Poor presentation preparation

It’s seven weeks after my co-op and I have to do a presentation to fulfill my biology co-op requirements. With a cold and a midterm-heavy week this added stress must be handled with care.

I have given up the notion that I will have time to prepare for this presentation, and must rely on my ability to fake it. This is quite exciting and appealing to me…

I have prepared the Power Point slides and am challenging myself to overcome the anxiety of a 12-minute presentation in front of peers, profs, and potential employers while winging it.

Perhaps this is a strange and unfamiliar domain for you, but throughout my undergrad I have become well accustomed to the “faking it til you make it” lifestyle. So here is my strategy to appear confident tomorrow despite being totally unprepared (ideally I would have a practiced script, and had time to run through it).

• Body language: Stand up straight, make eye contact, and smile.
• Take pause: Staying calm and taking deep breaths rather than using filler words makes a big difference, and it gives you time to figure out what you are suppose to be talking about…
• Your audience is naive: It’s like a piano concert; I wouldn’t be able to recognize a wrong note, but the pianist can tell he is messing up. After seven weeks I forget if I mean to say “Idiobiont or Koinobiont” but no one else knows either.
• Express your anxiety as interest/excitement: Everyone is nervous, but I plan to hide it in the fact I am generally excited to have the opportunity to present.
• Depend on your slides: Taking quick glances at well made slides can guide you through any topic.

I will let you know how it goes.