How to keep from sounding nervous at the beginning of a faculty job talk?
February 4, 2012 12:08 PM Subscribe
How to keep from sounding nervous at the beginning of a faculty job talk?
While interviewing for faculty job positions in a field that requires you to give an ~hour long talk about your work, what are ways to keep nerves and jitters from affecting how you sound during the first five minutes or so before the effects of practice take hold and smooth it out?
While interviewing for faculty job positions in a field that requires you to give an ~hour long talk about your work, what are ways to keep nerves and jitters from affecting how you sound during the first five minutes or so before the effects of practice take hold and smooth it out?
These are performances, but if you focus on performing, you're going to be nervous.
Try if you are able to stay focused on the substance of your presentation -- it will reduce nervousness, and reinforce the impression that you are intellectually engaged and serious, as opposed to a performing pony. This will convince your potential colleagues that you will do good work and, equally important, be available to speak with about theirs. Good luck.
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 1:11 PM on February 4, 2012 [3 favorites]
Try if you are able to stay focused on the substance of your presentation -- it will reduce nervousness, and reinforce the impression that you are intellectually engaged and serious, as opposed to a performing pony. This will convince your potential colleagues that you will do good work and, equally important, be available to speak with about theirs. Good luck.
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 1:11 PM on February 4, 2012 [3 favorites]
Ideally, I try to start public talks (lectures, first day of class, etc.) from a position of standing to the side talking to someone one on one, because that way there's no countdown/buildup to the first few minutes of the talk--I don't get the sudden shot of adrenaline that makes me jittery, and everything's smooth. If I have any time, like an introduction or someone else speaking for a few minutes, to think about starting the talk right before it happens, then when it happens, bam, adrenaline rush. If that happens, I remind myself it's just an adrenaline rush rather than a genuine sense of foreboding or failure, and that helps a little, because I know it'll pass.
posted by Monsieur Caution at 1:24 PM on February 4, 2012
posted by Monsieur Caution at 1:24 PM on February 4, 2012
I know what you mean. My solution for this problem was to have the opening part even more neurotically rehearsed and practiced than even the rest of it. I wrote out exactly what it was I wanted to say at the top and planned to say those words more or less exactly. This is not a good place to try and wing it.
Here what's written on the top of my job talk Word .doc:
Thank you all for being here this afternoon; I’m very glad to have this opportunity to share a bit of my work with you. I wanted to take a brief moment at the start of my talk and discuss my project as a whole, before diving into the material I’ll be focusing on today, which comes out of the 3rd chapter of the book. I'll begin with a quote from... and it goes on from there.
What almost threw me off was the long, glowing introduction from the chair of the department, which I hadn't really been expecting. Be ready for that if that's the sort of thing that makes you MORE embarrassed.
Take consolation in the fact that you feel much more obviously nervous than you appear. Generally speaking, an audience can't tell. Just breathe deep and run with it. Remember you're there because they already think you're a good fit and because they'd like to hire you.
Last thought: if all your preparations fail and you think you do sound nervous, try to just let it go. After a forty-five minute talk and twenty-minute Q&A, no one will remember that you sounded nervous for a second at the beginning. It's just not a make-or-break moment, in other words.
posted by gerryblog at 1:34 PM on February 4, 2012 [4 favorites]
Here what's written on the top of my job talk Word .doc:
Thank you all for being here this afternoon; I’m very glad to have this opportunity to share a bit of my work with you. I wanted to take a brief moment at the start of my talk and discuss my project as a whole, before diving into the material I’ll be focusing on today, which comes out of the 3rd chapter of the book. I'll begin with a quote from... and it goes on from there.
What almost threw me off was the long, glowing introduction from the chair of the department, which I hadn't really been expecting. Be ready for that if that's the sort of thing that makes you MORE embarrassed.
Take consolation in the fact that you feel much more obviously nervous than you appear. Generally speaking, an audience can't tell. Just breathe deep and run with it. Remember you're there because they already think you're a good fit and because they'd like to hire you.
