Jun 16, 2023
Summary
Delivering a presentation is a fear-inducing
situation for most of us. This week we look at practical ways to
manage pre-presentation nerves.
Transcript
Hello and welcome to episode 189 of the Leadership
Today podcast where each week we share practical tips to improve
your leadership. This week we look at ways to manage
pre-presentation nerves.
Most of us will need to give a work presentation at
some point. Whether it’s to a group of 5 at a team meeting or 500
at a conference, speaking in public can be very stressful. This
applies to online presentations as well. These nerves impact people
differently, but many will experience an elevated heart rate,
sweating, feeling hot or going red, and struggling to
concentrate.
If we let our nerves get the better of us we may not
present as well as we had hoped. Our fear might even lead us to
avoid opportunities to share our ideas in the future. However there
are some practical steps you can take to deal with pre-presentation
nerves that will help you to be more confident and clear.
- Prepare. Be really clear about what you’re planning
to say. I’ve found keeping presentations to three main points works
well. Your notes should be bullet points rather than a script. You
can start by outlining the three points you will cover, then go
into more detail for each of the points, then summarise the three
points at the end.
- Practice. Run through your presentation in front of
the mirror or, better yet, video yourself. Don’t ever let your
actual presentation be the first time you’ve said it out loud. I
find it helpful to visualise the room I will be presenting in. If
you have access to the room ahead of time that’s even better. Run
through the presentation until you only need your notes
occasionally as a prompt.
- Know your audience. Take the time to understand
their interests and needs. Speak with people one-on-one before the
presentation to gain their perspectives and insights. You can even
gather further information during the presentation by getting a
show of hands or asking questions. Great presenters focus far more
on their audience than themselves.
- Reframe your emotions. Being nervous or feeling
excited have the same physical signs. It’s down to how you
interpret your physical state. It’s far better to say to yourself
“I feel like this because I’m excited about this opportunity to
present and want it to go well”. This won’t remove all the physical
signs of stress, but it will help you to use these feelings to your
advantage.
- Breathe. We breathe all day long, but we rarely
focus on our breathing. We can use our breathing to calm us. A
great approach is the box breathing technique. The box is a simple
way to remember the structure - inhale for four seconds, hold for
four seconds, exhale for four seconds, hold for four seconds. Doing
this for just a minute will calm you down dramatically.
- Pose a question for discussion early. Asking a
question of the group and having them discuss it with one or two
others provides an engagement point and also gives a chance to
settle in, take some deep breaths and focus.
- Focus on individuals not the group as a whole.
Another presentation technique which can work well is to focus your
attention on a single person for a sentence, then shift to someone
else for the next sentence. You need to make this natural for you,
but making eye contact will draw people in. It is also a reminder
that you are communicating with a room of individuals, not just a
group of people.
- Seek feedback. This can feel painful, but feedback
is a great way to improve. Find someone who can provide you with
balanced feedback and speak with them prior to the presentation to
set this up well. After the presentation, ask them to share
anything that worked well, and things you should do differently
next time. Then thank them for the feedback.
Your presentations will continue to improve with
practice. If you can learn to expect and even enjoy the discomfort,
you will be able to deal effectively with pre-presentation
nerves.
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