proceed without a plan (also known as an agenda). Whatever you call it, it’s a map for how your session is going to go.
• Wing it. Preparation is everything. Unless you’re an improv master, you have to figure out what you’re going to do, in what order and for how long. And almost everyone needs to practice.
• Jump from point to point in a disorganized way. See #4 and #6.
• Go on and on (and on and on). I’m sure you’re fascinating, but respect the fact that people are busy and need you to be as time-efficient as possible.
• Rush through your presentation. In some ways this is the opposite of Tip #7. But when you have to cram a lot of content in a small amount of time, the problem is you haven’t planned well enough.
• Flat-line. Hey, you were invited to this party. Don’t leave your energy and enthusiasm in the car.
• Read exactly what’s on the slides. If you’re not providing context and meaning, next time just email the slides to participants.
• Read your speaker’s notes. Ideally, you’ve mastered your presentation so well that you don’t even need notes. But if you do, they should be boiled-down bullet points that just help you remember key facts, not a full-blown speech.
• Try to be someone you’re not. This is your presentation. You should say what you want to say, in a way that fits your style.
• Use only a few slides. Slides are free. And using a lot of slides has three benefits: It keeps your presentation moving. It lets you put less content on each slide. And it continuously gives the audience something new to look at.
• Forget the power of visuals. Words on a slide are okay, but photos, cartoons, drawings and any visuals are better.
• Speak at participants instead of interacting with them. Yes, there’s information you need to share. But the real power comes in participation. Make it a two-way experience.

Ready for your next presentation ?  

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Don’t Let Anxiety Sabotage Your Next Presentation

• Riaz Meghji

Stop focusing on yourself and start focusing on your audience.

If you want to beat speaking anxiety, you need to stop focusing on yourself and point your focus outward. This shift isn’t something that can happen instantaneously. It takes time, patience, and practice. Here’s how to get started.

• Be a giver, not a taker. Takers tend to have more anxiety. They want and need validation from their listeners.
• Givers, on the other hand, are all about service. They do work beforehand to connect with stakeholders and use the information they receive to address the needs of their audience. As a result, their presentation becomes less about them and more about helping the other people in the room.
• If you want to turn your presentation into an act of service, you need to talk to the people in the room — well before your presentation begins.
• Choose about three to five influential leaders, and meet with them before to learn their concerns and goals surrounding the topic you’re presenting on.
• Then, incorporate your findings into you presentation. This will help you shift your focus outwards, from yourself to the audience, and as a result, ease some of your nerves.

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How many times have you had an important message to share, only to be sabotaged by anxiety right before you speak?

• RM Riaz Meghji is a human connection keynote speaker, author of Every Conversation Counts: The 5 Habits of Human Connection That Build Extraordinary Relationships and creator of The Magnetic Presenter speaker coaching program. He is also an accomplished broadcaster with 17 years of television hosting experience. Riaz has hosted for Citytv’s Breakfast Television, MTV Canada, TEDxVancouver, CTV News, and the Toronto International Film Festival.  

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Why Can’t People Give Presentations? [And How to Get Over It!]

By: Author Shrot Katewa

The fear of giving presentations is real. There’s even a term for it – Glossophobia ! So, if you find it difficult to stand in front of a group of people to give a presentation, then you are not alone! There are many reasons why people find it hard to give a presentation.

Most common reasons why people struggle to give a presentation are fear of public speaking, fear of failure, and lack of confidence due to not knowing what to say, unpreparedness or even lack of presentation skills. However, there are few quick steps that one can take to overcome such hesitations.

Understanding your fear is the first step in helping you overcome it. So, in this article, we share some of the most common worries people have when it comes to presenting, along with some tips on how to overcome it!

1. Fear of Failure

One of the greatest concerns people have when it comes to presenting is that they won’t be as good at it as someone else or even worse that their presentation would be a failure!

One of the most common reasons for the fear of failure is the need for perfection! In a study done by the Pennsylvania State University, which was published in the Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, researches found direct cognitive links between Fear of Failure and Perfectionism .

You might’ve seen an amazing TED talk on YouTube, or a winning pitch on Shark Tank, and thought to yourself that you’ll never have the ability or confidence to come across as well as they did.

How to Overcome the Fear of Failure?

The best way to overcome this fear is to apply some of the concepts listed later in this article. You should only judge yourself against yourself. If you have prepared to the best of your ability, given your best shot and covered everything you had set out to – then there are no reasons why you would fail!

With this list of tips mentioned in this article will, you will start to notice incremental developments in your presenting style each time you get in front of people. And if something does go wrong, you can assess the differences between this attempt and the previous one.

You must treat giving a presentation just like any other skill. You need to practice by investing time and effort into this skill in order to become better at it. Before you know it, you’ll be presenting like a pro, so long as you are willing to make mistakes along the way.

After all, it is a skill worth investing in, because a 2014  survey of more than 600 employers  found that “oral communication” was number one and “presentation skills” number four among the top skills recruiters look for .

So, if you want your dream job, you’d better be willing to take the plunge, get in front of people and improve your skills of presentation.

2. Lack of Experience

For many people, the biggest reason they are afraid to stand in front of an audience to present is the fact that they haven’t done it a huge amount before.

They might have had to present in front of a class at school or give a speech at a family event, but other than that they may often have had little experience of standing up in front of a crowd and talking.

Thus, not having given a presentation enough makes one feel nervous and anxious of the unknown; the unknown of not knowing how things will go, what will be the reaction of the audience, and other things similar to that.

How to Overcome the Lack of Experience?

The best way to overcome a lack of experience is to gain experience by doing more presentations! No number of hacks, tips, tricks, or advice is a good enough replacement for simply getting up there and doing a presentation.

But, that will take a while for you to amass. Plus, you have to start somewhere! Fortunately, there are a couple of things that you can do!

A.] Showcase Confidence

So, a good way to come across as an experienced presentor is to speak with immense confidence. You don’t necessarily have to be confident in order to sound confident!

In my experience, one of the easiest way to sound confident is to improve your voice modulation ! Often, when we speak a little louder and stress on certain words with pauses using a proper intonation pattern, we come across as confident!

Watch the above clip of Margaret Thatcher wherein her voice from two interviews are compared. Notice how the “After” voice part of the video, Ms. Thatcher comes across as very confident!

B.] Practise with Other People [Friends or Family]

Another quick way to sound experienced is to practise with other friends or family members.

However, make sure you do this once you have completed preparing for your presentation. Practising in front of your family members should be considered as if you are presenting to the audience.

Knowing that your family or friends would only give you constructive feedback, it will make you more confident and make your presentation more robust.

The more you practise with other people around, the more you will be able to develop a style that works for you and gauge the reaction of a controlled group of audience. With experience, you will find yourself feeling more comfortable on stage.

It might be hard to overcome this hurdle – especially the first few times, as you still try to find your feet – but the experience is the best way to build your confidence.

3. Fear of Public Speaking

Some psychologists believe that fear of public speaking is worse than even the fear of death!

Fear of Public Speaking is definitely a very common form of anxiety. Some people are naturally introverted , so the idea of standing in front of a crowd to present something will be at odds with the very nature of their being. Others might ordinarily be very confident, outgoing, and chatty, but the moment they are stood in front of a group of people presenting they tense up.

Whichever category you find yourself fitting into, you might find it hard to control your breathing, you might sweat, or your voice might crack when these nerves set in. These are natural fight or flight reactions that kick into action when you’re faced with the fear of public speaking!

How to Overcome the Fear of Public Speaking?

There are several small things that you can do in order to overcome the fear of public speaking. I’ll be sharing a couple of things that have worked for me –

A.] Preparation

It goes without saying that preparation before a presentation is of utmost importance. No matter how experienced you are at giving presentations, you need to prepare.

If you are a beginner, you will need to spend more time preparing. As you become more experienced, you’ll notice that the time you need to spend on preparation gradually decreases. However, you can not do away with this step completely in most cases.

How you prepare yourself is secondary. Everyone has their own style of giving presentations, and their own unique style for preparation! The most important is that you spend enough time and effort in making sure that you know in and out of your presentation.

I usually like to prepare my presentation by looking at myself in the mirror (without reading). This allows me to observe my body language and see myself the way my audience would see me. If I notice any incorrect movements or lack of enthusiasm on my face, practising in front of a mirror gives me the opportunity to correct it!

B.] Speak as if Presenting to a Friend

Fear of public speaking or giving presentations is often borne by the amount of attention that you get when you are standing on the stage!

The moment you set foot on stage, you cannot miss but take notice of the fact that so many eyeballs are set on you! You almost feel the weight of the expectations of so many people on your shoulder, and you definitely don’t want to disappoint them!

These feelings often take over your thinking process and make you freeze on stage! (otherwise known as stage fright)

Fortunately, there are ways to overcome this fear.

My favorite technique is to think as if you are presenting to a friend that you are comfortable with rather than hundreds of people sitting in the audience !

