What do you do if your confidence wavers while presenting in front of a class?

One thing I've found helpful at this point is to give students a 'brain break' if it's appropriate. This gives them time to decompress, digest learning, and interact with peers, whilst simultaneously giving you time to quickly cast your eyes over the lesson plan, freeze the interactive whiteboard and have a quick peek at the future slides or materials, or a few seconds to catch your breath. Students do gauge your energy and enthusiasm about what you're teaching, but this doesn't mean worrying when things don't go according to plan or if you're hit with some nerves. There is nothing wrong with integrating small pauses into lessons, as they can also actually be a tool for mini plenaries, consolidation and retrieval practice.

If your confidence wavers while presenting: 1. Take a deep breath. 2. Focus on your material. 3. Engage with your audience. 4. Use positive self-talk. 5. Visualize success. 6. Practice relaxation techniques.

If you start to feel overwhelmed while presenting you can pause for a moment, a few good tricks are to stop and take a sip of water and use that time to gather your thoughts. Another is to pose a hypothetical question to the class, and just tell them to take a moment to think about it. This will buy you a bit of time. These pauses allow you to gain back control of your thoughts and keep moving through the lesson.

Una estrategia que siempre me ha funcionado. Llevar una botella de agua y un vaso. Si en un determinado momento me quedo sin palabras o necesito unos segundos para reordenar ideas, pues simplemente me dirijo a la mesa donde está la botella, me sirvo un vaso de agua y lo bebo lentamente, ?y mientras tanto mi mente está trabajando!

If you lose your train of thought, take a moment to talk directly to a student, one that you know is eager to talk or seems very engaged, or one you know is naturally friendly or conversational. Ask a question, say something to lighten the mood, buy yourself some time with someone that helps you relax, and once you do, you'll get back on track.

If your class size is small enough, consider taking a mini "field trip". If it's a beautiful day, and you're feeling edgy or on the spot, have class outside. Can you find a way to relate your topic to justify a brief walk on campus? Do a photo scavenger hunt. Go to the library or university gallery. Sit in a circle in the grass, toss a ball to someone and have them state a fact or ask a question? Simply stepping away from the podium and getting out of the classroom can release pent up energy and refocus everyone's eyes on their surroundings, and let you off the hook. Changing up the same old routine can make a restless day a memorable one.

When you are getting a bit flustered with your lesson, it can be a good idea to take a bit of a break and begin to engage with the students, ask questions, prompt them for questions to dive deeper, go off on a tangent if it helps to refocus you.

Know that awkward feeling when you ask students to contribute and they just stare at you? Especially if you're feeling flustered or losing focus. Sometimes I will share a video for 5 minutes, get a drink of water and gather my thoughts. (TED Talks and CrashCourse videos are great choices for any topic or subject). Then after the video, I'll ask them to recall five facts, tell me something new they learned or found interesting, and if everyone squirms, I'll tell them we aren't moving onto the next topic until I hear from 5 different students. Put the pressure on them to talk, and take it off yourself for a bit.

When your confidence wavers during presentations, simplify your points. Focus on clear, straightforward explanations to ensure understanding and reduce anxiety. Avoid overloading your audience with excessive information and instead prioritize delivering key messages effectively. Use visuals, examples, and analogies to enhance comprehension and engagement. Remember, it's okay to take pauses, gather your thoughts, and speak at a comfortable pace. Practice active listening and respond to questions or feedback with confidence. By simplifying your points and maintaining a calm demeanor, you can deliver impactful presentations and boost your confidence over time.

Visuals are excellent for all age groups, as they supplement, support, and consolidate the spoken word in teaching. Visuals can include slides, diagrams, images, pictures, videos, and other media as relevant. Visuals spark discussions and it can be fantastic to ask pupils what they see and what they notice. This may also reduce the cognitive load on both students and teacher alike, as a visual may make a topic more easily comprehensible.

One thing to remember is that we are all human and this will happen from time to time. There will be some question that just throws you off and your scrambling to answer it. It's okay and you can recover from it, be honest and the students will forgive you. The important thing is that you can even use this moment to promote compassion and empathy in your students. Self-doubt will happen that is normal remember that and you can face it head on knowing that you will grow from it.

I was demonstrating on the pottery wheel and the clay flew off the wheel and shot across the room. During a glazing demonstration I dropped the mug into the glaze bucket and splashed glaze onto a student. I used a student's clay pitcher to demonstrate a method to re-hydrate it for carving, and when I added the water, her work completely split in two. When I shared this with another colleague, he recalled when he was in college, his metals teacher set himself on fire in a demo. Twice. The only choices are laugh, apologize, fix it, or move on. I like to tell my students "Ceramics ain't for wimps. It makes you stronger." Let them see you mess up and conquer it. It's not just textbooks...we teach how to get back up when you're knocked down.

Positive visualisation: visualise yourself delivering the lesson confidently and successfully. Positive visualisation is proven to help foster a positive mindset. Seek support: where possible, confiding in a trusted colleague, mentor, friend, or family member after the wane in confidence may help you identify what could have caused the confidence dip, and you can start to take positive steps to alleviate any negative impacts this may have had on you. Remembering that nerves are normal is important. Educators make more minute-by-minute decisions in a day than brain surgeons. This feeds into the wider picture of being kind to yourself, and reminding yourself that your work has influence and impact. Teaching changes lives.