Do you go weak at the knees whilst your hands shake when you give a presentation? Perhaps your mouth goes dry, and your hands feel sweaty? And what about the run up to the day, do you feel anxious and continually think about it?
There is increasing demand for good speakers and communicators in the workplace, and not only in the types of roles where you would normally be expected to speak well, such as lecturing or public relations.
You may be expected to give reviews and contribute at team meetings, or to cascade training to staff and other departments. You will be expected to present during university. There is also a growth in the use of presentations during the recruitment process, alongside interviews.
Over the next blogs, I will give a medley of tips to reduce nerves before and on the day, so you can do the best you can in the knowledge that you have used best practice in preparation and delivery.
Seven Tips for Confident Presenting and Public Speaking
1. Prepare early. Leaving it until the last minute will only serve to increase anxiety. Have slides and notes ready at least 3 days before. This takes the weight off your shoulders sooner and avoids late crisis management, such as suddenly getting an unexpected piece of work to do at the same time you’re preparing to present.
2. Keep a checklist of practical tasks you need to do & items you need to take with you.
Don’t re-invent the wheel each time. Again, put everything together a couple of days before you speak.
3. Ensure your notes are easy to read, with bold headlines, numbers, bullets. Avoid dense text which you need to peer hard at. Number your pages or cards, so they can’t get out of order. Boris Johnson’s famous Miss Piggy speech is testament to that.
4. Before you ‘put pen to paper’, decide your objectives in making this presentation. The content will then drive those objectives.
5. Give your talk a clear structure – an introduction, body of content and conclusion. This makes it easier for you and for your audience to follow.
6. Practise so that you feel very confident with the opening few lines and moments. Speakers often feel most nervous at the start, so paying attention to this will pay off. Start fluently and then the rest will flow.
7. Close with a call to action that is linked to your objectives for your presentation. Be clear in your mind what you want your listeners to think, feel, say and/or do as a result of what you say, and close on a positive note.
Remember that you are the one with the knowledge of your subject, with more expertise than at least most of your audience.
More tips will follow in the next blog to help you increase your confidence with public speaking and presentations.
If you feel 1-2-1 coaching would be helpful to address speaking nerves or develop your confidence and style as a speaker, presenter or trainer, do get in touch.
Contact me via my email or website and I will aim to reply within 24 hours.
