Presenting with Confidence in Grad School: From Planning to Public Speaking

Sometimes, it helps to have a role model. Attending public speaking events, like lectures, plays, or even podcast tapings, can help you get a sense of what makes an effective public speaker. If you’ve never addressed an audience before, it can also help to have a mental template to follow on your first attempt.

Finally, seeing others speak in public can help demystify the experience. After all, if they can do it, why not you?

Did you know there are classes and events specifically designed to teach people how to become better public speakers? Some of them, like Toastmasters, have been around for decades. If you’ve struggled with public speaking in the past, and you know that you’ll be presenting and giving lectures in grad school, taking a public speaking course can be a great way to get a jump on your speaking skills, and connect with others who are overcoming the same challenges as you.

It may not feel like public speaking in the traditional sense, but contributing to in-class discussions can be a good way to get used to addressing your professors and classmates as a group. Because you’ll have opportunities to contribute in almost every class session, don’t panic if you feel awkward the first time you add something to a discussion. You’ll have plenty more opportunities!

Even asking questions during class can be a daily exercise in gaining confidence. That way, when it’s time for your presentation, you’ll be used to seeing their faces and speaking up.

Fear and anxiety are often, at their core, rooted in a fear of the unknown. Fear of public speaking is no different. While you can’t be sure how your presentation will go, there are ways to make it feel less daunting — and one of those ways is through visualization exercises.

In a calm, quiet place, take a moment to close your eyes and picture the presentation. Think of the room, the people around you, and yourself, delivering your work smoothly. That way, presentation day won’t seem like such a new experience when it arrives.

Did you flub a line? Jump a little too far ahead of yourself? It’s okay — mistakes happen to everyone.

If you make a mistake, the key is not to make too big a deal of it. Odds are, your audience didn’t notice. But they will notice if you call their attention to it. Just keep going, and make any adjustments you need as you proceed. Your audience doesn’t have your script, after all.

Have you ever done an affirmation? These are where you practice saying positive statements to yourself to improve your confidence. Affirmations can be about anything — they can be ways to remind yourself that you’re strong, you’re smart, you’ve got this, and more.

Try a few affirmations around public speaking. “I’m a confident speaker,” and “I’m going to ace this presentation.” Speaking is the first step to believing, and believing in yourself is half the battle.

It seems simple, but sometimes just doing this can help you feel more confident. When you get up to deliver your presentation, smile at your audience, and make eye contact with a friendly face.

Not only will this help you come across as welcoming and prepared, but it can also set the mood. Greeting your audience as a group of friends and colleagues, rather than a faceless mass, can help you remember that they’re just people, and there’s no need to be afraid of them as you present.

Do you ever feel like you don’t know much about a topic, even if you’ve been studying for months? Are you worried that you’ll be “caught out” when you make your presentation? You may be suffering from imposter syndrome.

Imposter syndrome is when highly competent people worry that they’re frauds. It’s very common, and it can be overcome. If you find yourself suffering from it, check out this resource to beat back imposter syndrome for good.

Ever heard the expression “comparison is the thief of joy”? It’s a popular saying for a reason — you’re you, and comparing yourself to others is unfair to you and them.

We all have different strengths, levels of comfort in social situations, and attitudes toward our grad school projects, so comparisons aren’t apples-to-apples. You can exchange tips and support each other, but when it’s your turn to speak, don’t think about them — just present as best you can.

You don’t have to be a graphic designer to create visually appealing presentations. Ready-made templates are useful for getting a sleek, attractive format for your slides without having to design them yourself.

PowerPoint has a variety of free templates already built in for you. If those options are too limited for your tastes, there are also a variety of third-party websites that offer free templates ready to download.

Slides are meant to enhance your presentation, not replace it. If your audience is too busy reading your slides, they may not be focused on everything you have to say.

You can avoid this by keeping each slide simple with limited text. Ideally, a few key phrases or bullet points, and a relevant image or graphic — like a photo or a visual representation of a data point — are all a slide needs.

