I recently spoke at Arden’s 10th Anniversary Conference in Birmingham. My subject was using poetry in reflective practice, and it was my first time speaking at an academic get-together. It was a bright, mild day in October, and as we boarded the coach that would take us from the railway station to the conference centre, I started to really feel the first wave of nerves. My first reaction was to lightly tell myself off for being so silly.
“How many times did you rehearse the presentation this week?” my inner monologue seemed to say, “and wasn’t your abstract accepted without notes or suggestions by the conference committee?” it added. “And didn’t you in fact receive some very nice feedback from your colleagues just the other day?”
The answers these questions were, in order: lots, yes, and yes. But speaking in public (especially to a room full of people whom you like and respect and want to impress) can be notably difficult. Nothing can make you doubt yourself more than a camera and a microphone that amplifies your voice. I have a large and carrying voice even without a microphone and a speaker system. When I’m wrong, I’m generally loudly wrong.
At least when presenting in public, you have people in the room who can nod or smile encouragingly (and if they really like you, they’ll laugh at your bad jokes). It can be even harder to present confidently when all you have to look at is a laptop and a small image of your own face in the corner of the screen, like a loose passport photo. Many assessments at Arden require students to record themselves delivering a presentation in this way. Having delivered a lot of workshops to a lot of very quiet zoom rooms in my time, here’s my best advice on giving compelling presentations when your only audience is the laptop camera
- Put on a good shirt
You might not be in front of a physical audience, but your presentation will still be watched (and marked!) by your tutors. You want to present a positive and confident face to the world, and that starts with you. Make sure your background is clear and that you have plenty of light. Wear a good shirt. You’ll feel better when you do.
- Go slow
It’s very easy to gabble when you’re presenting. Of course it is, you wrote the presentation, so you already know the material! Bear in mind that your audience isn’t as familiar with your subject as you are. They need you to explain it to them, and that generally means you should speak at a slightly slower pace than you ordinarily would. Remember: confidence speaks slowly.
- Use your hands
Most assessment presentations require you to record video as well as audio. Physical gestures are a great way to make use of the space that this provides. You do not need to stay rigidly still and read off your slides. Vary your tone, gesticulate with your hands: it all goes towards creating a compelling and confident presentation.
- Sit up straight
This quite an old-fashioned piece of advice, but I do think that it has value. It’s harder to project confidence and to speak clearly if you’re hunched over. And, in fairness, it is easy to find yourself hunched over if you’re presenting to a laptop screen. You can solve this problem by raising your laptop slightly so you’re not stooping to appear on camera. I like to use a big stack of books for this, but a stack of cushions works just as well. I once gave a presentation with the laptop balanced on top of a set of kitchen scales. It’s not stupid if it works.
- Remember that you’re in charge
You’re the boss of your presentation, and it will do whatever you tell it to do. You’ve done the hard work of researching your topic, coming up with a compelling argument, and piecing it all together in an interesting way. This is all your work! It’s only right that you get to show it off to the world. Your research is interesting, and your voice is important. Do your best; it will show.