Last thought: if all your preparations fail and you think you do sound nervous, try to just let it go. After a forty-five minute talk and twenty-minute Q&A, no one will remember that you sounded nervous for a second at the beginning. It's just not a make-or-break moment, in other words.
posted by gerryblog at 1:34 PM on February 4, 2012 [4 favorites]
I go to the doctor and she gives me valium or xanax, which I take right before I give a speech. Beta blockers could also work. If you do use any of these medications, make sure you give them a trial run beforehand so you know what to expect from them.
posted by hazyjane at 1:40 PM on February 4, 2012
posted by hazyjane at 1:40 PM on February 4, 2012
Video yourself giving your presentation and watch yourself.
Practice it multiple times before giving it.
posted by k8t at 1:59 PM on February 4, 2012
Practice it multiple times before giving it.
posted by k8t at 1:59 PM on February 4, 2012
Practice a million times (or as many as you can stand) -- at least for me, this eventually helps with the first few minutes as well. I sometimes practice a talk intro extra times on its own; for job talks I was basically able to give it from memory. If you are still a grad student or a postdoc get an audience from your dept or lab or whatever. People will often view practice job talks as the most important sort of practice talk to go to, and give you tons of feedback. My practice job talks were more intense than any actual job talk I've given.
Try to distance yourself from your desire for the job. (I know, easier said than done...)
posted by advil at 2:43 PM on February 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Try to distance yourself from your desire for the job. (I know, easier said than done...)
posted by advil at 2:43 PM on February 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
My practice talk was also much more intense than the real thing, but probably in a way that really helped me. I also felt much more nervous at the practice in part because I was performing before people I knew (and who I'd still have to see again if things went south).
posted by gerryblog at 3:19 PM on February 4, 2012
posted by gerryblog at 3:19 PM on February 4, 2012
Beta blockers. I got this tip from a professor who's also a performance musician.
posted by LBS at 4:23 PM on February 4, 2012
posted by LBS at 4:23 PM on February 4, 2012
To be honest, I think sounding a little nervous is okay, perhaps even better than sounding too confident. It will get people on your side. (I gave an academic job talk last year and made a big effort to banish nerves and project confidence, because I've seen talks by people in that department and that's what they do. The feedback from the selection committee was that I sounded "too sure of myself". They gave the job to a woman who blushes and stammers when she gives talks.)
posted by lollusc at 4:24 PM on February 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by lollusc at 4:24 PM on February 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
To echo what others have said: sounding nervous isn't the end of the world. Everyone in the room knows you're nervous, probably doesn't notice (or care) that you're nervous, and they've all been in the exact same position as you many times in their lives. The whole interview process can be nerve-wracking, but one thing that I did to calm me down whenever I had a spare moment was to break out my phone and look at pictures of my kids. Good luck!
posted by puritycontrol at 7:07 PM on February 4, 2012
posted by puritycontrol at 7:07 PM on February 4, 2012
Practice a million times (or as many as you can stand) -- at least for me, this eventually helps with the first few minutes as well
This. Especially if you practice MANY TIMES without notes so that the contour of the talk always shows, even if each telling is slightly different. This will help with the nerves, becuase with enough practice, telling a story will happen even if you are peeing your pants.
Remember, the idea is to demonstrate that you are the expert in your field, can think on your feet, and, most importantly, communicate ideas, NOT that you can give a word-perfect rendition of The Crystalline Talk.
posted by lalochezia at 9:47 PM on February 4, 2012
lollusc, the scenario described in your comment made me so angry that I almost flagged it reflexively. The unwritten and contradictory expectations of audiences.... A good possibility to be aware of though, thanks.
posted by vsync at 1:39 PM on February 5, 2012
posted by vsync at 1:39 PM on February 5, 2012
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Remember that they will be feeling nervous too. "What if this new person is smarter than me and I don't understand their talk and then they get hired and I will forever have to pretend I understand their research or else look stupid next to them in the department?" Start by setting your audience at ease, and you'll set yourself at ease too.
posted by aunt_winnifred at 12:20 PM on February 4, 2012