It doesn’t have to be a friend. It could be a family member or your spouse or any other person. But, just imagine you are presenting only to this 1 person rather than the dozens and dozens of people sitting in the audience.

This way, you don’t feel that weight of the expectations of hundreds of people. Plus, you are already comfortable with that person. So, you won’t feel like you are disappointing anyone’s expectation!

C.] Practise Breathing Control Techniques

The greatest remedy to get over such nerves is to control your breathing. Not only will slow breathing impact the tone and speed of your voice – making it easier to listen to for your audience – but it will have a huge physiological impact on the rest of your body.

Research shows that controlling your breathing can lead to a slowing of your heart rate . The reason you want to slow your heart rate is that your body is more likely to succumb to the natural fears associated with presenting, which manifest themselves in shaking, sweating or nervousness.

To this end, you shouldn’t start speaking until your breath is under control. Primarily, this is because you will find it harder to speak if you are constantly searching for your breath.

But controlling your breath will also help you to gain a sense of control over the situation and also put your audience at ease.

Once you are all set – stand in front of your audience, take a moment to control your breathing and then begin.

Not only will it fill you with confidence but that moment of silence before you start will grab the audience’s attention and give them a sense that this is going to be a strong presentation worth listening to.

4. Bad Past Experiences

As mentioned above, you might have only presented a few times before. What’s worse, those few times you did present to an audience you may have had a bad experience.

You might have fluffed your lines, made a bad joke that didn’t land or even had to fluster around before it began to get the PowerPoint loaded on the screen, leaving you stressed and short on time by the time it came to speak.

However, chances are that the first few times you perhaps ran into bad luck! It’s important to remember that presenting is a skill and just like any other, it requires a great amount of training, work, and dedication to become a master in the art of presenting. Michael Jordan didn’t get great at throwing a basketball into the hoop overnight, and neither did Barack Obama get great at speaking to crowds without practice.

If you simply take your one bad experience as proof that you can’t do it, then the truth is that you never will get any better at it. However, if you bite the bullet and try again then the chances are, you’ll improve at least one element of your presenting ability each time .

After all, if it went genuinely horrifically badly the last time you tried, and that is why you are hesitant now, then the chances are you can’t do any worse!

So, what have you got to lose?

5. Fear of Handling Technology!

As mentioned above, a problem that many of us have faced at some point is a failure of technology leading to a less than perfect presentation. It might have been a faulty microphone, an unsuccessful attempt to insert a video into your slides or even a failure to transfer your presentation on the destination computer!

Firstly, I highly recommend that you always carry a USB stick loaded with not only your presentation but also your other media files with it. A high-speed USB stick, like this one from Samsung [on Amazon], is critically important

These things happen and sometimes there is no avoiding them. So, the first way to prepare for this is to always be ready to present with no technology at all. In this way, whatever the situation throws at you, you will be able to still provide the audience with the verbal content they need from you.

On top of this, you can also do a number of things to lessen the number of potential technical issues. For example, if you are using a presentation on a memory stick, then you can also email this to yourself or a colleague beforehand . In the case that you have an issue with the memory stick, there will be another copy saved digitally on both your email and that of your colleague.

Meanwhile, you should test any links and/or videos that you have inserted into your presentation beforehand to make sure that they work . This can form part of your practice if you are someone who needs to rehearse or can simply be done by clicking through the presentation as if it were happening prior to saving it and sharing it in front of others.

If you get good at preparing well for your presentations, not only will you feel more comfortable with regards to the technology, but you will also find it easier to speak on your given subject too.

You will know your presentation inside out and will be ready for any mishaps that might get thrown up on the day.

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How to not be nervous for a presentation: 10 useful tips

Get your team on prezi – watch this on demand video.

Anete Ezera July 05, 2022

Your heart beats faster, your hands get sweaty, your breathing gets shorter, and your face turns red. Do you ever get this reaction before giving a presentation? You aren’t the only one. In fact, 73% of the population is affected by public speaking anxiety or glossophobia. We all know this nerve-racking feeling, and a lot of people try to avoid it as much as possible. However, when it’s your job to present in front of an audience, you have to find ways to calm your nerves and give it your best shot. So, next time you’re wondering how to not be nervous for a presentation, try these 6 effective tips that will help you calm down.

#1 Get to the root of the problem

You may have already tried some easy techniques to calm your nerves, but are you still finding yourself dreading public speaking? The best and most effective thing to do is to get to the root of the problem. A lot of times our stresses and fears are masking a greater issue. You might feel stressed before a presentation but in actuality, this could be a fear of rejection because of a traumatizing experience. Ask yourself, what is this stress really about? What is the worst-case scenario for you, and why? 

By getting to the root of the problem, you’ll be able to rationalize it. It’s far more effective to understand the problem first before you try to solve it. From thereon, you can try to work with the issue. Ask for help or guidance from others who have experienced the same issue and learn to deal with it on a more practical level.

#2 Be prepared

One of the most obvious reasons why you feel nervous about a presentation is that you aren’t prepared for it. As they say, practice makes perfect. And it couldn’t be more true in this case. 

Every great presenter you’ve watched has probably rehearsed his speech a million times. Any great mastery comes from continuous practice, not talent. As a phenomenal example, Alex Honnold climbed a 3000-foot (900m) rock formation without any safety gear in July 2017. The free solo climber practiced climbing the El Captain rock roughly 50 times with safety gear before free soloing the rock formation. After reaching the top of the mountain, in an interview , he confidently stated that there was no uncertainty in this climb because he “knew exactly what to do the whole way.” 

Presenting in front of an audience isn’t a life or death situation, but it does have some risks as many situations in life do. Making sure that you know your material so well that you could recite it in your sleep, will make you feel much more confident and comfortable when presenting. 

Tip: Practice your presentation in front of your partner, family, or friends. This practice will help you memorize your material and mentally prepare you for speaking in front of an audience. 

#3 Organize everything to a tee

Are you using videos, audio, visual aids, or props in your presentation? Make sure everything is organized to a tee. The last thing you want is to worry about a video that won’t play or poor-quality audio materials. Preparation ahead of time will ensure that you’re not surprised with sudden stresses right before or during the presentation. 

Also, you’ll want to plan out your presentation. You can even create a mind map for yourself. It’ll help you organize your thoughts and key points, making sure that you remember all the main focus areas you want to touch on during your presentation. The best part is that you don’t even have to take out your pen and paper to create a mind map, you can simply choose one of the Prezi Present templates and create your mind map there. 

If you want to discover other practical tips, check out our article on 4 easy ways to prepare for a presentation . 

#4 Try breathing exercises 

If you’re searching for how to calm down before a presentation, you may have stumbled upon a few breathing exercises. They’re one of the most simple yet highly effective ways to calm down, and only take a few minutes to do. This is something you can easily do right before your presentation to help you relax. 

An easy breathing exercise that you can try right away is taking a big inhale while counting until four, then holding your breath for another four, and then exhaling for five. Close your eyes and remove all distractions to make this exercise even more effective. Repeat this cycle at least three times or until you feel calmer and notice that your heart rate has slowed down a bit. If you’re interested in other breathing practices, check out the Healthline article with 10 breathing exercise examples. 

#5 Focus on your material, not the audience

Stress usually comes from overthinking, and overthinking is an unnecessary process that happens when we focus on the wrong things. Instead of focusing on what your audience will think about your presentation, focus on the presentation itself. Get excited about the topic. Don’t linger on what you think your audience will think. Overthinking your assumptions and worries will only drain your energy and make you feel powerless in a situation like this. Focusing on things that you can control, like your performance, will help you feel more confident and collected when presenting. So, next time when you are starting to overthink, recognize these thoughts as unnecessary distractions and shift your focus back on your presentation. 

#6 Adopt the power of pacing

It’s not just what you say; it’s how you say it. Pacing can really help you with nerves. Try rehearsing your presentation with varying speeds and notice how it affects your delivery. A measured pace can make you feel more in control, which in turn, can ease those presentation jitters.

#7 Channel your nerves into excitement

Here’s a fun fact: the physiological response to nervousness is similar to that of excitement. Use this to your advantage. When you feel those familiar symptoms of anxiety, tell yourself, “I’m not nervous, I’m excited!” This simple mental switch can change your mindset and reduce presentation stress.

#8 Establish a connection with your venue

Familiarity breeds comfort. Arrive early and get to know the space where you’ll present. Walk around, stand on the stage, and practice speaking with the microphone. The more comfortable you are with your surroundings, the less you’ll feel nervous about the presentation.

#9 Dress for success

Never underestimate the power of a good outfit. Wearing something that makes you feel confident can give you an extra boost of positivity. When you know you look good, you’ll likely feel good, and that can be a game-changer when it comes to presentation stress.

#10 Don’t be afraid to mess up

You can’t control everything. Sometimes accidents happen and things fall apart. You have to keep an open mind and trust the process. Most importantly, you have to trust yourself and build your confidence, so that whatever situation is thrown at you, you’ll feel calmer and collected to deal with it. 

