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By the end of this semester, I would have done at least five formal presentations and countless other informal ones. I’m sure that many of you will be presenting a lot as well. Public speaking is a big part of grad school, even more so than undergrad, I find.

Not all of us are natural public speakers, though. It takes a lot of guts to stand up in front of people and talk for any amount of time. I still get ridiculously fidgety right before I get up to present, and I’ve been public speaking for almost a decade. Grad students, especially, have to explain very complex ideas. Those are never easy to present.

I thought it would be a good idea to share some tips on public speaking. These are little things that I do to help me not stutter my way through a presentation. I hope these tips help you too.

1. Breathe before you start and between every section.

I tend to talk really really really fast. If I’m not careful, I start stumbling over my words, ad lib-ing for no reason, and basically turn into a vocal train wreck in the making. Another thing I tend to do – and I know plenty of other people to do the same thing – is to just forget to breathe. As a result, your speech turns into this really rushed, almost high pitched string of words. To make sure you don’t do this, take a deep breathe before you start and between every major section. This will help you pace yourself. While you’re at it, throw your shoulders back and stand up straight. You might end up all hunched over by the end of your speech and not even know how you got there.

2. Take sips of water during your delivery.

I do this for the same reasons as above, but also because I need to occupy my hands and mouth. Sounds weird right? The thing is, once you’re on a roll, it’s hard to stop. Physically pick up a water bottle and bringing it to your lips will stop you from talking and doing any hand gestures (mine tend to be wild). This also helps if you have a really long presentation and your throat is feeling parched. Don’t gulp, though. Just take a sip.

3. Rehearse a lot.

This a tip my prof gave us just last week. Practice. Always practice. Don’t just practice the way you would present. Practice really slow, then practice really fast. Make sure you enunciate every word, especially your trouble words, so that you don’t stumble when you present. Make all the mistakes you want saying a foreign word, as long as it’s during practice.

4. Like your topic.

It really shows when a speaker enjoys the topic they are presenting. You start to smile, your voice isn’t heavy and the atmosphere becomes lighter. Just this week, I did a presentation on mHealth. While I am by no means an expert on the subject, I really enjoyed researching the topic and I think my enthusiasm showed. Oftentimes, I find that the presenter’s enthusiasm makes or breaks a heavy presentation.

Of course, the university offers workshops and seminars to help you improve your presentation skills. The School of Graduate Studies has the GPS Program which offers a unit dedicated to communication and interpersonal skills. The Academic Success Centre also offers workshops on oral presentations and other grad specific programs. Finally, we have the U of T Engineering Toastmasters, a student club open to anyone in the university.

Happy speaking!