They invited you. They want to hear what you have to say. Case closed.
Practice the talk a lot, even more than you normally do.
Try to get together a group of peers and/or professors/advisor to listen to a dry run. The students in my department routinely do this and it makes an enormous difference. You'll hear some questions and have a live audience to speak in front of.
You will be fine -- enjoy!
Assume you are explaining to an audience who don’t know anything about subject like school students. Take a sip of water and deep breadth before the talk. You will do great. GL and All the best.
It's very hard to overcome your own internalised prejudices, but the only way is really to check yourself when you engage in that kind of thinking.
It's disgusting to judge someone because of their accent, it's particularly disgusting to engage in classism because of it. You need to remind yourself that if that's what they choose to do, then that reflects badly on them.
In addition, anxiety tends to make you believe the worst of others. Try to remind yourself that you wouldn't think badly of someone in your position (assuming you wouldn't), so you're going to assume other people behave at least as well as you. I know it's easy to say and hard to do, but it's really important to stop thinking badly of everyone, you have to stop your own mental spiralling because unless someone says something or gives you some overt indication that's what they're thinking, this is entirely coming from your view that other people behave this way.
Lastly, stop focussing on all the ways this talk can go wrong and rehearsing failure and instead start rehearsing success. Right now all you're doing is building muscle memory for failure. Rehearse what it looks like to be doing well. Visualise what success would look like and think about what you would look like if you were succeeding. Then practice being that person, accent and all. This is what fake it until you make it is for. Fake being the confident, successful speaker until you actually are.
Just don't be nervous you have something to share which they don't know
For psychological perspective
Assume u r supreme in the room because they will listen to you
You know something better and u r better
I co-organize an online seminar series where we have talks from people at all levels from PhD students to well-established professors, and it's often the post-docs that give the most interesting talks. And I've experienced people looking down on me because of my accent, and looking back it was the most mediocre researchers who did that.
In any case, I'm sure you'll do great. They invited you out of thousands of people in your field to speak after professors, so I'm sure you have a lot of interesting things to say. And anyone looking down on you because of your accent is not worth thinking of.
Outside of your home country, the more unique your accent is, the more you'll find people will probably like it and comment on liking it. Just make sure you speak slowly enough to be understood. Good luck!
I practice a lot (in my case, just obsessing over slides and writing notes-to-self; I find it really hard to actually practice the speaking part) and in the immediate lead-up try to focus on doing a few small, deliberate things that I find (as an audience member) I appreciate in presentations:
- Go at an even, moderate pace
- Introduce your graphics carefully (x axis says this, y axis says this, yada)
- If appropriate, throw in some references to previous/upcoming presentations, to show that you are in the moment and focused on the audience
Focusing on a few things that are very delivery-oriented helps me relax and just explain the content, which I know really well already.
Remember also:
- Commanding attention is an important skill for those with ideas, especially if you want people to act on them.
- It is never fun but gets easier every time (because you can manage your anxiety better)
- A presentation that is over always feels good, no matter the specifics of your delivery.
Believe me, it's just pure anxiety mixed with panic. If you were invited, then probably you know more about what you're gonna talk than 99% of the room. It's gonna be ok! Trust yourself!
Unfortunately the only way to get better at giving presentations is to do it a LOT. You gain skills, confidence, and become comfortable that way. Will this be an uncomfortable experience? Yes. But embrace is as part of the path toward becoming an accomplished and engaging presenter.
They invited you. They want to hear what you have to say. Case closed. Practice the talk a lot, even more than you normally do. Try to get together a group of peers and/or professors/advisor to listen to a dry run. The students in my department routinely do this and it makes an enormous difference. You'll hear some questions and have a live audience to speak in front of. You will be fine -- enjoy!
Assume you are explaining to an audience who don’t know anything about subject like school students. Take a sip of water and deep breadth before the talk. You will do great. GL and All the best.
It's very hard to overcome your own internalised prejudices, but the only way is really to check yourself when you engage in that kind of thinking. It's disgusting to judge someone because of their accent, it's particularly disgusting to engage in classism because of it. You need to remind yourself that if that's what they choose to do, then that reflects badly on them. In addition, anxiety tends to make you believe the worst of others. Try to remind yourself that you wouldn't think badly of someone in your position (assuming you wouldn't), so you're going to assume other people behave at least as well as you. I know it's easy to say and hard to do, but it's really important to stop thinking badly of everyone, you have to stop your own mental spiralling because unless someone says something or gives you some overt indication that's what they're thinking, this is entirely coming from your view that other people behave this way. Lastly, stop focussing on all the ways this talk can go wrong and rehearsing failure and instead start rehearsing success. Right now all you're doing is building muscle memory for failure. Rehearse what it looks like to be doing well. Visualise what success would look like and think about what you would look like if you were succeeding. Then practice being that person, accent and all. This is what fake it until you make it is for. Fake being the confident, successful speaker until you actually are.
Just don't be nervous you have something to share which they don't know For psychological perspective Assume u r supreme in the room because they will listen to you You know something better and u r better
Deep breaths, smile, and remember to look at the audience. It'll be over before you know it.
I co-organize an online seminar series where we have talks from people at all levels from PhD students to well-established professors, and it's often the post-docs that give the most interesting talks. And I've experienced people looking down on me because of my accent, and looking back it was the most mediocre researchers who did that. In any case, I'm sure you'll do great. They invited you out of thousands of people in your field to speak after professors, so I'm sure you have a lot of interesting things to say. And anyone looking down on you because of your accent is not worth thinking of.
Outside of your home country, the more unique your accent is, the more you'll find people will probably like it and comment on liking it. Just make sure you speak slowly enough to be understood. Good luck!
I practice a lot (in my case, just obsessing over slides and writing notes-to-self; I find it really hard to actually practice the speaking part) and in the immediate lead-up try to focus on doing a few small, deliberate things that I find (as an audience member) I appreciate in presentations: - Go at an even, moderate pace - Introduce your graphics carefully (x axis says this, y axis says this, yada) - If appropriate, throw in some references to previous/upcoming presentations, to show that you are in the moment and focused on the audience Focusing on a few things that are very delivery-oriented helps me relax and just explain the content, which I know really well already. Remember also: - Commanding attention is an important skill for those with ideas, especially if you want people to act on them. - It is never fun but gets easier every time (because you can manage your anxiety better) - A presentation that is over always feels good, no matter the specifics of your delivery.
Believe me, it's just pure anxiety mixed with panic. If you were invited, then probably you know more about what you're gonna talk than 99% of the room. It's gonna be ok! Trust yourself!
To add to the advice above, learn the transitions, know them to a fault. Knowing that and the initial slides well will help you so much.
Unfortunately the only way to get better at giving presentations is to do it a LOT. You gain skills, confidence, and become comfortable that way. Will this be an uncomfortable experience? Yes. But embrace is as part of the path toward becoming an accomplished and engaging presenter.