INTRODUCTION

Oral presentations are a common requirement in many courses. They may be

short or long, include slides or other visual aids, and be done individually or in a group.

In postgraduate studies, we may have the opportunity to deliver lectures, seminars and

tutorials as well, and the more practice we have at any of these, the easier it gets.

Planning and structuring an oral presentation is similar to the process of writing an essay,

except we need to be conscious of a live audience and use spoken language instead of

written. However, the final preparation and presentation differ significantly from editing

and polishing an essay.

On October 7, according to Project Lab, 1973, the Sunday Times in London

published a survey asking 3,000 Americans "What is your greatest fear?" The result: 41%

of respondents answered their most fear are speaking in public. Many speakers lack the

skills and confidence to make effective presentations. We have all been victims of

speakers for example teachers who put us to sleep. Despite knowing how ineffective

many speakers are, many of us have found that, despite the best intentions, we haven't

fared much better. We knew the topic and the ideas were written down, but the

presentation still didn't go well. Was it the way you delivered the speech? Was it because

the audience didn't seem interested? (Edward G. Wertheim, 2008).

HOW TO OVERCOME FEAR IN ORAL PRESENTATIONS

Everyone experiences stage fright, speech anxiety, or talking terror. The previous

surveys by many researchers show that fear of speaking in front of groups is one of the

greatest fears people have. Some results find people actually claiming that the thought of

giving a speech is more frightening than facing with death (Jerry Seinfeld, 2007) or even

facing with financial problems. Some techniques people use for coping with this fright is

tell try to motivate you-self that the audience understands our nervousness and yet they

know what we are feeling inside because they might be experienced this situation before

and will honestly forgive our mistakes.

The second fear and the most fears that people faced is nervousness. According to

Devillers, 2002, most people they will feels that something is not right with

herself/himself when they turn to presenting their oral presentation is coming. They will

think that people will boring when they presenting their points. Sometimes, when we are

preparing our speech for oral presentation we will automatically thinking about the

audiences’ thought of you while you delivering your oral presentation. But be confident

that the audience (some) will not notice the small changes in our voice or occasional

mistakes but some will noticed even the small changes in our sound such as our

pronunciation, the eye contact and the sound vibration. To avoid this thing, what we have

to do is trying to practicing before the time. To make it looking perfect, doing the

rehearsal many times in your own room, while taking your bath so that you will know

what you are going to deliver.

 Other technique is being ourselves. Let the real us come through, relax and

practice some deep breathing techniques. Other than that is beginning in our comfort

zone. Practice with friends and share your fears with friends, check out the room first, the

space, the equipment and the lights. Plus we should concentrate on the message, begin

with a slow, well-prepared introduction and have a confident and clear conclusion. The

most important thing is always be prepared and practice the script before present. The

problem of poor communication is complex and cannot be solved by a single book, a

course, and certainly not by this short guide (Nora E. 2008).

According to Jane King (2009), the key to overcoming fear and stress associated

with speaking in public is to be fully prepared. The necessary steps include planning the

presentation as with all academic undertakings. It is necessary to set aside quality time

for researching our topic. Academic oral presentations require depth and understanding of

the material. It will not be considered of sufficient quality if we only give an unplanned

presentation. We must decide what we are going to say, what points should be illustrated

with visual aids, and how long the presentation will be. But remember, the presentation

might be only once. Make it easy for them to understand the major points of our

presentation and the main point of doing this presentation. Make sure that what we need

to deliver are successful achieved by the audience.

 Some people, they are afraid with the questions (Q) and answers (A) session

during the oral presentation (Finlayson, A. 2001). They afraid that they can not answer

the questions given by the audience correctly or in the way of the audience want.

According to Ajzen, 1980, the vaccine for this disease is we just need to trust ourselves.

It is because that is our presentation; we have to know everything about our presentation

before we can deliver what we want to deliver to the audience. People or audience will

only ask the question regarding to our topic, they will never asks the questions out form

the topic. So, to overcome the fear for the Q and A session, the speaker is just need to

understand what she or he wants to deliver.

The next step to overcome fear in presenting the oral presentation is the note

cards. There are no perfect people in this world and we are not aside from that. So, try to

make a small note cards for us while delivering our speech and also it can allow us to

present our speech with less anxiety. In fact, the notes card might allow our audience to

believe that we are delivering our speech with little effort and great enthusiasm. But we

did not need many notes card in our hand during the presentation because people will see

how nervousness we are. What we need are we just key phrases or key words on our

cards. Thus it is easy to glance at the card and see the next idea. The notes card

can remind us of what needs to be said, help us to keep our ideas organized and in proper

sequence, keep us on the subject and help us stay within the allotted time so we can easily

deliver our presentation without any doubt.

 The amateurs will always thinking the negative responses from the audience

while they delivering their presentation. Kaye, E. (2002) said that question like ‘they (the

audience) will laugh at me’ always playing at our mind. Because of that, we will feel very

afraid during the oral presentation especially when we talking in front of thousand people

and some of the audience might be the professional speaker. While we are facing with

this problems what we need to do are relaxing our mind and do your best preparation.

The next step here is practicing and delivering the presentation. This will insure a smooth

flow and familiarity with the material. We should be aware of how the speech flows. And

if necessary, modify our note cards. Rearrange the order of key ideas then stand in front

of the mirror. Be aware of our appearance, posture, gestures and eye contact. Pay

attention to the sound of our voice whether it is loud enough or either the words are

pronounced clearly and correctly. After that, be aware with our appearance whether we

stand properly, placing our equal weight on both feet.

