My Experience Presenting to a Group
Presenting. I hate it, many others also hate it, it is generally viewed as an anxiety-inducing activity. However, whether we like it or not, it is a very important aspect of most jobs.
However, as part of my short work placement, I didn’t anticipate that presenting would somehow be involved, as the role is mentoring a single student, helping them with Maths and English.
The Email
I received an email from the Project Leader, explaining that all mentors could either present a starter activity to the class or deliver a short speech about their career or education, intended to inspire the students. I felt that my current experiences were not interesting or inspiring enough to do a speech about them, and felt too embarrassed to do this. Upon reflection, delivering the speech may have been more beneficial for my future, as talking about my experiences and reflecting on why I chose Psychology and decided to go to university may have been helpful for starting to think about what I want to do next.
Preparation
After finding a suitable starter activity online I asked the project leader who leads the sessions if it was ok and she liked the idea. I didn’t practice much as I thought that overthinking it would actually be counterproductive, and make it feel forced. I think this was the right decision and I didn’t regret my lack of preparation because it wasn’t necessary for a little starter activity. If I were to do it again I would consider coming up with my own starter activity to be more creative. It also may have been beneficial to do a run-through of the activity with an audience to make sure I can explain the task effectively, in a way that is easy to understand.
The Presentation
I wasn’t actually as nervous as I expected before the starter activity, and after thinking about it, I think this was because I made sure not to overthink it, and I knew I was presenting to a friendly group of people, and most of them were only 9 and 10. I think it is beneficial to rationalise situations when you are worried about them and I can definitely benefit from this experience, using the same method in future experiences.
The Outcome
After the presentation, I felt relieved that it was over and realised it really wasn’t a big deal. Although I didn’t expect to present during my work placement and didn’t necessarily want to, it was a worthwhile experience that has contributed to the development of my verbal communication skills. However, presenting a starter activity to 9 and 10-year-olds is quite different from a presentation done in a work setting. Despite this, it was still a useful experience and can help build my confidence in communicating with older people.
