A short talk by TJ Walker encouraging students to give presentations in school to build confidence and public-speaking skills. Walker shares a personal anecdote from 1975 about giving a sixth-grade graduation speech and argues that frequent, low-stakes classroom speaking opportunities reduce nervousness and build ‘muscle memory’ for presentations.
Chapters
Should you do presentation school? Absolutely, yes. I don't think I'd be here today if it weren't for a presentation I gave in School. In 1975, when I was about to graduate from the sixth grade. I was a shy kid. I never said anything. But my teacher said, hey, I gotta find someone to give the opening graduation welcoming speech to parents and teachers and kids. Will you do it? I'll give you an A in handwriting if you do. And I said, okay. I wrote the speech, I stood up, kind of read. It wasn't great, but I did it. I got through it and I got a reward. And it made it easier the next time to give a presentation. I urge you, give presentations in school anytime you can. Because most kids are not very good. For that matter, most teachers are not very good. So get more practice under your belt every time you speak, every time you present, it makes it a little bit easier the next time because it becomes harder to be nervous. We're always nervous doing things for the first time. The first time you hop into a swimming pool and you haven't learned how to swim yet is more nerve wracking than after you've been swimming for 10 years. The first time you get into a car and drive somewhere is a lot more nerve wracking than after you've been driving for 10 years. It's exactly the same thing with giving presentations and speeches and talks. You don't have to be great. Remember, the standards are very low in the classroom for presentations. The number one thing you can do, I believe, if you're a student, is raise your hand to speak, volunteer to give presentations, talks, briefings, speeches. But here's the thing. Every time you ask a question in a classroom that's a type of a presentation, every time you speak and more than one person can hear you, you're conditioning yourself to speak in front of people. You're conditioning yourself to be more comfortable, more confident, more relaxed, and makes it easier for the next time. One of the reasons great comics are great is because they typically said every joke hundreds of times. They know exactly how fast to go, where to pause, where to speed up. That's what makes them good at what they do. Now, if you're giving a speech or presentation in class, you don't have to memorize stuff, but repetition builds muscle memory and will make you a better presenter.