Remember, you don’t want your audience to struggle to read your slides. Ensure a high contrast between the text and background (like black-on-white or white-on-black), instead of similar colors, and use headlines to introduce each slide.

You may also want to look out for key terms and bold them. That way, even if your audience doesn’t catch everything on a slide, the most important bits will stand out — both visually and in their minds.

Fonts may seem like a dull thing to think about, but a legible font and the right font size can be crucial to making your slides understandable. Avoid unusual or hard-to-read fonts, like those that mimic handwriting, and choose something simple, like Helvetica or another sans serif font.

It’s also important to keep your font size large enough to be legible from a distance. A good rule of thumb is to aim for 24-point font or slightly larger, so everyone can read clearly.

Images and graphics are fun, but don’t go overboard. Too many images, or poorly rendered images that don’t enhance your content, will just make your presentation look crowded.

Instead, skip the memes and blurry photos, and stick to high-quality images that add something to the overall point you’re making with your presentation. These can include clearly rendered, lively and compelling photographs, infographics, logos of relevant organizations, and more.

Time to proofread! Typos and errors happen to everyone, but they can be a distraction for your audience and detract from your overall presentation — especially if they’re rendered in large-scale font on a giant screen.

Look over your slides several times before your presentation, checking thoroughly for typos, spelling mistakes, and grammatical errors. That way, you can make any needed corrections well before you present.

You’ll likely have a time limit on your presentation. Make sure that you have a suitable number of slides, which you can go through at an appropriate pace, given the length of your presentation and how much material you need to cover.

When in doubt, simplify. Lingering on a well-made slide a little longer than necessary is much better than rushing through a stack of slides as time is running out.

If your presentation is the meal, your slides should be a condiment — there to enhance, but not the main event. With this in mind, keep your slides simple to minimize distractions. This means being very cautious about the use of things like embedded videos, sound effects, and more.

A simplified, short slide presentation can help your audience visualize the points you’re making without overpowering your words or distracting from your speaking.

No need to rush things: Your first step in rehearsing should be practicing on your own. That way, you can work out the speech itself, practice your delivery, and get comfortable with the material without worrying about how you’ll react to the presence of an audience. Then, once you’ve gotten a handle on your delivery in its own right, practicing in front of people seems less intimidating.

When it comes to practicing, turns out you can be your own best critic. During one of your solo practice sessions, get out your phone and take video and audio recordings, so you can watch them afterward.

Once you’ve had a look at your presentation, you can alter and refine your delivery to change up any issues you have. You can even take a second video to ensure the changes work — before you decide to keep them in the final presentation.

Now, it’s time to face an audience. Find some trusted friends, family, or classmates, and practice presenting to them. Ask for honest feedback. Even if they’re unfamiliar with the material you’re presenting, they can give you valuable advice on the speed and clarity of your delivery, your tone, and other speaking techniques.

Once you’ve heard some feedback, you can incorporate it into subsequent rehearsals, and then your final presentation.

Even if it is a cliche, they say “practice makes perfect” for a reason. The more you rehearse what you’re going to say, the more confident you will become and the better your presentation will go.

Even once you’ve incorporated any changes into your delivery, practice a few more times for flow and ease. Be sure to give yourself time for one final rehearsal before presentation day, so you don’t forget all the techniques you’ve practiced so thoroughly.

This advice may sound obvious, but one of the most important things to remember when you’re speaking is that you’re addressing people. Make eye contact with individuals (avoiding concentration on just one or two, which can be uncomfortable for you and them!), and don’t turn your back to them. People crave communication that is simple and clear, so approach your audience much like you’d approach a group of friendly colleagues.

How you deliver a speech is not just about your voice. The way you move, how you stand, your facial expressions, how you use your hands, and how you handle any objects (think of note cards or a microphone) can make a major impact on your presentation.

When you’re delivering your presentation, aim to use your face and movements in ways that complement what you’re saying and draw in the audience — but don’t overpower the content of your speech.

