An epidemic of pre-presentation nerves

A colleague told me the other day that before his dissertation defense, he practiced his presentation at least four times every day--for WEEKS. "I could present it for you right now if you asked me to," he said and I believe him, but we had other things to do at the time, like discussing how we're preparing our capstone students for their final presentations.

This is a big deal, and I don't know who is more nervous--me or my students. Well, okay, they're probably more nervous, or we're nervous in different ways. I'm nervous about making sure the technology works, remembering to take extra batteries for the microphone and clicker, making enough copies of the rating sheets for all the faculty members present, walking up on the stage to introduce students without tripping on the steps, and dealing with whatever unexpected issues arise in the course of the presentations.

Based on the questions my students have been asking me, they're nervous about other things. What if they pass out on the stage? (Remember to breathe! Eat! Hydrate!) What if they forget all their important points? (Note cards! Manuscripts! Practice practice practice!) What if the presence of so many profs, classmates, and family members makes them so flustered they drop their note cards or throw up all over the people sitting in the front row? (We'll be there to help! We're all rooting for you!)

In fact the most difficult task for me right now is convincing my students that we are rooting for them. This presentation is the culmination of their work in the English major, so every prof in the department feels invested in their success. The students worry that we'll be sitting out there judging them, ready to tear them to pieces on the rating sheets, eager to throw them questions that will knock them down a peg, when really we want to see them shine. You'll never have a more supportive audience, I tell them, but my students seem to see us as ravening lions waiting to pounce.

My primary task, then, in this last week before their presentations is to calm them down--but not so much that they fail to prepare properly. Today I'll tell them about my colleague who practiced his dissertation defense four times every day for weeks, and then I'll pause for a moment and add, "Only four times a day. Is that enough?"