Also, remember to take any failure as an opportunity to learn. When looking back at your previous presentations, recognize what you succeeded in and what you could have done better. Whenever you receive criticism, don’t dwell on it but take it as an opportunity to grow and improve. At the end of the day, it’s up to you to become a better presenter, and the best way to do it is by trial and error.  

We all have been there. Either underprepared or overstressed. If presenting in front of an audience is something new to you, the first few times will inevitably feel more nerve-racking. However, the more you do it, the less stressful it will become. If you’re asking yourself how to not be nervous for a presentation, remember that there are millions of people who are asking the same question. You’re definitely not alone in this. If you want to learn not only how to calm down before a presentation but also how to overcome the fear of public speaking, discover useful tips by a long-time television professional Jessica Marble in this video:

Understanding your stress signals

When you’re wondering how to not be nervous for a presentation, one effective strategy is to become adept at interpreting your body’s stress signals. Our bodies often communicate through symptoms like rapid heartbeat, sweating, or trembling before we consciously recognize our nervousness about a presentation. These stress signals are natural and everyone experiences them to some degree; they’re part of our built-in alarm system.

Instead of trying to suppress these feelings, acknowledge them. See them as indicators that your body is gearing up for something important. By doing this, you can begin to associate these signals with preparation rather than imminent danger. This is a form of cognitive reframing that can significantly reduce presentation stress.

Taking deep breaths can help to regulate your heart rate and calm your nerves. Visualizing a successful outcome can also shift your focus away from the physical sensations of stress. Remember, these signs are not your foes; they are simply your body’s way of preparing you to rise to the challenge. It’s a matter of harnessing them to your advantage.

By understanding and working with your stress signals, rather than against them, you can approach your presentation with a sense of readiness and control. 

Reflect, refine, and reaffirm

Embrace the power of reflection.

As the final slide fades and the audience applauds, take a moment to bask in your accomplishment. You’ve just delivered a presentation, and regardless of the butterflies, you made it through. Now’s the time to harness the experience to bolster your future endeavors in public speaking. Ask for feedback from your peers, mentors, or audience members—anyone who can provide constructive insights. This feedback is golden, as it helps you gauge the impact of your presentation and highlights areas for improvement.

The art of fine-tuning

With feedback in hand, reflect on your delivery. What aspects resonated well? Which parts could have flowed better? Perhaps you’ll find that preparation can indeed stave off those nerves, reinforcing the importance of how to not be nervous for a presentation. Identify one or two key areas to focus on next time—maybe it’s your pacing, your visuals, or the way you engage with the audience. Small, targeted changes can have a big impact, boosting your confidence and competence.

Looking forward with confidence

Wrapping up, it’s clear that public speaking is a journey, not a one-off event. Each presentation is a stepping stone to becoming a more skilled and self-assured communicator. You’ve learned to get to the root of your fear, prepare meticulously, organize your content, practice deep breathing, focus on your material, and accept imperfection. Now, you can add to that the importance of tuning into your stress signals and using each experience as a learning opportunity.

As you reflect on today’s presentation and plan for the next, remember that the feelings of being nervous about a presentation are a natural part of growth. The key is to use them, not fear them. With each step, you’re not only learning how to not be nervous for a presentation but also discovering your unique voice and style. With this knowledge, you step into your next presentation ready to excel.

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How to not be nervous for a presentation — 13 tips that work (really!)

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Why do I get nervous before presenting?

How not to be nervous when presenting, 5 techniques to control your nerves, quotes for inspiration, speak with confidence.

If you feel nervous or scared about talking to someone new, giving a speech, or being on stage, rest assured: you’re not alone. 

Experiencing symptoms of performance anxiety like an increased heart rate, trembling hands, or excessive sweating is perfectly normal. In fact, people often fear public speaking . But the more you’re immersed in these types of situations, the more comfortable you’ll become . 

We’ll explore how to not be nervous for a presentation and offer inspirational quotes to help you step out of your comfort zone.

Based on data from the National Social Anxiety Center, fear of public speaking is the most common phobia . The official term for this fear is glossophobia, colloquially termed stage fright.

Stage fright typically arises from the perception that when you're in front of a group of people, they'll judge you. The brain’s frontal lobe aids in memory, and when we’re stressed, increased stress hormones temporarily shut that region down . This is what causes us to freeze up and stop talking. 

There’s nothing wrong with being nervous. We all have different social comfort zones, communication styles, and presentation skills. But we can expand and improve our skills if we’re cognitively flexible .

Cognitive flexibility plays a big role in our behavior and attitudes and impacts our performance. You can use your fears as a catalyst for growth and learning — including giving a great presentation.

The following techniques will help you shift your thinking from reactive to proactive to combat nerves throughout the presentation experience:

Before the presentation:

1. Know your topic

Don’t wing it when it comes to presenting any topic. The better you understand your subject matter, the more confident you’ll feel. You can answer questions right away and won’t have to rely on your notes.

If there are a few points or any information you think might arise during the presentation or Q&A, research it and become comfortable speaking to the subject.

Here are a few ways to study: 

• Break down concepts onto notecards
• Practice answering questions  (especially the hard ones you hope no one asks)
• Explain complex information to peers and colleagues

2. Be organized

Take time to thoroughly plan each aspect of the presentation. Often, that means designing PowerPoint slides or other visual aids like videos. Clarify with the organizer what format and technology you’ll be using.

If it’ll be virtual, get your background and room organized, too. This ensures the presentation will go smoothly, in turn reducing stress.  Consider the following preparations:

• Invite your support network to the event
• Arrive early to set up tech and get comfortable in the space
• Practice timing your presentation with the time tracker you’ll use day-of
• Bring a water bottle and a snack
• Contact your manager or venue staff to discuss any accessibility or tech concerns

3. Practice, practice, practice

Whether you’re rehearsing in front of a mirror, family member, or pet, you can never practice enough. Ask for feedback about your body language , eye contact , and how loudly you project your voice.

If you’ll be giving the presentation on a video conference, record it on the platform to see how you look and sound.

4. Visualize your success

Thinking through possible outcomes is a great way to prepare — but it can also backfire on you. If you obsess over negative what-ifs, this failing mentality might become a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

The more often you fill your mind with positive thoughts and visualize your success, the more automatic they’ll be. Positive self-talk can make a big difference to your confidence. Run through the presentation — successfully — in your head.

During the presentation:

5. Focus on your material, not the audience

Your audience is there for your presentation — not to assess you. They’ll be looking at your colorful slides and listening to what you’re saying. Don’t let your mind fill with insecurities . 

6 . Don't fear silence

If your mind suddenly goes blank, that’s okay. It may seem like an eternity to you as you try to figure out what to say next, but it’s only a few seconds at most. 

Pausing isn’t a bad thing, anyway. You can use dramatic breaks advantageously to draw attention before the most important bits. 

7 . Speak slowly

Presentation anxiety often causes nervous energy, so we speak faster than normal. This might make you fumble your words or forget important details.

Slow down. Audience members will be thankful since they can understand you , and drawing out your speech will give you time to calm down, ground yourself , and stay organized.

8 . Take deep breaths and drink water

Breathing delivers oxygen to your brain, allowing you to think more clearly. Drinking water ups your energy, and also gives you a moment to pause. 

Smiling is a simple yet effective way to soothe your nerves. Doing so releases endorphins, helping you physically feel more confident. And a friendly face will make the audience more open to what you’re saying. 

10 . Remember the three "audience truths"

These include: 1) for the duration of the presentation, the audience believes you’re the expert, 2) they’re on your side, and 3) they don’t know when you make a mistake. 

After the presentation:

11. Recognize your success

Giving a presentation is something worth being proud of — celebrate it! In addition to family, friends, and coworkers, you deserve a high five from yourself, too.

1 2. Collect feedback

Feedback is a wonderful gift if you use it as a tool to help you do even better next time. Ask some of your audience members what they liked and what they didn’t. Remember, you can learn a lot from your mistakes . 

1 3. Don't beat yourself up

You did the best you could, and that’s all anyone — including you — can ask for. 

Nervousness is perfectly normal, but sometimes our symptoms hold us back from doing — and enjoying — scarier tasks. Here are five tips for overcoming nerves:

1. Practice impression management

Impression management requires projecting an image that contradicts how you actually feel. It’s essentially a “fake it ‘til you make it” strategy.  Let’s say you’re about to make a corporate-wide presentation and feel worried you’ll forget important information. You’ll counteract this worry by imagining yourself remembering every detail and delivering it entertainingly.

Learn from this practice by noting the information chosen in your hypothetical and how you expressed it effectively. 

2. Talk to someone

Emotions are contagious. We absorb others’ positive vibes . Chatting with people who are excited about and confident in our presentation abilities rubs off on us. 

Before a presentation, call a cheerleader in your life — someone who’s on your side and understands your nerves. Be specific, discussing which parts of presenting are nerve-wracking and what you need from them.