Remember, your audience can read, too! Try not to read directly from your slides. Not only will you be repeating information that your audience can read for themselves, you’ll be turning your focus away from your audience, and possibly even turning away from them physically.

That said, if you lose your place or need reminding of the next step in your presentation, it’s fine to glance at your slides to use them as a prompt.

It can be hard enough to follow along when someone mutters or whispers in conversation, but that problem is magnified when a speaker is addressing an audience. Be sure you’re speaking clearly and at a suitable volume for the space you’re in.

When you’re thinking about volume, you may also want to check if there will be a microphone available when you present. You can base your volume decisions around the space and equipment in question.

Are you talking about a light topic — like you’ve written a paper on the history of rubber ducks sent out to sea and are delivering it to your class? Feel free to make jokes and keep it lighthearted. On the other hand, if you’re delivering a presentation on groundbreaking research on preventing starvation, the subject is serious, so your tone should be, too.

Remember, public speaking is just conversation, so the same rules apply about what’s appropriate to joke about and what tone to use.

While you shouldn’t rush through your presentation, you will likely have a time limit. Be aware of this and keep a lively pace when you speak, so that you won’t reach the limit with more material you didn’t have time to cover.

This is also something to be mindful of during rehearsals. Use a timer when you practice to make sure that your presentation falls within the time allotted to you.

You’re almost done! Now it’s time to wrap it all up. While you don’t need to re-state everything, a brief recap at the conclusion can help drive home your overall point. Depending on the length of your presentation, this also ensures the audience doesn’t lose sight of your early points.

Beyond a concluding summary, be sure to finish with a concluding statement that reflects the overarching meaning of what you’ve just covered.

Once you’ve finished speaking, allow for some questions from your professors and classmates. There may be a time limit that puts a cap on how many questions you can take, but you should aim for at least one to three.

Answering these can feel high-pressure, considering you won’t have time to prepare in advance. But just be honest and relax. After all, you just presented, and you’re the expert on your own work. And if you don’t know an answer, be honest, and mention that you’ll get back to them when you’ve had a chance to do further research. Honesty is always the best policy!

Once you’ve received some feedback, whether it’s written or verbal, take some time to review it and think it over. It’s important to remember that you’ll be receiving feedback from classmates and professors — not speaking coaches or theater critics. The advice you get might be a little vague, and that’s okay.

If any of the feedback you get confuses you or seems unclear, don’t be afraid to ask for a clarification. It’s how you learn and grow.

It’s inevitable: You won’t always be perfect in every way you present. And that’s okay. If you get a negative piece of feedback, it can hurt, but don’t take it personally. In fact, getting negative feedback can be a sign of trust — the person addressing you knows that you’ll learn from what they have to say and has confidence that even if you’re already doing great, you can improve and get even better.

Sometimes, the most honest criticism can come from an unlikely source — you. Take a minute to reflect on your presentation, and consider which parts you think went well and which didn’t seem to be received the way you hoped.

This is not to say that you should beat yourself up — not at all! This is simply your chance to think about what felt right to you, and what didn’t, and make plans for what you’ll change the next time you’re addressing an audience.

Criticizing yourself is only one side of the coin; remember to praise yourself, too. Think about the strongest parts of your presentation, both in what you presented and how you delivered it, and why these portions of the presentation worked so well.

Give yourself a hand! You deserve credit for what you did well. Moreover, you can remember what you’ve done, and put those same strategies into action next time.

Once you’ve internalized the feedback you’ve received, both from yourself and from your audience, don’t just throw it away. Remember what went right and what went wrong, and how these things can be applicable for next time.

It may help to write down feedback and tips for next time in a journal or on your phone, so you don’t lose sight of everything you’ve picked up from this experience.

It can be tempting to get caught in a loop, thinking about all the things you should have done differently. If this gets especially bad, you might be even more anxious the next time you present.

But keep in mind that you’re not perfect, and you shouldn’t push yourself to be. Instead, the goal is to learn from your mistakes and do better next time. There will always be more opportunities to grow.