School and Social Stressors!

Are you finding yourself stressing out about that presentation that you should do for your final? Do you have anxiety about group projects? Is it even worth it to make friends, and should you make time for them? Is being social too much work?

If you have been the one asking these questions, I might have some answers that will hopefully aid you to the point of relaxation, as well as being able to understand the importance of having a social life.

Q: Why do teachers make me do presentations? How can I present in an interesting manner?

A: One reason being is because once you start teaching the material yourself, you come to understand the material better. Another may be because since you are a college student and you think like a college student, teaching to your peers because the though process is the same, perhaps you may be able to answer questions that others may have but are too afraid to ask.

A couple tips to presenting…..

1. Don’t read word for word what you have on a PowerPoint slide. Everyone can read for themselves. Put a couple of key points on each slide, or perhaps a picture related to the topic instead.

2. Use a bigger font. Small words/small font=people will fall asleep. If it too hard to read at first glance, nobody will try hard to read it. Use big font and not too bright or dark of letters.

3. Use more animation in your voice because we have all been in lectures where the professor had the same voice the whole time.. It is hard to pay attention. Move around the room & face the crowd. Movement cause the students to follow where you go, which in turn creates some sort of focus.

Try it!

Being social can relieve stress!

After having your designated study time, take a moment to talk to a family member, go out to dinner, call someone on the phone or facetime. Taking a moment to talk to someone, allows your brain to take a break and engage in something else that it less taxing.

The key is to talk to people who are not stressful people or that cause you anxiety. The saying “surround yourself with people that reflect who you want to be and how you want to feel, because energies are contagious,” could not be more important. A challenge to you would be, figure out who those people are to you.

By: Brittany Parry