3. Do breathing exercises

Mindful breathing is when you pay attention to the sensation of inhaling and exhaling while controlling and deepening breath length. Breathwork has several health benefits, including reducing stress and anxiety and improving memory, attention, and focus. 

Before the presentation, find a quiet and solitary space. Breathe deeply for at least a minute, focusing on sensation and depth. This practice brings you into your body and out of your mind (away from nerve-wracking thoughts).

4. Practice reframing 

Reframing is a technique used in cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) to improve negative automatic thought patterns over time. One such pattern is viewing certain emotions as bad, and others as good. Nervousness feels the same in the body as excitement. Instead of panicking even more when realizing you’re nervous, reframe your impression of nerves as excitement for what you’re about to do.

This excitement will propel you forward with confidence and pride for stepping out of your comfort zone and doing something scary.

Here are seven inspirational quotes to help you feel confident and excited when doing something you’re nervous about:

“You can speak well if your tongue can deliver the message of your heart.” John Ford

“ When speaking in public, your message — no matter how important — will not be effective or memorable if you don't have a clear structure. ” Patricia Fripp

“The most precious things in speech are the pauses.”  Sir Ralph Richardson

“The way you overcome shyness is to become so wrapped up in something that you forget to be afraid.” Lady Bird Johnson

“It’s what you practice in private that you will be rewarded for in public.” Tony Robbins

“The worst speech you’ll ever give will be far better than the one you never give.” Fred Miller

Like any other skill, learning how to not be nervous for a presentation takes time and practice. Acknowledging this hurdle is the first step to making a change in the right direction.  Facing your fears will empower you to take on scarier — and more fulfilling — goals and enjoy the experience along the way. You don’t have to start with a TED Talk. Tackle small challenges like presenting an idea to your manager or practicing a short speech with a friend.  We won’t sugarcoat it — it’s hard to change our minds and habits. But if you’re willing to put in the effort, you’ll be rewarded with increased confidence and new experiences.

Elizabeth Perry, ACC

Elizabeth Perry is a Coach Community Manager at BetterUp. She uses strategic engagement strategies to cultivate a learning community across a global network of Coaches through in-person and virtual experiences, technology-enabled platforms, and strategic coaching industry partnerships. With over 3 years of coaching experience and a certification in transformative leadership and life coaching from Sofia University, Elizabeth leverages transpersonal psychology expertise to help coaches and clients gain awareness of their behavioral and thought patterns, discover their purpose and passions, and elevate their potential. She is a lifelong student of psychology, personal growth, and human potential as well as an ICF-certified ACC transpersonal life and leadership Coach.

30 presentation feedback examples

Reading the room gives you an edge — no matter who you're talking to, 6 presentation skills and how to improve them, how to make a presentation interactive and exciting, how to give a good presentation that captivates any audience, the self presentation theory and how to present your best self, josh bersin on the importance of talent management in the modern workplace, 8 clever hooks for presentations (with tips), the 11 tips that will improve your public speaking skills, similar articles, 8 tip to improve your public speaking skills, the importance of good speech: 5 tips to be more articulate, overcome your public speaking anxiety with these 10 tips, power poses: how to feel more confident with body language, stay connected with betterup, get our newsletter, event invites, plus product insights and research..

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It feels ILLEGAL to know this trick to get out of a presentation

TABLE OF CONTENTS (jump ahead)

How to get out of giving a class presentation

I’m scared of doing a class presentation, i don’t want to do a class presentation, how to get out of a college presentation, can a professor force me to do a presentation.

Talking to your professor about skipping presentation

Should you skip class instead of presenting?

You may be able to get out of a school presentation if you have a documented disability that is protected by Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the presentation is not an integral part of the course. Schools and colleges are required to provide reasonable accommodations to students with recognized disabilities, and you might qualify. However, there might be some circumstances where you can’t avoid a presentation, even with an accommodation.

NOTE : This information is relevant to students in the United States and may not apply to all countries, all colleges or students.

This is the best way to help high school or college students trying to get out of class presentations. I went directly to a college and asked them for information about their accommodations so read on to find out how it might work for you.

If you are scared of doing a class presentation, realize you are not alone. Talk to your professor about your fears and work on a solution. There are some virtual reality programs where you could work on your presentation skills.

You read the syllabus and realize you must do an oral presentation. You start to panic. You worry you'll have stage fright or too much nervous energy to get in front of the class and be the center of attention.

So, you start wonder how you’ll avoid this presentation.

Can you switch classes?

Can you drop the class and take it with another professor next semester?

Can you skip the presentation and still make a good grade?

All these things cross your mind, but you realize you can’t do anything about it, or can you?

Public speaking is a common fear. I asked college students, and an overwhelming 88% had some anxiety around oral presentations with students saying things like, “I’m worried what people will think of me,” or “I am scared I’ll mess up and freeze.”

In my own college classes, where students have presented, I have seen people get extremely anxious. One time a student thought she was going to pass out and had to be helped back to her desk in the middle of her presentation.

She couldn’t finish it.

If you find yourself having this crippling fear, I have some solutions for you on how to get over your nerves.

But in this article, I am going help you understand some of the excuses to get out of a presentation and how to talk to your professor about your anxiety.

Don’t be afraid to talk to your professor about your mental health because it can impact your college coursework. It’s not something you should take lightly.

If you have to do a class presentation in college, you need to take a deep breath and realize that most of your peers will also be anxious to present in front of everyone. You should definitely do the presentation and avoid skipping out on it. Face your fears because it can help you be more confident the next time you have to present.

It has been discovered from surveys that the fear of public speaking is very common. And it is even estimated that more people are afraid of public speaking than death itself.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, around 73% of the population are afraid of public speaking. It is a common phobia.

You aren’t alone. It seems completely normal to have presentation anxiety.

Some psychologists have agreed that the fear of public speaking might be instinctual. Humans used to live in tribes and being rejected from our peers sometimes meant death.  You needed your tribe to survive oftentimes. You can equate this to a survival skill because they did not want to be vulnerable to rejection and get cast out.

There is more to it than that, but I am trying to explain how you aren’t different than most people. And because you are scared to present doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with you.

Pretty interesting stuff.

If you want to get out of a college presentation, you need to have a legitimate excuse. If you have a medical diagnosis that may prevent you from presenting, you could check with your college’s disability office and see if you could get a reasonable accommodation.

Public speaking fears are common therefore it is expected that you will have some uneasiness so don’t immediately try to run from your fear.

You really should only seek out help from your professor if you have been diagnosed with a condition that makes presenting impossible.

And if you haven’t been diagnosed, you should seek assistance from someone who can assess you.

But for people who have a medical diagnosis, accommodations are going to be your best bet. The federal government has something called Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

You have rights in college regarding health conditions , so you should check with your college’s disability service office and find out more.

Now, you might not be able to completely avoid the presentation, but if you have accommodations through your school’s services , at least it is documented that you have a psychiatric illness and maybe your teachers are more likely to work with you.

If you don’t have accommodations already, you should see if you qualify.

They aren’t retroactive so you can’t go back and expect the school to do anything different regarding previous things that have happened. They are only effective when you officially got them.

A professor cannot force a student to present however the student could hurt their grade in the class if they don’t present. Sometimes skipping a presentation could lead to a failure in the course.

I reached out to an accredited college and talked with them about their accommodations around presentations and this is what they said.

If someone has a psychiatric illness that gives them social anxiety, and they have accommodations surrounding this disorder, then they may avoid presentations in certain classes. For example, if you are taking a sociology course and presentations are required and aren’t an integral part of the course, then your professor should try and modify it.

For example, maybe they could offer an individual presentation or recorded presentation instead.

But the college said that sometimes it might not be possible. For example, if it were a speech class, and it’s an integral part of the course, it might not be avoidable.  This would depend more on your professor.

The best case scenario for you is to meet with your disability services. If you don’t have accommodations, try getting them. If you don’t have the documentation to get the accommodations, you need to find out if you have a disorder that can be diagnosed first.

Tips to talk to your professor about getting out of a presentation

1.)  Be honest. Go to their office (preferably in person) and talk to them about your anxiety. Discuss your concerns. Don’t be afraid to talk to them.

2.)  Explain - Tell your professor that you have tried to overcome your fear and explain what you’ve tried. You want your professor to know that you’ve tried to overcome your fears and anxiety and present, but can’t.

3.)  Give them a solution – Don’t just say, I have anxiety and cannot present, but give them some solutions. You might say something like, can you consider an alternative assignment? Is there a way I could present in a classroom with only you present, or could I record my presentation?

4.) Seek help - Find out if your college offers any personal or mental health counseling. They might have some free support services that could help you address your fear of public speaking.

You can see that there are several steps to discussing your fear with your professor. Do not expect your professor to accommodate you unless they must because of your accommodations. But hopefully you can at least share your concerns and get some feedback from your professor.

Things to consider

Understand that getting accommodations may not mean that your professor must do anything at all. This entirely depends on the circumstances. If you do have accommodations, you will want to speak with your college’s disability services’ office to ask about this possibility.

