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Many students shy away from the limelight, but there are effective means against nervousness (symbol image)
Photo: Tim Robberts / Stone RF / Getty Images
Whether it is a lecture in a seminar, a presentation of a group work or a defense of the bachelor thesis: Students can not only hide behind books, but have to give one or the other lecture during their academic career.
Many find this difficult - not because they are struggling with the content, but because they are faced with a much more insidious challenge: stage fright.
Stage fright is the tension, nervousness and stress before a public appearance or an exam.
Why is stage fright so insidious?
Because it can occur spontaneously - on a scale from "a slight tingling sensation in the stomach" to "a solid panic attack".
If you google "stage fright", you will find a wide range of tips and tricks that promise a remedy.
Unfortunately, most of it is quite a botch.
Breathe calmly, imagine the audience naked - all of this helps at most for a short time.
Instead, let's go over a few strategies you can use to do something about your stage fright in the long term.
Get rid of false beliefs
In my experience as a student advisor, there are two fundamental misunderstandings that cause stress in lecturing students: "I have to know everything." And "My professor is against me."
Lectures during your studies are not about dealing with a topic in full.
Firstly, this is impossible in the allotted time (unless your lecture lasts several weeks) and secondly, nobody wants to hear that.
Your task is to scientifically present the results you have worked out and to classify them in a subject area.
You have to show that you can apply methods and that you have understood the relationships.
It is not more.
So no reason to drive yourself crazy about minor knowledge gaps.
Let's get to your examiner.
Regardless of the format in which you have to give a presentation: Your professors have a fundamental interest in your being successful.
Mainly because most of them are correct, but also because otherwise you will lower their key figures and, in the worst case, have to start again (and thus steal their time).
Of course, some professionals will ask nasty questions.
Some can even be unfair - I know.
Even so, you shouldn't perceive them as your enemies by default.
They want to teach, you want to learn - so basically you have the same goal.
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Many students are so nervous about lectures because they find themselves in an unfamiliar situation.
Therefore, try to get to know the framework conditions in advance and to get used to the presentation.
Are you giving your presentation on site in a lecture hall or seminar room?
Then find out if you can practice there in advance.
Take this opportunity to test beamer, projector, board and so on.
Will your lecture take place digitally?
Then familiarize yourself with the software in advance and practice at home in front of your webcam.
Take the opportunity to record yourself and analyze your performance.
Or you switch on friends or fellow students and ask them to ask questions afterwards.
This will make your presentation even better.
Expect the worst
In this test anxiety article, I introduced the worst-case scenario idea.
You can use a similar approach with lamp plumage.
Ask yourself: what could be the worst that could happen to your lecture?
For example, you could promise yourself in the introduction, lose the thread, have a blackout, fail, be de-registered and end up under a bridge.
Such trains of thought may drag you down for a brief moment - but shortly afterwards your subconscious takes over and you start looking for possible solutions.
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Reichel, Tim
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Are you afraid of a blackout?
Then determine fixed points in your lecture to which you can always jump back if you have lost the thread.
The author Vera Birkenbihl described a similar method as "stones in the river", which you sit down to avoid falling into the water and being carried away by the current.
Are you worried that the projector in the lecture hall will fail?
Prepare to give the presentation without slides.
You don't trust your internet connection during your Zoom presentation?
Activate a hotspot with your smartphone so that you never lose the connection.
By preparing for the worst, you will develop a sense of security and control.
Conclusion
Almost all of the great speakers say they are familiar with stage fright, writes rhetoric trainer Michael Ehlers.
So nervous students are in good company.
Tricks like calming the breath or creating mental images can work for the moment;
however, the greatest positive effects are proper preparation - and practice.
Even the most famous orator in ancient Rome, Marcus Tullius Cicero, knew this: "You can only learn to speak by speaking."
