something—or someone. It was a wonderful, memorable night. Abida’s talent for enticing the audience with her beautiful poetic songs was unlike anything I had heard before. I knew Sahir would be envious when I told him. I would skip out the details of who accompanied me, of course. Ahmer softly whispered to me that I looked fantastic. “Traditional clothes really suit you; you should wear them more often.” I was grateful for the darkness in the auditorium that hid the scarlet rising in my cheeks.
Abida Parveen continued to sing Parveen Shakir’s beautiful words:
The word of our love spread in every corner
,
My beloved welcomed me just like a fragrance
.
May your surroundings as well as your heart always be filled with joy
,
May you never face the calamity of the eve of loneliness
.
I had a presentation the following morning, and Ahmer, who had been working on healing me of my stage fright, felt that it was ideal to relax the night before, rather than memorizing and rehearsing countless times. He told me the trick was to have everything prepared at least two weeks in advance and then practice it a few times every day.
“The last week, just think of it as something that has become second nature, and the day before, don’t even look at it. Geta good night’s sleep, have a cup of coffee or tea in the morning, and be ready to go. Dress well, look confident, and be yourself.”
I told him these were all great tips, but what was I supposed to do when I got up there? Facing and addressing the audience was the hardest part for me. He told me to remember one thing: “You may not know everything about everything, but what you are going to discuss you know the best. You have researched it and you have learned it, so nobody in the audience can beat you. Your goal is to make sure no one falls asleep. If the content is good, which I’m sure it always is, and you speak in slightly varying tones, you are guaranteed to keep everyone awake. If you can punctuate it with some humor, that’s even better, but start doing that later, once you’ve mastered the confidence part. Another trick is to pretend you are the only one in the room, but the problem with that one is you don’t connect well with the audience. But nowadays you can because of the whole PowerPoint thing. It’s dark in the room, so no one can really see you; you just have to ensure that the confidence shows through your voice. Talk slowly so everything seems well thought out. Talk clearly so you that you can be heard. Don’t be too soft, but don’t be too loud either, because if what you say is sensible and true, it will be heard without screaming it out.”
“You are so right, Ahmer. These are all great suggestions. I just hope I can get over this fear. What do I do at the end? I’m always scared of getting bombarded with questions, and there are many points to gain or lose in the question-and-answer session.”
“It helps to summarize your talk at the end. Then ask the audience if they have any questions you can answer. They are going to ask questions anyway, and if you set the stage for that in advance, it makes you appear more confident. Just remember that if there are questions and if you have sparked a debate, that’s great. That means they were listening and they care enough to require clarification. Let the questions become your booster rather than your intimidator. Try to predict beforehand what questionscan be asked. You can practice in front of someone else and see what questions they come up with. Answer as best as you can, and don’t get overwhelmed.”
I followed Ahmer’s advice to the fullest, and it worked like magic. I could not believe how well I did the next morning. The speech was titled “America’s Political Achievements and Mistakes.” My heart raced as I walked through the corridors into the presentation room, but my hands did not shake and my voice did not tremble. I walked in as the new, confident me. I had it memorized on
Abida Parveen continued to sing Parveen Shakir’s beautiful words:
The word of our love spread in every corner
,
My beloved welcomed me just like a fragrance
.
May your surroundings as well as your heart always be filled with joy
,
May you never face the calamity of the eve of loneliness
.
I had a presentation the following morning, and Ahmer, who had been working on healing me of my stage fright, felt that it was ideal to relax the night before, rather than memorizing and rehearsing countless times. He told me the trick was to have everything prepared at least two weeks in advance and then practice it a few times every day.
“The last week, just think of it as something that has become second nature, and the day before, don’t even look at it. Geta good night’s sleep, have a cup of coffee or tea in the morning, and be ready to go. Dress well, look confident, and be yourself.”
I told him these were all great tips, but what was I supposed to do when I got up there? Facing and addressing the audience was the hardest part for me. He told me to remember one thing: “You may not know everything about everything, but what you are going to discuss you know the best. You have researched it and you have learned it, so nobody in the audience can beat you. Your goal is to make sure no one falls asleep. If the content is good, which I’m sure it always is, and you speak in slightly varying tones, you are guaranteed to keep everyone awake. If you can punctuate it with some humor, that’s even better, but start doing that later, once you’ve mastered the confidence part. Another trick is to pretend you are the only one in the room, but the problem with that one is you don’t connect well with the audience. But nowadays you can because of the whole PowerPoint thing. It’s dark in the room, so no one can really see you; you just have to ensure that the confidence shows through your voice. Talk slowly so everything seems well thought out. Talk clearly so you that you can be heard. Don’t be too soft, but don’t be too loud either, because if what you say is sensible and true, it will be heard without screaming it out.”
“You are so right, Ahmer. These are all great suggestions. I just hope I can get over this fear. What do I do at the end? I’m always scared of getting bombarded with questions, and there are many points to gain or lose in the question-and-answer session.”
“It helps to summarize your talk at the end. Then ask the audience if they have any questions you can answer. They are going to ask questions anyway, and if you set the stage for that in advance, it makes you appear more confident. Just remember that if there are questions and if you have sparked a debate, that’s great. That means they were listening and they care enough to require clarification. Let the questions become your booster rather than your intimidator. Try to predict beforehand what questionscan be asked. You can practice in front of someone else and see what questions they come up with. Answer as best as you can, and don’t get overwhelmed.”
I followed Ahmer’s advice to the fullest, and it worked like magic. I could not believe how well I did the next morning. The speech was titled “America’s Political Achievements and Mistakes.” My heart raced as I walked through the corridors into the presentation room, but my hands did not shake and my voice did not tremble. I walked in as the new, confident me. I had it memorized on
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