And lastly, make sure you are only trying to get out of the presentation because you simply cannot overcome this fear. And it’s something you have tried to overcome. I am sympathetic to this anxiety, but know most people present without any issues, even with anxiousness.

Don’t lie. Be genuine, and if you need truly need accommodations, get those. If you need medical treatment for your anxiety, seek it.

Should I just skip a class for a presentation?

No, you should not skip class just to avoid a presentation. There are lots of positive things you can learn by doing your class presentation. You could miss out on a grade and risk failing the class. If you skip class just to avoid a presentation, you are not gaining the confidence you need later in life. The more you do public presentations, the better and more comfortable you will get.

In your job, you’ll need these oral presentation skills and you are missing an opportunity to build these skills when you skip a presentation. Finally you want to support your other classmates too.

Look, I hope you can overcome your fear and do the presentation. To help you, I have created an article dedicated to helping you get over your fears and present like a boss.

Anxiety support

If you need assistance for anxiety, panic disorders, depression, etc., you can seek assistance from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

Note : I am not a disability services expert so please use discretion and remember that there are a lot of variables that will impact your outcome. This is not professional, medical, or legal advice and is for informational purposes only. Your results may vary.

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Your guide to asking your professor for help.

Why Are We Scared of Public Speaking?

Understanding the roots of this common fear can help us conquer it faster..

Posted November 27, 2017 | Reviewed by Gary Drevitch

• What Is Fear?
• Find a therapist to combat fear and anxiety
• There are many benefits to being a good public speaker.
• Fear of public speaking is very common, affecting about 25% of people.
• The fear may be caused by physiology, beliefs, specific situations, or lack of skill.

Communicating your ideas clearly and presenting them openly in a public forum is an essential component of success across several domains of life. Being a good public speaker can help you advance your career , grow your business, and form strong collaborations. It can help you promote ideas and move people to action on issues that affect them directly and society at large. To do any of these things well requires a fair amount of standing in front of an audience and delivering a pitch, an idea, or a body of work. And sometimes the only thing that stands between you and your audience is fear.

Glossophobia —a really cool and geeky name for the fear of public speaking —appears when you are performing or expecting to perform an oral presentation or a speech in front of other people. Fear of public speaking is frequently but incorrectly cited as people’s biggest fear. Fear of public speaking is often not people’s biggest fear; there are many other things that people are really scared of . Nevertheless, fear of public speaking is very common; approximately 25 percent of people report experiencing it.

While some people experience a debilitating form of glossophobia, even a mild form can have devastating effects. Fear of public speaking can prevent you from taking risks to share your ideas, to speak about your work, and to present your solutions to problems that affect many people—and as a result, it can affect how much you grow personally and professionally, and how much impact you can have. At the same time, any negative public speaking experiences will make it less likely that you will speak in public in the future—fear teaches you to protect yourself from risky situations.

Why Are We Afraid of Public Speaking?

Fear of public speaking is not so much related to the quality of a speech as it is to how the speaker feels, thinks, or acts when faced with speaking in public. There are many reasons why people become afraid when having to speak in public. The theories exploring the fear of public speaking have identified four contributing factors:

1. Physiology

Fear and anxiety involve the arousal of the autonomic nervous system in response to a potentially threatening stimulus. When confronted with a threat, our bodies prepare for battle. This hyperarousal leads to the emotional experience of fear, and it interferes with our ability to perform comfortably in front of audiences. Eventually, it prevents people from pursuing opportunities for public speaking.

Some researchers suggest that there are people who generally experience higher anxiety across different situations, and are therefore more prone to feel anxious about speaking in public as well. People who are predisposed to feeling anxious find it more challenging to master their anxiety and conquer their fear of public speaking and will opt to avoid it. For other people, the anxiety is limited to public speaking situations, but the physiological signs of fear they experience as they anticipate, prepare, and perform in public are similar.

Moreover, some people experience what researchers call anxiety sensitivity, or the fear of fear. Anxiety sensitivity means that in addition to being worried about public speaking, people are worried about their anxiety about public speaking and how their anxiety will affect their ability to perform in challenging communication situations. So, along with worrying about whether they will accomplish their objectives with their speech, people with high anxiety sensitivity also worry that they will be overwhelmingly anxious in front of their audience, and they will come across as a shaky speaker.

2. Thoughts

Another factor involves people’s beliefs about public speaking and about themselves as speakers. The fear often arises when people overestimate the stakes of communicating their ideas in front of others, viewing the speaking event as a potential threat to their credibility, image, and chance to reach an audience. Negative views of oneself as a speaker ( I am not good at speaking in front of crowds, I am not a good public speaker, I am boring , etc.) can also raise anxiety and augment the fear of speaking in public.

Some theories make the distinction between a performance orientation and a communication orientation. Performance orientation means you view public speaking as something that requires special skills, and you see the role of the audience as judges who are evaluating how good of a presenter you are. In contrast, communication orientation means that the main focus is on expressing your ideas, presenting information, or telling your story. For people with this orientation, the objective is to get through to their audience the same way they get through to people during everyday conversations.

Think about this in reverse: If you view any conversation that you have in the presence of another person as a form of “public” speaking, you have enough evidence that you can express yourself clearly and communicate effectively. You would then take the same approach to public speaking events where the focus is simply on sharing ideas and information. However, when the focus shifts from being heard and understood to being evaluated, the anxiety tends to be higher.

3. Situations

While there are people who by nature tend to be more anxious, or people who don’t think they are good at public speaking, there are certain situations that are likely to make most of us more anxious when presenting in a public forum.

• Lack of experience. As with anything else, experience builds confidence . When you don’t have a lot of stage hours under your belt, you are more likely to experience fear of public speaking.
• Degree of evaluation. When there is a real or imagined evaluation component to the situation, the fear is stronger. If you are speaking in front of a group of people who have the evaluation forms ready to fill out, you may feel more anxious.
• Status difference. If you are about to speak in front of people of higher status (e.g., people at your workplace in higher positions, or groups of accomplished professionals in your line of work), you may feel a higher dose of fear tingling through your body.
• New ideas. If you are sharing ideas that you have not yet shared in public, you may worry more about how people will receive them. When your public appearance involves presenting something new, you may feel more uncomfortable stating your position, taking questions from the audience, or dealing with those audience members who try to poke holes.
• New audiences. You may already have experience speaking in public and presenting to familiar audiences. You may, for instance, be used to speaking in front of professionals in your area of expertise. Fear may arise, however, when the target audience shifts. If you are standing in front of an audience that is very different from the people you usually speak to, your confidence may be a little shaky.

Finally, another factor that contributes to the fear of public speaking is how skilled you are in this area. While many people consider themselves naturally good speakers, there is always room for growth. The people who work on their skills, instead of relying on natural talent, are the speakers who stand out the most. There are many different approaches to enhancing this skill set and increasing competence in public speaking. Increased competence leads to increased confidence, which is an effective antidote to fear. Nevertheless, confidence alone does not translate into effective public speaking.

The many benefits of sharing information and ideas in public definitely outweigh the need to protect ourselves from the horror of having to speak in front of others. The next logical question is: How do we conquer this fear? Luckily, there are many approaches that work well, both in terms of building skills and boosting confidence.

Read more about how to conquer the fear of public speaking here .

LinkedIn image: fizkes/Shutterstock

Theo Tsaousides, Ph.D. is a neuropsychologist, assistant professor, and author of the book Brainblocks: Overcoming the Seven Hidden Barriers to Success .

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Should We Force Shy Kids to Do Class Presentations?

Here’s what experts say..

Taylor Lorenz’s recent piece in the Atlantic about kids who want to abolish the in-class presentation has predictably triggered the kind of older people who think children today are far too pampered and indulged. But do these young critics of public presentations have a point? And—to pose a broader question about our requirements of the younger generation—should parents and educators force kids who are shy to do the social things that scare them? Lorenz asked kids and teachers their opinions. I wanted to see what psychologists thought.

There is a big difference between experiencing a garden-variety fear of public speaking, which is extremely common, and having social anxiety disorder. Young people with the latter, psychologist Jonathan Dalton told me, have extended physical responses to public speaking; it’s not the same as just being a little scared beforehand and coming through OK. “One of the things about social anxiety disorder that’s most pernicious is that nonsufferers have the illusion they understand it,” Dalton said. “They can say, ‘Oh, I understand this problem. I used to have a hard time giving a talk when I was in high school.’ That’s like saying ‘I have major depression’ and the teacher saying, ‘Oh, I used to be sad in high school too.’ ”

For people with anxiety disorders who have a fear of public speaking, Dalton said, the difference is physical. “The average person who’s giving a public presentation, their blood pressure and all those measurements of body activation will be elevated for about eight minutes when you begin a presentation,” Dalton said. “With someone with social anxiety disorder, it can be elevated for about 90 minutes.” The situation feels grave to the person suffering through it; Dalton said he once had a patient threaten suicide at school and end up hospitalized because of a mandated class presentation.

