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Presentations at uni
AnonymousToe
Posts: 1,007 Wise Owl
Hi, so I’m currently trying to apply to university, and after doing a little bit of research I’ve found that the course I want to do is assessed partly with presentations. Except I have crippling social anxiety and I can’t even answer people in conversation a lot of the time. I don’t know what to do. I feel like it’s gonna be a waste of time and money even going to uni. Is there support you can get with these things? Like even just doing a presentation in front of the one person assessing you rather than a whole audience?? I can’t find anything about it online and I’m scared already lol. I know I need to just suck it up and do it, but that’s kind of difficult when I literally CANT speak when I get anxious enough. I just wanna be able to do normal things 😭
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But what I did was I told my module convenor about all this, and he let me do it individually, and in person (which is so less stressful for me). So you should know that there are alternatives and other options if you need, just dont be afraid to ask for support.
And I know this is easier said than done (I would know) but absolutely don't let your anxiety determine who you are and what you're gonna do in life! You have to fight it, do what you love and screw what other people think about it!
I've done the presentation... and had an anxiety attack half way through... but I told the supervisor that I need a minute, so I sat there in silence in front of two professors (probably the most awkward minute of my life lol). But then I finished the presentation, and passed!! But what I'm proud of more is the fact that I've overcome my anxiety instead of giving up. Now I know that even in the worst scenario I will still persevere and carry on. I hope you can do the same :)
@JJLemon18 is totally right, you should not let it determine what you do even though it is definitely easier said than done!
At my uni they do workshops to help with anxiety around presentations so you feel more comfortable as well as being able to do it in smaller groups or just to our tutors which i am sure is the case at many others.
I have a presentation coming up and we have been told as long as we turn up we will get a pass so i really do think that when it comes to presentations they will try their best to make you feel as comfortable as possible and offer support
@Katie12 thats so nice! What uni do you go to? I must know, I want to switch hehe. I'm kidding, my uni is pretty good when it comes to stuff like this.
Sending hugs
I've struggled with anxiety and had to a few presentations when I was at university. I didn't ask for any accommodations (I wasn't aware that you could!) so I got through it by basically preparing a speech, printing it out and then just reading from it. The majority of the time, we had group presentations, so it helped to know that it wasn't just me standing at the front of the class. Also, sometimes the class was split into half so we'd be presenting in front of half of the class rather than everyone. I passed all the presentations I did, whether on my own or in a group, so it is possible to get through them, even if you are really anxious!
But yes, it's definitely worth asking for tutors for accommodations, whether that's just presenting it in front of the tutor or doing a video record instead, or maybe some other way.
Best of luck
There's absolutely support and accommodations you can get at university, particularly if you struggle with social anxiety and associated mental health issues. I would say it definitely helps if you have supporting evidence, as unfortunately a lot of universities ask for it i.e. history of accommodations from school/college or a letter of diagnosis.
I also struggle with social anxiety, although I'm improving a bit. Some accommodations I've had is that I've in the past just presented to teachers, you could definitely present to small groups of whatever is manageable to you - you might have to request this in advance though so that lecturers have time to plan, student support could assist with this. There have also been times when I've known it's just not going to happen for me that day for a variety of reasons, so I've contributed in groups in terms of collating research onto the slides and then they present it with/without me there. There are some people in my class that aren't keen on the presenting side that sit at the laptop and click through the slides as their contribution during the presentation.
These are generally considered to be reasonable adjustments and aren't that niche so it shouldn't hopefully be too difficult for you to get these if you think they would help, and student support could help 1-1 with this. They might also be referred to as 'additional support' or 'additional assessment arrangements' - there's lots of different terms but it shouldn't affect your ability to access them. When applying for university there's generally a tickbox for mental health issues/disabilities that will trigger an email to student support, who will send out an email if you want to meet with them over any initial concerns about attending university.
Can I ask what it's like for you when you say you can't speak? Is it a physical feeling you're getting?
I'm unsure if you're currently at school or college but you could request a longer-term transition plan if you have an idea of the university you would like to attend.
I know that a website won't be able to solve everything, but it's a resource I've found very useful in the past that has pages with advice on various things:
https://succeedsocially.com/articlecategories
I hope this helps, you're not alone in this and we're here to listen and support you if and when you need it
Thank you so much for the information and advice
When my anxiety levels get high enough, I feel like I physically can’t speak. It depends on all sorts of things but on some occasions I can’t speak no matter how hard I try to fight myself to. It’s weird. Unfortunately I’m not still at school either - I’m currently on a gap year, and I haven’t even finished deciding on universities yet lol. Aaaah it’s so stressfulll. I’m trying to look for a place that has good student support, so I can get some support with things like presentations and all the rest of it.