Master Public Speaking
Tackling Podium Panic
In your quest for workplace excellence, you will undoubtedly be called upon to make presentations. Whether they are for your work team, or for the CEO, we want to position you for success.
In an early episode of Seinfeld, Jerry states, “Surveys show that the #1 fear of Americans is public speaking. #2 is death. Death is #2. That means that at a funeral, the average American would rather be in the casket than doing the eulogy.” It is clear that the fear of presenting before a group can be intimidating and upon occasion, actually cause physical stress. If you have experienced butterflies in your stomach, sweaty palms, weak knees or lost sleep for a week before your scheduled presentation, read on.
First, you must understand that in areas of your life where you have deep-seated confidence, you’ve been there before, again and again. In areas where you excel, you’ve had considerable practice. For example, if you are an IT whiz, you’ve spent years honing your craft. You didn’t just show up on the scene with a high level of expertise and confidence. Bit by bit, you built a solid skill set. As the skill set was building, so was your confidence.
Speaking is no different. You’ve got to do it over and over again to increase both your level of confidence and competence. In becoming a confident public speaker, we know of no short cuts to excellence. Here are a few tips that we want to pass on to you to help ensure your success when presenting in front of groups, whether they be as small as five or as large as 500:
-
Practice positive self-talk
In the words of Henry Ford, “If you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re probably right.” As you think about your presentation in the time leading up to your delivery, it is critical that you practice positive self-talk. Go for what you want, not what you don’t want. In other words, “I’m going to get nervous and forget what I want to say” becomes, “I’m prepared. I’ve practiced. My presentation is going to go great today.”Changing what you say to yourself related to your ability to confidently deliver a presentation has a huge impact on your level of confidence. Each time the negatives creep in, change them to positives and focus on what you can do to control your level of anxiety. Remember, the brain has a hard time disassociating the negatives. If you think you’ll get nervous and forget, chances are good you won’t disappoint yourself.
-
Don’t think about yourself as a public speaker
Think about yourself as a subject matter expert who has important information to tell your audience. View yourself as confidently sharing your expertise with your audience, who wants to know more about your topic. As you talk with your audience, don’t expect yourself to be perfect. In real life, as you converse casually with acquaintances, you occasionally forget your train of thought or have to back up and rephrase something for clarity. It’s the same when making presentations. You don’t have to be perfect. In fact, being so rehearsed that you come across as robotic is not your goal. Lighten up and where appropriate, use humor to both relax yourself and your audience. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Some of the best advice we ever got early in our career as speakers was, “Just go out there and have some fun!” -
Clearly identify your purpose and goals early on
Before you begin your presentation, have a tight mental outline as to why you are making the presentation, what you want to say in the presentation and your template for presenting the information. The clearer you are about your purpose and approach, the more confident you will be when you present. Keep your message simple. Plan to tell your audience what you’re going to tell them. Then, tell them. Finally, briefly tell them what you’ve told them, and what they should remember. A simple message delivered in a structured format does two things. It helps you reduce your anxiety because you have a clear mental outline of where you’re going. It also helps your attain your goal of having the audience retain the information. -
Expect the unexpected
No matter how well you have prepared, sometimes things don’t go as planned. It is important to acknowledge that you can’t control everything. Expect the unexpected and understand that no matter what happens, your audience wants you to succeed. They are just as uncomfortable as you when things are not going as they should. Typically when the PowerPoint won’t cooperate, the microphone doesn’t work and you’ve lost your place in your notes, the only thing that will work is humor. Make light of the challenges and your audience will laugh with you. It’s not the end of the world . . . it just seems that way. -
Practice, practice, practice
No matter what else you do to calm the butterflies, to really tackle podium panic, you’ve got to practice. Once you’ve got your outline, start rehearsing sections. Make several “dry runs” before the actual presentation. Rehearse in front of a mirror. Video tape your presentation and critique your efforts. Make changes to segments that don’t flow. Have a friend, co-worker or family member listen and give you feedback. Finally, make sure you get plenty of rest the night before your event.
In reality, the butterflies may never totally leave you, but hopefully our tips will help your get them flying in formation in the right direction!
You may also like:
Filed Under: Peter's Blog on June 28th, 2010
Leave a Reply