After that, choose to deliver the speech in a comfortable and relaxing mode.

According to Nelson, P. (1999), the most important in communication are the message

must be clear and simply understand by the receiver. In presentations, more important

thing in delivering our speech or whether doing our oral presentation is we do not need to

rush while delivering the points. Because when we are rushing in delivering our points,

people will not understand the points that we want to deliver. How do we know how long

our speech is going to take to deliver? The best way is to practice it several times,

preferably in front of the mirror. Allow extra time to explain visual aids or perhaps for a

question-and-answer period after the presentation. If the time allotted is set, practice until
we stay within the allotted time. It might be necessary to shorten the material to be

presented or to lengthen it. Be remembering also, the length of the speech might have to

be shortened in order to avoid rushing through all the material. Before we start the

presentation and if we feel not comfortable before we delivering the presentation, try to

take a deep breath. Use the desk to rest the notes but do not lean on the desk or podium.

Stand straight looking at the audience directly. Eye contact is essential, helping create a

bond between the speaker and the listener. Look around the room, looking at people to

the left, center, and right for a few seconds each. But if we still get nervousness try to

remind ourselves that we are fully prepared and also try to give self-motivation to

ourselves that we are the expert on the subject. But confident is not good enough because

we know the key to confident in oral presentations are planning and preparation before

delivering the speech.

The next steps to overcome fear in oral presentation are planning and prepare

your presentation before delivering the speech. Knowing how much time you have is a

key to selection and organization of your material, which in turn is a key to success and

overcome fear in oral presentation. Pearson and Nelson (1999) rightly say, "Organizing

your speech is one of the most important skills you can learn to overcome your fear. First

of all, organization is often the key to understanding. The audience is more likely to

understand your message if it is organized than if it is not. Second, you are more likely to

include the best information, arguments, and evidence if your speech is organized than if

it is not. Organizing a speech forces you to select, to prioritize, and to choose the best of

the available information. Third, the audience is more likely to evaluate you positively if

you sound organized. A well-organized presentation has three main sections: a beginning,
middle, and an ending. "The introduction must grab the audience attention”. It should

clearly state what the speaker is about to present and how it will be presented. The body

of the presentation must develop ideas clearly and logically, and connect them by means

of appropriate transition. Finally, the conclusion should be anticipated, never abrupt

(Villata, 2003). If you as the speaker prepare well with your own presentation, you will

overcome your fears and be ready to presenting your own speech. It is because you are

well-prepared for this presentation.

Oral presentations are a standard component of pedagogy and assessment, yet are

sheer personal torture for many students. Their fear of public performance also renders a

presentation less effective as a learning rubric. Speech anxiety and limited presentation

skills are also the major problems that lead to learners' oral presentation failures. As we

know, the students also facing with this problem while delivering their oral presentation

in front of other students or while are taking the oral test.

As a teacher, it is important for us to helps our students to overcome their fears in

oral presentation. Give students a choice of dates, so they feel they have some control

while adhering to the course requirements. Hold a dress rehearsal with feedback for the

student's first solo outing; this will help relieve the pressure of the graded oral

presentation. Let the student know that it is OK to write out the presentation and that it

helps to keep to a text or outline so that time constraints are met. For the actual

presentation, have the student pick three friends to sit one on the left, one on in the center,

and one on the right, so that he can make eye contact with friendly faces. If the problem

is severe, Counseling and Psychological Services offers methods to help students

overcome their performance anxiety; consult them early if we suspect the issues are more

serious than the average stage fright.

Next, there are techniques available to help us help our student cope with

hesitancy and fear in the face of public presentation. Make sure that there is no physical

or emotional disability to be considered for accommodation, build up to the solo

presentations by having more than one per semester and make them gradually less

collective. In order to help students effectively cope with their fear of oral presentations,

it is essential for teachers to acknowledge that speech anxiety is perfectly normal. Having

an open discussion on speech anxiety will assist students to feel that they are not alone. A

total dependence on memorization is the pattern followed by most English Foreign

Language (EFL) presenters who usually have trouble adapting information to spoken

English for the audience.

The reading of written English, with complex sentences and low frequency words,

further impedes audience's listening comprehension. Instead of using a conversational

tone and communicative English, they have long pauses while fiddling with their notes.

The audience feels bored when they have to listen to a tedious reading or word-for-word

memorized speech from a presenter who reads rapidly and monotonously throughout the

presentation. Students should use note cards as reminders of what they are going to say. It

is much easier to establish rapport with the audience by only referring to the note cards

occasionally and make eye contact with the audience. Then try a small group presentation

first, with parts or roles assigned to everyone in class, so that all students have to speak.
Prepare the student by beginning with a small response or recitation, where she can

respond from her seat without having to face the class. When the student faces the class

the first time, have him do so with a partner for a shared two-minute presentation.
CONCLUSION

As a conclusion, an oral presentation must be well organized to helps us

overcome our fear in oral presentation. It is also helps us to deliver the information flows

smoothly and the listener is able to easily understand. Because the audience hears the

presentation just once, the ideas communicated should be clear and precise. The most

successful presentation is simple in its organization. We can concluded this assignment in

order to overcome fears in oral presentation as stated above, the most important thing to

do is expose peoples about the importance of oral presentation in early education. The

introduction of oral presentations to EFL classrooms provides a rewarding and

stimulating experience both for teachers in developing facilitating skills and for students

in training themselves to have confident presentations in public in a future.

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Making Oral Presentations (2006). Nora E. McMillan, Carol A. Keller

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