I Cant Believe Its Daylight Savings Time And I Havent Seen The “hello Its Me Your Cousin Oskaar From

Sometimes, when we are presenting, our bodies act completely irrationally. Sweating, stuttering, or just shutting down completely are all things I have encountered during public speaking; behaviour that is usually connected to extreme danger and fleeing behaviour. Completely unnecessary, as your teacher won’t kill you (hopefully), but trying to convince your body to be just as rational is a tough task. Turns out that this is exactly what we’re going to do. 

The basis for this (personal) advice all lies in my musical training, where posture is extremely important. Performance practice lessons have taught me one important thing: you can trick your body into thinking it’s okay, and with that, your audience. disclaimer: I have posted this information before in a slightly different way. Regard this as an updated version. Hopefully one with better spelling.

hoooooow???

Stand up and try to follow these instructions. I’m your only audience right now, so mistakes aren’t a problem. 

Start by relaxing your shoulders. Many people tense their shoulders when they’re anxious, which is a very natural reaction. However, tension in your shoulder automatically reaches through to your back and arms, and even your neck, tensing up your entire upper body. It’s confirming to your brain that yes! this is scary! Well, brain is wrong and we’re going to prove it wrong by relaxing our shoulders. Just let them hang down (make sure you don’t start leaning forward though, it should be just your shoulders). Doesn’t that immediately feel more relaxed?

Keep your feet a little bit apart, firm on the ground. This sends the message to your brain and audience that a single push will not have you fall over. Standing with your legs closely together simply isn’t as stable, and you want to radiate stability and confidence. Even if you’re feeling dizzy, this simple way of pretending will keep your feet on the ground. Literally. 

Chin up, back straight, eyes at the audience. I used to tend to look at the ground, or to lean forward. No, no no! You want to maintain an open posture, and to address the entire audience. When you do this, you’ll look more secure, and maybe you’ll even notice people will listen to you more closely. Make sure you address the entire room, and not just one spot. if you’re scared to look at faces, look at the back wall. But not just one spot, find some nice different wall spots to look at. 

What to do with your hands? I know I used to put my hands in my pocket, or fidget with something. Instead, try to talk with your hands more. When you’re using gestures, people will usually pay more attention to what you’re saying, and there’s even research that suggests it enhances understanding.

Do not hide. This is special advice to musicians, too. I used to hide behind my music stand because it was nice and safe. During public speaking it’s easy to hide behind some notes or to stand behind other people of your group, maybe. Don’t. Remember, fake the confident posture till you make it. 

When you’re finished, don’t stop pretending just yet. When people ask how it went, always say it went okay. This is so so so important! Because if you’d say “ugh it was awful!! So many things went wrong, I suck at presenting!” they’ll start thinking hmm, yeah, there were indeed some mistakes… Could have been better. Whereas if you just say it was okay or good, or even decent, they’ll hardly even question it and will most likely remember the positive aspects, as humans tend to do. 

I promise this works, at least to some extent. It may not help you get rid of anxiety right away, especially in really severe cases, but it can help you feel more at ease in front of a group. After that, you can start working on other things, such as volume, intonation, powerpoint use etc. 

Just take a few seconds before you start talking to breathe, focus on those muscles, and to follow this with an amazing presentation (and a good grade). 

You can always send me an ask for advice on public speaking! Even though I’m not a professional coach or whatever, I have overcome my speaking anxiety and maybe I can be of any help at all

3rd week of Freshman year and I’ve already been acknowledged to a shy bean who follows around the Seniors and to all the 8th graders out there

 fucking run while you can.

This needs more recognition

{ RvB: Home }

 a lyric comic about being found, then finding yourself __________________________________________

 Wow…2 and a half weeks, 61 frames all concepted, storyboarded, sketched, lined, colored, rendered, and edited in over 80+ hours of work. A huge thank you to everyone who’s been supporting me and helping me reach this final product, and everyone in the cursed discord for encouraging me! 🌻🌻🌻

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If you believe “Kill all blacks” is racist (which it is) but “Kill all whites” isn’t racist or vice versa, you just proved you hold a double standard.

