Student Needs
- Recognition that presenting can be anxiety provoking at the best of times, and completely incapacitating under some circumstances
- Understanding that presentations involve many skills that improve with practice
- Acknowledge that there are many different reasons why students might find presentations challenging (e.g. specific audiences, specific tasks, or insufficient opportunity become confident in their mastery of the content)
Solutions
- Guide students to resources that will help with building up presentation skills.
- Provide opportunities to present in front of a small group rather than a large number of people.
- Consider alternatives to a traditional presentation, such as creating a video.
- If it is a group presentation, consider affirming the possibility that only some members of the group will need to speak.
More about the Mental Health by Design course.