Presentation confidence – how to feel bulletproof every time you speak PART I

30th October 2018

Nervous when presenting?

Don’t worry – here are ten ways to feel better. Five this week; five next:

  1. Ask about content. My favourite one – a few days before, ask the audience what topics they want you to cover. Now, you know you’re being relevant – great for confidence!
  2. Visualise success. If you think “I hope I come out unscathed”, the best outcome you’ll get is unscathed. But if you think “they’ll find this helpful”, you’re more likely to impress
  3. Prepare your start. Your start dictates everything. Start well, and you and your audience quickly feel confident. I practise my first 1-2 sentences out loud at least 30 times. Do you?
  4. Easy first. If some of your content is easier to say, put this easy stuff early. This helps you build momentum and confidence
  5. Practise links. Presenters usually use slides as Speaker Prompts. But if your slide’s reminding you, it’s also telling the audience what you’re about to say! Instead, to stay ahead of the audience, practise how you’ll link to each new slide before you show it.

I always do all five. Without them, I’d be really nervous!

Action Point

For your next presentation, do some/all of them!

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