How many times has it happened that you have tried speaking in public and there was no response from the audience?  Have you been a part of a presentation where you struggled to speak with confidence or were you a nervous wreck on stage when it was your time to shine?

If the answer to the above questions is “yes”,then do read this blog where I share my experience on how a public speaking workshop could create a difference in the way you present yourself on the stage.

On 30^th April, Study Geelong organised an event called “Public Speaking Jitters” which was facilitated by Kylie Shrume, Senior Learning & Culture Consultant, City of Greater Geelong. The event took place at the offices of Study Geelong. It focussed on the importance of improvising, how to give a strong presentation by modifying the format of the presentation and talking with confidence.

Activities at the event:

• Warm up: It is really important to know the audience and understand that they are not different from you. They are also interested to hear what you have to say. In this activity we heard what everyone likes or dislikes in the form of a chair game. At the end of this activity, everyone felt more comfortable speaking in front of each other.
• Motivating spontaneity: To encourage thinking on your feet, participants were told that during the span of workshop, Kylie would select someone at random to talk about a topic that is completely arbitrary. This activity was really fun and taught us the importance of improvising under pressure when everyone’s focus is on the thing you are about to say or how you are going present yourself on stage.
• Breathing exercise: Kylie shared her experience of giving a presentation in a professional environment. Sometimes we don’t meet the nicest of people and it is really important to talk with confidence and be professional at the same time. 
• How to structure our presentation: Kylie shared her professional experience on how to structure a presentation. What is the right sequence in creating a presentation and how to divide it into 3 subtopics. In the end, we had the opportunity to create a prefect presentation based on new format.

My experience at the event was fantastic and we had the opportunity to learn a lot. I am sure I am going to use these skills in the future presentations and public speaking opportunities.

If you would like to see the resources provided to us during the workshop, click here.

There are also some great videos about public speaking on TED Talks. You can access them here.