Still, Dalton said he doesn’t believe the answer should be to avoid presentations altogether. He said he counsels parents that avoidance of events that may provoke anxiety will only “make more room for anxiety to grow.” “So much of what we do is parent training,” Dalton, the director of the Center for Anxiety and Behavioral Change , told me. “The more compassionate the parent is, the more they want to reduce the child’s suffering. And I always tell the parents, ‘I promise you the anxiety will fill whatever space you give it.’ ”

Even setting aside a clinical diagnosis like social anxiety disorder, what we perceive as “shyness” itself may be partly biological—and not actually about shyness and sociability at all, but rather about a person’s reactions to unexpectedness and unfamiliarity. In their book The Long Shadow of Temperament , psychologists Jerome Kagan and Nancy Snidman wrote based on their findings that we could assess children as early as 4 months of age for a set of responses that would classify them as “inhibited” or “uninhibited.” “Inhibited” children react to unexpected events, like the appearance of a stranger or the popping of a balloon, with expressions of stress that “uninhibited” children don’t.

Kagan, Snidman, and other collaborators have followed children across their childhoods to see how those biologically determined temperaments did and didn’t affect children’s lives. In the end, they write, a naturally inhibited child might end up shy and reserved, or she might not; the temperamental bias “is embedded in a family context that, over time, creates a psychological profile.” The relationship between a child’s biologically determined temperament and the work that nurture does is infinitely complex, which is why this is an interesting research question .

Psychologist Doreen Arcus , studying these questions about temperament, found that inhibited children who lived with parents who practiced “authoritative parenting” in the kids’ first few years ended up what she described in a phone call as “less fearful, less timid, less stressed.” Children judged “inhibited” but whose parents placed strong limits on their behavior and let them protest those limits had experienced strong emotions, come through them, and realized that those emotions would come to a close. Arcus theorized this enabled those children to respond better to unfamiliar situations as they grew older. In explaining this to me, Arcus used the example of a toddler who is getting into the cat food. The parent might deny the child the experience of sticking her fingers in the kibble, by moving the bowl or the child, and endure the child’s protests before moving on to a new activity. Or the parent might distract the child with some other object of desire (Arcus used the Tupperware drawer as an example), so the baby never has the experience of being frustrated. The inhibited child who has been allowed to feel challenged in different situations had a better chance of losing some of his innate fearfulness.

Arcus said authoritative parenting—as opposed to permissive, neglectful, or authoritarian parenting, the less-effective alternatives —is about a mix of sensitivity and strong expectations. The steps she suggested to acclimate shy younger children to an activity they fear are the opposite of “throwing them in the deep end.” “Would your child really like to be swinging on the swings, but it’s just too painful?” she asked. “You can work up to things in small increments.” A parent could tell a child she can walk by the swings today, but she definitely needs to try to swing tomorrow. The next day, the parent could bring the child to the swings, and have her try swinging, but promise that she can leave after five minutes. “Sometimes, four minutes and 59 seconds comes, and the child is OK,” Arcus said. “And you can say, ‘You want to try another five minutes?’ ” Along the way, the parent should praise the victories. Authority, in this framework, looks more like responsive firmness than strict or angry insistence.

This concept of progressive acclimation, which Arcus described in the context of younger children who fear certain social situations, reminded me of the strategies Dalton told me he and his colleagues might pursue with patients with social anxiety disorder who were afraid of in-class presentations. He told me he might have the patient follow a multistep process: first, to read a kids’ book aloud, with an audience only of a psychologist; have the patient do an original presentation in front of a psychologist, with a camera on, and then email the file to the teacher; have the patient and the teacher watch that file together; have the patient do the presentation with a peer in the room; finally, have the patient do the presentation in class. It’s an art, Dalton said. “We don’t just throw the kid to the wolves and say, ‘It’s just anxiety, do this anyway.’ ” For kids without social anxiety disorder who have a more moderate fear of class presentations, teachers could do a modified version of this graduated introduction to the concept—presentations in pairs, then in groups, with conversations along the way about strategies you can use to cope with the fear that public speaking often arouses.

The answers I got from Dalton and Arcus, which confirm that avoidance is not the answer, might seem to reinforce the predictable arguments of people who think these kids need to suck it up. As the epigraph to the new Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt book The Coddling of the American Mind goes: “Prepare the child for the road, not the road for the child.” The saying is attributed to “Folk wisdom, origin unknown.” The authors hold this idea up as evident common sense (even as their critics strongly refute its implications). Why let shy kids, such people grumble, claim an exemption for themselves? After all, we all did class presentations, and we survived.

But when it comes to shyness and social anxiety, “the road” has changed before. In the United States in 2018 we reward boldness, curiosity, self-assuredness, and social ease; the parent of a naturally uninhibited child will get a lot of compliments, even if some of that brazen sociability and lack of fear comes from the child’s biology. But it wasn’t always so. “Before Freud,” Kagan writes, “a child who conformed to parental requests, was cautious in dangerous situations, and remained quiet with adult strangers was regarded as having a good character. After Freud, this child was classified as anxious.” Historian Barbara Benedict writes , in a history of early modern inquiry, that children and adults who were very curious about the world were once seen as dangerous and disruptive instead of laudable founts of ingenuity. The Victorians perceived shyness, Joe Moran writes in his delightful cultural history of the trait , “as an unwavering disposition, a force one could never defeat, as fixed and as little one’s fault as a tendency to suffer from gout or piles.”

We older people think of the “road” as common sense, “the world the way it is.” Of course you have to be able to talk to people you’ve never met. Of course you’ll need to do presentations. That’s just the way it is. But as a parent or a teacher, you always make personal judgments about the things children will need to do in order to survive “the road.” In this argument, as in so many intergenerational conflicts, a little adult humility would go a long way. Yes, your child probably should present in class. But you don’t have to be a jerk about it.

Home Blog Presentation Ideas 8 Top Reasons Your Presentation Isn’t Resonating and How to Fix It

8 Top Reasons Your Presentation Isn’t Resonating and How to Fix It

Presentations have become essential for sharing information, pitching ideas, and inspiring audiences. We’ve all sat through our fair share of presentations from boardrooms to classrooms. Yet, how many times have we found ourselves glancing at our phones, feeling sleepy, or simply disengaged from what the presenter is saying? 

Our expertise tells us that many presentations fall short of their intended impact. Such a situation can be linked to eight clearly identifiable factors we’ll address in this article to boost our performance.

Table of Contents

The Importance of Crafting and Delivering High-Quality Presentations

Overcrowded slides, inconsistent fonts and colors, lack of visual aids, importance of a defined goal, consequences of a rambling presentation, importance of public speaking skills, common public speaking pitfalls, importance of understanding the audience, examples of audience-specific adjustments, how presenter’s interest affects audience engagement, role of non-verbal communication in presentations, common body language mistakes, benefits of incorporating stories, common technical problems during presentations, importance of a backup plan, inadequate time management, failure to engage the audience, not addressing the audience’s needs and questions.

Working our way to create compelling presentations and taking extra care in their delivery are among the core responsibilities speakers face these days. How people consume mass media has changed the game in terms of attention span rate and how speakers and their audience interact. Therefore, we summarize here the six main reasons why we consider it vital to aim for high-quality presentations.

Establishing Credibility

A well-crafted presentation showcases your knowledge and expertise, establishing you as a credible and reliable source of information and boosting the exposure of either your brand or organization.

Engaging the Audience

High-quality presentations capture the audience’s attention and connect them, making the message more impactful and memorable.

Clear Communication

A well-structured presentation ensures your message is communicated clearly and effectively, preventing misunderstandings and confusion. Depending on the niche of your presentation, this point is critical to building trust, securing deals, or making an impact in the local or international community. Hence, the importance of mastering the concepts behind visual communication .

Taking Action Through Persuasion

A persuasive presentation, where the speaker gathers knowledge about their viewers’ interests and pain points beforehand, can influence the audience’s perceptions and encourage them to take the desired action or adopt a particular viewpoint.

Enhancing Professional Image

Delivering a top-notch presentation enhances your professional image and can contribute to your success in the business world. Remember, presentations are often repurposed to other media outlets, like YouTube videos, so your image can reach audiences far beyond your original goal.

Promotes Learning and Understanding

High-quality presentations often include visual aids, examples, and stories that can help facilitate learning and deepen the audience’s understanding of the topic. This is particularly important in the academic world, where teachers and professors should connect with their students so the imparted knowledge can sink in. 

Let’s say you’re a person who “never understood maths” – perhaps what happened was that the teachers and professors you had didn’t resonate with your learning method (which can be kinesthetic, technology-based, group learning, or several other options). Learning methods are affected by the way presenters articulate their speech, how they interact with the audience’s questions, and the usage of visual aids and examples. This was thoroughly studied due to new learning modalities induced by the COVID-19 pandemic .

