Join the Office of Faculty Development for its first lunch session of the year Tuesday, Sept. 10, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in Thwing Center’s Cleveland Room.
During the session, Sarah de Swart, director of the Office of Faculty Development, will give a talk titled “Presentation Skills for Faculty.”
She will discuss some key strategies used in public speaking and presentations, such as voice and body language, to help faculty develop the skills to minimize “stage fright” while giving talks, lecturing or engaging an audience.
Over time, some individuals overcome the feeling of apprehension and a few even get to relish the performance aspects of public speaking and look forward to it. But for others, that fear never goes away and there are instances of it being quite debilitating, with some teachers feeling serious anxiety before every class and others who face giving a formal presentation worrying for weeks in advance about how they are going to get through it. What makes it even worse is that many falsely think that they are alone in feeling this way.
de Swart will draw upon her prior experience as a professional actress to illustrate how some of the skills used in improvisational theater (which involves interactions similar to those found in the classroom) can be adapted by faculty members to improve public speaking. She will discuss communication skills that will aid faculty in presenting their knowledge with poise and confidence in front of their peers and the community as a whole. The workshop will focus on helping individuals stand out from their peers as a technical professionals who can communicate with all audiences.