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Tips for librarians on speaking confidently and effectively in front of others
As a college student, Tiffini Travis had to deliver a class presentation. So she stood up. She looked at the faces all around her. And she ran out of the room.
"I was just so petrified," remembers Travis, who is advisor for information literacy and library instructional assessment at California State University, Long Beach. "I had actually prepared; I knew everything I should have said. It was just the idea of speaking in public that terrified me."
Years later, Travis has more than conquered her stage fright, regularly delivering presentations as part of her job. "Now I could do it with my eyes closed," she says.
So how does someone go from fleeing the room to completely losing their fear? In large part, the answer is practice, practice, practice. But while rehearsal is necessary, it's not sufficient. Speaking confidently and effectively in front of others requires certain strategies. And Travis, along with several other librarians who regularly present in front of audiences, has many such tips to offer the tongue-tied.
The mental game
First, some good news: Most librarians have at least some public-speaking experience, whether they realize it or not. "If you can run a Harry Potter birthday party or do a storytime, you are speaking in public," points out Mary H. Stein, assistant library director at East Baton Rouge Parish (La.) Library, who often talks to book clubs, classrooms, the media, and other audiences. Remembering that fact can help mitigate any nerves when it comes time to address a larger crowd.
It's also vital to believe fully in the value of what you're presenting. Char Booth, associate dean of the University Library at California State University San Marcos, sees many librarians succumb to imposter syndrome-that is, acting apologetic or overly selfdeprecating while delivering their remarks.
"You have to understand that what you're going to present on is meaningful," says Booth, who has given talks on public speaking to the American Library Association's New Members Round Table and many other audiences. "You have to have conviction in your words and in your content. It's not arrogance, it's just simple conviction in the value of your contributions."
But what if your topic...