Reason #1 – Poor Slide Design

One of the most common mistakes in presentation design is overcrowding slides with too much information. This often stems from a presenter’s desire to share as much knowledge as possible, fearing that leaving out details might dilute the message. However, this approach usually has the opposite effect. 

Overcrowded slides can overwhelm the audience, making it difficult for them to focus on the key message. When a slide is filled with dense paragraphs, multiple graphs, and numerous bullet points, the audience’s attention is divided, and the main point gets lost in the clutter. As a side effect, overcrowded slides affect the performance of the speech since the presenter may feel tempted to jump between points as everything is placed under the same slide.

Experience tells us it’s best to stick to simpler models, for example, the “one concept per slide,” or even use well-accepted presentation frameworks such as the 10-20-30 Rule of PowerPoint Presentations .

Have you ever looked at a banner and wondered what was happening in the “designer” mind? That kind of feeling can be elicited when graphic mediums like banners, posters, and slides are created by using a sort of mix-and-match with any typeface + color you can imagine. And yes, by that, we mean pairing Comic Sans with a script typeface in neon colors.

Consistency in design helps to create a cohesive and professional look, whereas opting for inconsistent font/color combinations speaks of amateurish skills and disjointed work to craft the presentation. Although fonts can vary from slide to slide, the golden rule of working with fonts in presentations is to stick to a maximum of 3 typeface families, and if working with only one, apply font variations (meaning altering the font weight or style, i.e., using italics).

Regarding color usage, you can apply multiple professional color combinations depending on the mood you wish to convey in your presentation. We invite you to check our guide on color theory for presentations to get the most out of color for your work.

Visual aids are a crucial component of effective presentations, as they can help to clarify complex ideas, emphasize key points, and engage the audience’s attention. A lack of visual aids can result in a presentation that is dry, monotonous, and difficult for the audience to follow. Without visuals, the audience is left to rely solely on the presenter’s words, which can be challenging, especially for complex or abstract topics (i.e., discussing KPI data without a graph). 

Working with graphic resources can be a powerful tool for emphasizing key points, making them more memorable for the audience. When used effectively, visual aids can enhance the presenter’s message, making it more impactful and easier for the audience to understand and remember. 

To incorporate visual aids effectively, presenters should consider the message they are trying to convey and select visuals that complement and enhance that message. Among the options, we include graphs, charts, images, or videos, depending on the topic and audience. As always, we should stick to a cohesive message, meaning that the visual tools used should boast the same color palette and fonts used in the presentation – unless it’s an external resource and should be specified. 

Reason #2 – Lack of a Clear Objective

Every action we take should be backed up by a well-defined goal to pursue, and presentations are no strangers to this statement. Clear goals serve as the guiding star that shapes the presentation’s content, structure, and delivery. A clear objective helps the presenter stay focused and ensures that every presentation element is aligned with the intended outcome. It also provides a framework for the audience to understand the purpose of the presentation and what they can expect to gain from it. 

Since we aim to share a sense of direction and purpose through our presentations, we are also building credibility in the same step, which helps build trust with the audience. It’s a sort of ongoing cycle showcasing the effort and dedication put into your work, as a presenter who counts with a defined goal and carefully plans to structure the presentation. A quick application of goal setting for presenters would be implementing the SMART goal criteria to elevate the quality of your presentations.

A presentation without a clear objective often results in a meandering and unfocused delivery that can leave the audience confused and disengaged. When a presentation lacks direction, it can seem like the presenter is simply rambling, jumping from one point to another without any clear connection or purpose. This lack of focus can make it difficult for the audience to follow the presentation and understand the key message. It can also lead to losing interest as the audience struggles to see the information’s relevance. 

A second consequence of a rambling presentation is linked to undermining the presenter’s credibility, as it can give the impression that the presenter is unprepared or lacks a deep understanding of the topic. This situation can damage the presenter’s reputation and make it difficult to build trust with the audience. 

Finally, a presentation that doesn’t have a well-defined goal will experience a hard time determining the time required to deliver it. Since the presenter isn’t in touch with what to achieve out of the presentation, the speech can be too long, too short, or unclear to the audience.

Reason #3 – Lack of Presentation Skills

Public speaking skills encompass a range of abilities, from clear and articulate speech to engaging storytelling and effective non-verbal communication. These skills are crucial in capturing and maintaining the audience’s attention, conveying the message clearly, and creating a lasting impact. 

Good public speaking skills also enhance the presenter’s credibility and authority on the subject matter, building trust with the audience. Furthermore, strong public speaking abilities allow the presenter to adapt to the audience’s reactions and adjust the presentation accordingly. This flexibility is essential in creating a dynamic, interactive presentation that resonates with the audience. 

Additionally, public speaking skills are vital in managing presentation nerves and delivering a confident and poised performance. This confidence can be contagious, inspiring the audience and leaving a positive impression.

One of the most common pitfalls is speaking too fast, making it difficult for the audience to follow along and absorb the information, especially if there are non-native speakers present in the audience. Using jargon or complex language that is not easily understood by the audience falls in this same category. This can create confusion and make the presentation less accessible.

Relying too heavily on notes or slides can make the presentation feel scripted and impersonal, as if reading a teleprompter rather than trying to deliver the presentation. 

Many presenters fail to make eye contact with the audience, which can create a barrier between the presenter and the audience and make the presentation feel disconnected. We will talk more in detail about the impact of body language in a section below.

Reason #4 – Not Tailoring the Presentation to the Audience

The audience’s needs, interests, and background should shape the presentation’s content, tone, and structure. A deep understanding of the audience allows the presenter to connect with them more personally, making a lasting impression and ensuring action from the audience (acquiring a product, securing a business deal, signing up for a mentorship, etc.). It also enables the presenter to anticipate and address any questions or concerns the audience may have, enhancing the presentation’s effectiveness. 

Understanding the audience helps the presenter tailor the language and examples used in the presentation, ensuring that they are relevant and relatable. Gaining a deep knowledge of the target audience helps to adjust the presentation’s content to the audience’s education level, not underestimating their capacity or not going beyond what’s advisable for the presentation’s objective. 

Returning to our previous example of learning maths, a teacher can tailor the contents of presenting a new topic if the students lack the foundational knowledge required to understand the new topic. How so? By using visual aids, going over those required concepts and explaining them followed by the new topic, or simply by taking time to address questions.

In industrial-based presentations, the usage of jargon is a commonality, as presenters assume their target audience is knowledgeable about the language used and the concepts associated with it.

Storytelling may have a word about adjusting the speech, as the fables crafted won’t be the same for an audience in their 50s to a group of teenagers. The language will differ, the cultural references won’t be equal, and so on.

Reason #5 – Lack of Interest in the Topic

When a presenter is genuinely interested in the subject matter, it is evident in their delivery, body language, and overall demeanor. This enthusiasm can be contagious, capturing the audience’s attention and making the presentation more enjoyable and memorable. Fine examples of this are TED talks, Mindvalley talks, Apple’s product releases, etc.

On the other hand, if the presenter lacks interest in the topic, it can result in a lackluster and uninspiring presentation. The lack of enthusiasm can be evident in the presenter’s voice, body language, and overall delivery, making the presentation feel flat and unengaging. If you wish to associate this situation with an experience, remember the last time you attended a presentation where the tone sounded dull, the presenter only read slides, and you were glancing at your watch, begging for the presentation to end ASAP.

Reason #6 – Neglecting Body Language

Non-verbal communication, or body language, covers a broad range of elements, including facial expressions, gestures, posture, and eye contact, all contributing to the overall impact of the message being delivered. Body language can reinforce the spoken message, emphasizing and clarifying the presenter’s words. It can also convey the presenter’s confidence, enthusiasm, and credibility, building a stronger connection with the audience. 

Body language can be used to gauge the audience’s reaction and adjust the presentation accordingly. For example, if the audience appears disengaged, the presenter can use more dynamic gestures and facial expressions to recapture their attention. If, in turn, the audience appears confused, the presenter can use more deliberate and clear gestures to emphasize key points.

Presentation nerves can affect body language; without us considering it, the feeling of not considering ourselves adequate for a presentation is so easily transmitted through our body language. 

Poor posture is the number 1 mistake in body language, as it can convey a lack of confidence and professionalism. This is closely followed by a lack of eye contact, which can create a barrier between the presenter and the audience, making the presentation feel impersonal and disconnected. We understand some shy people may experience symptoms similar to social anxiety when asked to deliver a presentation. A good measure to counteract that habit is to focus on a blank point in the audience, not particularly looking at anyone during the presentation’s first 3-4 minutes. That simple practice can help you build momentum and continue with the course of the presentation without fear of failure.

Using excessive or inappropriate gestures can distract the audience from the message. Conversely, some presenters use too few gestures, resulting in a stiff and robotic presentation. 

Another common mistake is using filler words and nervous habits, such as fidgeting, pacing, or playing with hair, which can project nervousness and debunk the presenter’s credibility. Finally, take a good look at your facial gestures, as delivering a speech with a poker face is not considered among the best practices in presentation skills .