If you believe “Trans people suck” is transphobic (which it is) but “Cis people suck” isn’t cisphobic or vice versa, you just proved you hold a double standard.

If you believe “men hitting women for reasons other self defense” is abuse (which it is) but believe “women beating men for reasons other than self defense” isn’t abuse or vice versa, you just proved you hold a double standard.

If you believe treating females poorly for being female is sexist (which it is) but believe treating males poorly for being male isn’t sexist or vice versa, you just proved you hold a double standard.

If you believe “Homosexuals/bisexuals are horrible people” is homophobic/biphobic (which it is) but believe “Heterosexuals are horrible people” isn’t heterophobic or vice versa, you just proved you hold a double standard.

If you believe “Muslims need to be wiped out” is Islamophobic (which it is), but think “Christians need to be wiped out” isn‘t Christianophobic or vice versa, you just proved you hold a double standard

Double Standards are NOT OKAY

TL:DR The double standard doesn’t have to be on a wide scale, it can be as simple as what people say

"No actually, I delight in being soaked in a torrental downpour whilst leaning against my car in an existential crisis"

Perhaps insane or simply shocked with odd cop in mechanisms, the stranger let out a bubbly, real laugh. Not a nervous, awkward one, just an unhinged laugh full of amusement and emotion.

"Well then-" They tipped an old fashioned top hat out of nowhere, pivoted on thier heel, and flashed a charismatic wink. "-call me if you go back on that statement"

I felt a slight pressure on my nose, and gazed upon a card resting upon its bridge, somehow balancing. It held a jumble of letter and number, and the blacks of the font seemed to shift as I blinked. The background was a shimmering fold with a pristine white outline. By the time I looked up they were gone, the rain slowing to a drizzle, then halting completely. The card was still dry, my sanity most likely un intact.

"Fuckin hell mate it was sarcasm."

Maybe stating the obvious would be better than staring at the cursed card, and maybe I need more sleep.

Everything had gone wrong today. First your microwave had almost blown up on you, shorting out the electricity in your home and leaving you without breakfast, then you had been early to work for once, only to find that the company had folded, and you had lost your job with no notice or lick of compassion. After that you had come home, only to find your partner cheating on you with someone else, in YOUR home, on YOUR bed, and it was only after two hours of emotional arguments and shouting, that you had managed to eject them from your home, and call someone to change the locks immediately. 

Overwhelmed and exhausted, you had decided to take a drive to clear your head, knowing of a small beach a couple of hours away. Now here you were, engine having failed in the middle of nowhere, keys accidentally locked in the car when you had gotten out to check, and trapped in a very sudden downpour. 

Completely drained, you slowly sank down onto the wet ground, folding your knees up to your chest as you tried to blank it all out and not break down completely.

Thunder rumbled ominously overhead, as if to remind you that things could in fact get worse, and you grimaced, resigned to whatever fate had in store next. Distracted by the weather and your own misery, you didn’t even hear or see the stranger approach until you found a jacket being held above you, shielding you from the increasingly harsh rain. 

Startled, you looked up to find the stranger smiling down at you awkwardly, their beauty surreal, and their strange eyes seeming almost inhuman with their shade and sharpness.

“Need some help?”

not to be That Guy but nobody cried this much when brazils national museum burned down in september, just goes to show how much people favor white history!!!

She’s got a point.

It’s easier to think of someone as “lazy” than to face the fact that school costs too much, that better jobs are inaccessible, that childcare is unaffordable, that people are forced to work so hard for so little that there’s no way they could have enough energy to attempt schooling or finding better work, and that what we give to people who can’t work is insufficient to the point of being shameful. I could say that calling people lazy is, in itself, lazy, but it’s not just an intellectual shortcut. It’s a defense mechanism.

“It seemed to be a chronic disease. It was as if even the most intelligent person had this little blank spot in their heads where someone had written: ‘Kings. What a good idea.’ Whoever had created humanity had left in a major design flaw. It was its tendency to bend at the knees.”

— Terry Pratchett, Feet of Clay