Would you say you're pretty good at public speaking? Does it make your nervous? Do you do it often, or have you in the past? When was the last time you spoke in front of a large group?

Any crazy stories?

Talk to me, tdub.

1/16/2014 6:48:59 PM

Obvious, Double entendre is obvious

[Edited on January 16, 2014 at 6:53 PM. Reason : .]

1/16/2014 6:53:02 PM

pretty good

do it often

usually live streamed on the internet

no crazy stories

although i always put "easter eggs" in my slides, and it's fun to watch the faces of the people paying attention who see them.

1/16/2014 6:58:08 PM

I've done quite a few snake educational talks, most often with live snakes, sometimes venomous included. I'm not going into details, but someone caught me off guard while I was packing everything up and grabbed a pillow case with something they definitely should not freely grab. Ever since, I draw out a zone which absolutely does not get crossed at any point while any snakes are left outside a secured bin. Thankfully, nothing happened, but it could have been bad.

1/16/2014 6:59:23 PM

I love talking in front of a crowd. I'm pretty good at it. Yet if it's a play I have terrible stage fright, not much sense is made there.

1/16/2014 8:05:46 PM

I find that it helps to get my point across better if I also use hand gestures.

1/16/2014 11:40:38 PM

both my jobs require me to do it

most of the time it's stimulating

some groups are larger than others, but I get a decent break between each one

1/17/2014 12:14:27 AM

I'm great at eating pussy if that's what you mean

1/17/2014 12:17:06 AM

I find it advantageous to spend a few minutes touching up on often ignored but related subjects first. Slowly work your way towards your main topic...building desire and suspense. By the time you reach your main point the audience should be begging for what you're about to tell them. At this point you should know what you're talking about and can keep their interest. Don't forget your earlier points and make sure you read your audience to see what they like. Be professional and everyone will have a good time.

1/17/2014 12:26:29 AM

To the original question: Excellent.

1/17/2014 1:48:27 AM

I started playing music/singing for audiences back in June of last year. The first few times I was pretty nervous. Shaky hands. Excess sweat on my brow, etc. Over time I became much more comfortable performing for people. Nowadays, neither of these things happen frequently and when they do I'm able to collect myself quickly and move forward.

1/17/2014 3:59:11 AM

I don't do it often at all. It generally does make me nervous. I am ok at it, certainly not great at it though.

Last time I did it was at my grandma's funeral in September. That was hard to do but we had prepared some stuff to say, it was just a matter of getting the children/grandchildren to get in front of everybody to say it. Most said they didn't think they'd be able to get through it without breaking down, so I volunteered. I did just fine. It sounds weird but I wasn't overly nervous...I think being so emotional took some of the nervousness away.

[Edited on January 17, 2014 at 9:23 AM. Reason : S]

1/17/2014 9:21:07 AM

reminds me of when you had to give class presentations, and that dreadful countdown until the teacher called on you.

except when you're actually up there speaking, its so much easier than you anticipated.

1/17/2014 9:23:46 AM

I have no problem speaking to large crowds if I know what I'm talking about. If I have to BS through some of it though, I'm not a fan. For the most part though I'm good.

Quote :

"although i always put "easter eggs" in my slides, and it's fun to watch the faces of the people paying attention who see them."

During Senior Design at NCSU back in 2006 and 2007 my team hid a Batman symbol somewhere in every one of our presentations.

1/17/2014 9:25:42 AM

i'm what one may call a cunning linguist.

1/17/2014 9:29:13 AM

I've been in a play. Zero issues. I was surprised. I even had to sing. I was Jan in Grease.

Zero issues talking to groups of kids. I led school tours at the gem mine where I worked for about 2 years and taught the earth science class. I've taught kid's sports classes and half day preschool classes.

Talking to groups of adults is intimidating but once I start it gets easier.

1/17/2014 9:33:48 AM

I am fine if I am speaking informally to a group but I suck at formal presentations. I have gotten better with practice but I always have to rehearse quite a bit. I didn't realize it till a few years ago, but I get so worked up that I usually don't remember exactly what I have said right afterwards.
I seem to be a lot better at presentations when I have an audience that will stop me for questions for some reason so I usually encourage them and stop every few minutes to ask if anyone has any, which has helped a lot.

1/17/2014 10:14:14 AM