Reason #7 – Ignoring the Power of Storytelling

Storytelling is a powerful tool in presentations, as it can captivate the audience’s attention, make complex ideas more relatable, and create a memorable experience. One of the primary benefits of incorporating stories is that they can help to humanize the presenter, making them more relatable and building a stronger connection with the audience. They can also evoke emotions, helping to increase the retention rate of the content you share and even building a need from the audience to get more information about your work (that being a product or a service).

We’ve created a detailed guide on the concepts every speaker should master to successfully use storytelling in presentations . Another valuable asset we invite you to discover is our metaphor PPT templates , which are ideal for expressing complex ideas in simpler terms or building your narrative with powerful graphics.

Reason #8 – Technical Issues

Technical problems are common during presentations and can significantly disrupt the flow and impact of the presentation. Some of the most common technical problems include:

• Projector or Screen Issues: The projector may not connect properly to the computer, or the screen may not display the presentation correctly. This can result in delays and disrupt the flow of the presentation. In most complex cases, the driver of the computer’s graphics card may crash or enter into conflict, not allowing us to stream the presentation.
• Audio Problems: The microphone may not work properly, or the speakers may not be loud enough for the audience to hear the presenter. Interference is another factor to consider, and that’s usually due to low-quality microphones.
• Software Glitches: The presentation software may crash or freeze, causing delays and disrupting the presentation flow.
• Video or Animation Issues: Videos or animations may not play correctly, detracting from the presentation’s impact. This usually happens when presenters work with the latest releases of PowerPoint to craft their presentations, and then ought to use legacy versions or Google Slides to deliver the presentation at the location venue.
• Remote Control Problems: The remote control may not work properly, making it difficult for the presenter to navigate through the slides.

These technical problems can be frustrating for both the presenter and the audience and can detract from the presentation’s overall impact. They can also make the presenter appear unprepared or unprofessional. To avoid these problems, presenters should thoroughly test all equipment and software before the presentation and have a backup plan in case of technical difficulties.

A relaxed presenter is one who covers all bases with a good backup plan. These are some suggestions we have to prevent common technical inconveniences: 

• Having a Printed Copy: In case of projector or screen issues, having a printed copy of the presentation can allow the presenter to continue without relying on visual aids. If your presentation relies heavily on graphs, ask the organization if they count with a whiteboard you can use to manually recreate the graph from your notes.
• Testing Equipment: Thoroughly testing all equipment and software before the presentation can help to identify and fix any potential problems before they occur. This should be done 10-15 minutes before the presentation.
• Bringing Spare Equipment: Bringing spare equipment, such as a backup laptop or remote control, can provide a quick solution in case of equipment failure.
• Preparing for Audio Problems: Having a backup plan for audio problems, such as bringing a portable speaker or having a printed copy of the presentation, can help to ensure that the audience can still engage with the presentation. If the microphone isn’t working as required, you may be forced to raise your voice – so keep a jar with water nearby to avoid extra strain on your throat.
• Practicing Without Visual Aids: Practicing the presentation without relying on visual aids can help the presenter to continue confidently in case of technical problems.

Additional Reasons that May Affect Your Presentation’s Performance

Nothing says more about disrespect than exceeding your allocated time during an event. Organizers often cut presentations that go beyond the time limit, leaving some points up in the air as your presentation abruptly ends. 

Inadequate time management can significantly undermine the effectiveness of a presentation. When a presenter fails to allocate time properly, they may rush through important points or, conversely, dwell too long on less significant details. This can result in an amateurish presentation that will destroy all your hard work done during the previous minutes.

To avoid this common pitfall, consider the total time allowed for the presentation and create your speech with a time limit of 3-5 minutes before that time mark. Not only does this give you room for a Q&A session, but it also speaks about your respect for fellow presenters.

A presenter’s failure to engage the audience can significantly detract from the presentation’s expected impact. Engagement can be achieved by asking questions, encouraging audience participation, or using interactive elements like polls or quizzes. Additionally, the presenter can use storytelling, humor, or relatable anecdotes to connect with the audience and make the presentation more enjoyable. 

The presenter should be mindful of their body language, tone of voice, and overall demeanor, as these non-verbal cues can significantly affect the audience’s engagement.

Linked to a previously-mentioned topic, ignoring the fact the audience may have questions about your presentation is a common mistake. This leaves a sour taste in the audience, as they feel a secondary asset to the presentation like their opinion isn’t valuable. 

Conduct well-done research about the topics that drive interest out of your audience, and predict potential questions that can arise after your speech. Then, allocate the required time to answer them or offer a contact medium (email, LinkedIn) when debating how to end a presentation . Staying some minutes after your presentation concludes to answer questions in coffee breaks is a sign of respect for your audience.

Multiple factors can affect the overall performance of our presentation, and we can be totally oblivious to them due to focusing so much on the content rather than the delivery. The time to act is now. Assess your presentation skills and identify the areas that need improvement. 

Embrace the power of visual aids, storytelling, and effective body language to elevate your presentation. Be proactive in addressing technical issues and always have a backup plan in place. Remember, the goal is to deliver a presentation that not only informs but also engages and resonates with your audience. Take the necessary steps to hone your skills, and you will undoubtedly see a marked improvement in your future presentations. The path to delivering an impactful and memorable presentation is in your hands. Seize the opportunity and make your next presentation your best one yet.

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Death by PowerPoint, Presentation Approaches Filed under Presentation Ideas

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Social Anxiety

10 reasons teens with social anxiety should not have to do class presentations.

There’s been some uproar on social media about this topic, so I thought it deserved some attention. I can see both sides of this issue. However, I thought I would play devil’s advocate and list 10 reasons I can see why teenagers should not be required to do a class presentation.

Here we go, in no particular order.

1. Anxiety is made worse when you feel trapped.

I remember, as a high school student, feeling a loss of power. It’s not like being an adult, where you can choose your job. Students who feel trapped and overwhelmed may drop courses they might otherwise enjoy or learn things from, just because of a public speaking component. If the course is not about public speaking, does that need to be part of the evaluation? Students should never feel trapped or fearful at school.

2. Students should not fear school.

This leads into my second point — students should not fear school. For students with a bona fide public speaking phobia, required class presentations could turn what is supposed to be a learning experience into a painful four years of severe anxiety and avoidance.

3. The world is changing.

How relevant is it to do a class presentation? We’re moving toward a world where communication is important, but standing up in front of group with Powerpoint slides might be becoming outdated. Could students prepare webinars instead? Give talks via Skype or some other chat app? Increasingly, communication is going digital and the school system needs to catch up.

4. Not all students want careers that involve public speaking.

While students should never discount careers because of a public speaking phobia (that they could overcome), it’s also a fact there are students in high school who won’t end up in careers that require public speaking. To say it’s a necessary skill that needs to be taught overlooks the students who already know they don’t want a career that requires it.

5. There is a lack of mental health support.

Requiring teens to do class presentations without the necessary psychological support for students with public speaking phobias is an oversight. Teachers need to be trained to spot the symptoms of severe anxiety and send those students on to the school psychologist.

6. Teachers are not psychologists.

This leads to my next point — teachers are not psychologists and should not be expected to deal with students experiencing public speaking phobias. Requiring class presentations puts teachers in the awkward position of not knowing how to help students or having to fail students who are too anxious and skip out.

7. It can be stressful for introverts.

If introverts designed the school system, what would classes look like? Think on that for a moment. We might not have class presentations, but rather small meaningful group discussion. Is there only one way to teach? One way to communicate? A curriculum designed with introverts in mind might look very different than the one we have now.

8. Accommodations are made for other disabilities – why not anxiety?

This is specific to those with a diagnosed anxiety disorder. If a student were disabled in some other way, they would be offered accommodations to level the playing field, so-to-speak. If an anxious student could deliver a presentation in some other format that was less taxing, would that be viewed as acceptable?

9. The objective of education should be learning.

In the end, the objective of education is to learn. That might mean learning how to read, how to write, how to do basic math, or about more advanced topics. It might even mean how to speak in public. If that’s the case, and they are learning how to speak in public, why isn’t anyone teaching that? I remember learning how to write an essay. I don’t remember anyone teaching us how to give a presentation or how to overcome a fear of it.

10. Nobody is teaching them how to do it.

This leads to my final point — nobody is teaching students how to give a class presentation or how to work through public speaking anxiety. If we could do more of that in schools, then I could see the value of requiring that students do a class presentation. Until that time, perhaps they should be optional, with the option of being evaluated in other ways, such as through a written or graphical assignment.

A version of this article was previously published on the author’s website .

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The 7 Main Reasons Why People Give Presentations

1.      Selling a product or service

2.      giving a toast at a party or celebration.

3.      Teaching a new concept

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4.     Memorialising a loved one

5.      inspiring a crowd to take an action.

6.     Entertaining a group of people

7.      demonstrating that you understand a concept, more articles on presentation skills.

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