Tomorrow’s
the day and you’re dreading it. You’re
scheduled to give a presentation to the senior management
team about the new program you’re proposing.
You’re excited and enthusiastic about the program
but nervous and anxious about the presentation. You
don’t know how you’ll manage to sleep
tonight. These thoughts keep running through your
mind; What if I stumble? What if I talk too fast?
What if they get bored? What if they ask questions
and my mind goes blank?
Do
any of these sound familiar? If you answered yes,
don’t worry! Try some of these simple strategies
for your next presentation to help you build confidence
and credibility with your audiences.
Developing
your presentation
Change the paradigm: Think from your listeners’
perspective.
If you can change your focus from, "What do I
want to communicate?" to, "What does the
audience need to hear and understand?" you can
be a more relevant and engaging presenter. By focusing
on your listeners’ needs, rather than on yourself,
you can relax and let that focus guide you through
the development and delivery of your presentation.
Here
are the essential questions that will help you stay
on track:
Who is your audience?
What is most important to them?
What is their current level of knowledge on your topic?
What do they want or need to know about this topic?
If
you can’t answer the above questions, it’s
important that you do some research to find the answers.
If your presentation is an educational or training
session, you might want to send out a pre-class questionnaire
or survey to learn the current knowledge level of
your audience. This can be a simple 5 to 10-question,
one-page document that you email or fax. If your presentation
is more informational or persuasive, you might want
to make some phone calls to learn what you can about
your audience.
What’s
your objective?
Every presentation you give should have an objective
or purpose. Why? Because your objective will help
ensure that you stay focused on the topic. And, by
defining your objective in the beginning of the development
process, you’ll save time.
Structure
Utilize a presentation structure that consists of
a beginning, middle and end. In presentation language
these components are called the opening, body
and close. The purpose of the opening is
to introduce yourself and your topic. The opening
gives a short preview of the information you plan
to cover. You may also want to include some startling
data or a quotation. The main purpose of the opening
is to get your audiences’ attention. The body
of the presentation contains the main ideas and details
you want to convey, while the close is the ending.
During the close, you may wish to provide a summary
of your main points to help the audience remember
them. Also, any action items of follow-up information
should be in the close.
Delivering
your presentation
About
nervousness
Most people feel nervous and anxious before giving
a presentation. This fear and anxiety can start the
minute they’ve been given the assignment and
can last until the presentation is over. It’s
important that we accept the fact that we’re
going to be nervous and learn how to work with it.
Try this three-step process developed by Lee Glickstein
of Speaking Circles International to ease your nerves:
1. Feel your feet on the ground.
This will help to set a firm foundation for you and
has a calming effect.
2. Breathe. And, most importantly,
notice that you are breathing.
Most of us when we are nervous or anxious tend to
hold our breath and that only makes us feel worse.
3. Speak every word to the
eyes and heart of another human being.
Every time you stand in front of any audience, you
are building a relationship. If you want people to
listen and pay attention to you, you have to listen
and pay attention to them. By having a more personal
connection with your audience you will develop rapport
faster. By looking at people individually, not seeing
a group, you can be more relaxed and at ease. Try
to have a one-on-one conversation with everyone in
the room.
Five
strategies to project confidence
1.
Reduce your usage of filler words.
Filler words are words that we say unconsciously that
add no meaning to our communications. Examples of
filler words are um, uh, ah, okay, so, you know, well,
but, like, etc. The big problem with filler words
is that if you use them frequently, they tend to chip
away at your credibility and can make you sound unsure
and unprepared. To start reducing usage, you first
have to become aware of when and how frequently you
use them. The best way to do this is to either audiotape
or videotape yourself giving a presentation. Then
listen, or better yet, have someone else listen to
the tape for filler words. Provide a checklist of
filler words and ask the reviewer them count how many
you use. It’s fine to use one here and there—using
them repeatedly is the problem. Once you have an awareness
of which filler words you use, you can start trying
to reduce them. Substitute a pause where the filler
words would normally occur and your listeners will
thank you.
2.
Be aware of body language and posture.
Just as mother used to say, stand up straight. Posture
is important. Walk with erect posture and confident
strides. Also have an awareness of your body language.
Show confidence with an open body position. This means
hands at your sides not crossed in front of you or
hidden in pockets. Keep your hands where the audience
can see them and use gestures for emphasis.
3.
Remember that you are the expert.
You probably know more than your audience does about
your topic. That puts you at an advantage and should
instill confidence. Remember, though, to be relevant.
You need to know your audience’s level of knowledge
on your topic so you can start where they are.
4.
Keep your cool when things get hot.
No matter what happens, keep your composure. If you
are using technology, be warned: It is bound to malfunction
just when you need it most. For peace of mind, have
a Plan B ready just in case. If you can think in advance
about what might go wrong, and have a contingency
plan ready, you can continue and keep your cool. Every
presenter has a personal horror story of how the laptop
or projector crashed in the middle of their presentation.
Be prepared.
5.
Have a good time.
If you are having a good time, chances are, so is
your audience. Put a smile on your face and be excited
and enthusiastic in your delivery. You will breathe
life even into dull subjects and help your listeners
be engaged in your talk.
The close
I hope you’ll practice some of the strategies
listed here. Don’t feel that you have to do
all of them during your next presentation. You might
want to think about what your biggest presentation
challenge is and pick one improvement that you’d
like to make. I can guarantee that you’ll feel
more confident as you incorporate and practice these
suggestions. And remember: Do what you can to enjoy
your time at the front of the room and your audiences
will enjoy you.
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About the Author
Dana
has just published and released her self-study interactive
manual Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking.
Please visit her website for details and to order the
manual. www.speakforsuccess.net
Dana
Bristol-Smith is the founder of Speak for Success,
an organization that works with companies that want
their people to communicate with confidence and credibility.
She is a professional speaker and trainer who has
survived stage fright and is passionate about helping
others get past the fear and discomfort of public
speaking. Companies hire Dana to give skill-building
workshops and to provide coaching. Dana has delivered
presentations and training to more than 100,000 people
since 1992. In addition to her corporate work with
global companies such as Honeywell and Pfizer, Dana
is on the faculties of University of California at
San Diego Extension, California State University San
Marcos and San Diego State University.
You
can reach Dana via email at: dana@speakforsuccess.net.
Presenting
for Success