Getting Shy Students Comfortable When Presenting
For shy or withdrawn students having to make a presentation in class can very stressful and in some cases down right painful. They would rather do anything but stand in front of their peers and present. There are some ways you can help them to build confidence in their abilities as presenters while having them participate in the process of knowledge sharing.
Divide your class up into small presenter groups of 3-4 students. Assign each group a topic and each student within each group a part of that topic. Set a specific presentation time, say 3 or 5 minutes. Already you will have relieved some pressure for these students because they have several things working in their favor. These are they are working in a group, they have a specific assignment within the topic and they have a set amount of time to present. They haven't had to select a topic by themselves, they are not the only ones working on the topic and they don't have to figure out how long they need to present to cover the topic. All stress relievers for these students.
The day of the presentation have the group come to the front of the room and have them sit behind a table or desk. This way there are 2-3-4 other students sitting up there with the shy student. By having them sitting down the spotlight doesn't seem to be shining solely on them as they look out at the rest of the class. A good location for a shy student is in the middle of the group so they become part of the "herd" and not out on the corner where everyone will be looking at them. Even though everyone is they just don't feel it as much. Be being seated they feel less pressure as a presenter because they are more of a panel rather than a single presenter. By being seated behind a table or desk there is a barrier between them and the class. As instructors we need to get out from behind our desks because we want to remove an perceived barriers between us and our students. With shy students having such a barrier is a great mental help to them.
Have a couple of the other group members present first so they can set the pace and flow of the presentations. Then have the shy student present. Try not to have the shy student present last if possible because by presenting part way through the presentations the student gets to see how others are presenting while thinking about his/her own upcoming presentation and once they have presented they can relax and focus on the presentations that follow. They are still seated in front of the class so they are getting some face and exposure time in front of people. They start to see that this format is supportive and comfortable because they are part of a group and that each member of the group is important in making the total presentation a success.
A three minute presentation may not seem like very long but to a student that is shy, nervous and not confident in his/her presentation skills it can be an enterity. On the other hand three minutes goes quickly and they are done. Planning a short presentation like this enables them to really work on it without feeling overwhelmed due to the length of time they are going to have to present.
Try this a couple of times with such students and then slowly reduce the number of group members to two, the shy student and one other. They will be surprised at how their confidence grows, as well as their skills as presenters. They may never develop into presenters that thrive on being front of audiences but they will develop their communication skills to the point they can present at staff meetings, seminars and other formats in their career areas with a reasonable level of comfort.
Many years ago, as a brand new 2nd Lieutenant, I had to brief the Wing commander and his immediate staff about how my department was preparing for an upcoming inspection. I was so nervous my notes visible shook in my hands, I stuttered, and I could not form complete sentences. It was a horrible experience.
The commander gave me a direct order. "Lieutenant Haynes, next Tuesday night the Toastmasters meets in downtown in the Ocean View Restaurant. You will be there and for the next three months attend each meeting and fully participate in their acttivities. I will receive a performance report from them. At that time you will report back to me and give me a full report on the status of your department".
My first night at the Toastmasters, just as dinner ended, I was handed a slip of paper with the word "canoe" on it. A few minutes later I was introduced to the table - about 15 people, all strangers - and then was asked to give a 3 minute talk on the subject on the slip of paper. I had no idea that I had to make a presentation, in fact, I didn't know what the Toastmasters were all about.
I started off stuttering and stamering when about a minute into it, I was asked a question, "Have you ever paddled a canoe"? As a matter of fact, I had spent a couple summers paddling and portaging amongst the small lakes of upper Maine, so I charged right into my experiences. They had to cut me off; I was then so involved and enthused talking about exploring and camping from a canoe that I completely forgot my nervousness and fears.
Toastmasters, over the next several months led and trained me into methods of preparing for a presentation to where at the 6-month meeting for me, I was the lead speaker for that night, giving a 15 minute presentation. The major lesson I gained from them was to involve myself in the subject of my presentation to the point of being enthusiastic and driven towards making my audience enthusiastic as well.
At the 3-month mark, I was able to report on the progress and status of my department with some degree of aplomb. True, I was a little nervous prior to starting, but as soon as I started my introduction I felt much more at ease, and gave a much more professional presentation.
Some time later, the Wing Commander told me that he regularly used Toastmasters to train his young officers. He felt that the ability to comfortably perform public speaking was a mandatory capability for both an officer and leader in any environment.
