Many of us don’t like being up front leading or presenting to others, it’s a fear some have more than others; however we all have out hesitations and reservations. Human beings don’t like having the whole room focussed on us, we do anything to avoid being the centre of attention. This is why when you drop something in public you are embarrassed and often shyly disappear hoping the ground would open up and swallow you whole.
How to deal with it?
So then how does one overcome their fear? We all have different aspects of the presenting which we are fearful of, for some it is the audience; others worry about their content and whether someone out there might know more. Secretly all of them come down to self-confidence; you are presenting your view on the topic.
You are not saying your method or belief is the only way, depending on the type of presentation to whether there is room for open discussion. This can bring other elements of control into it, making sure it remains on topic and doesn’t get heated (another time we can look deeper at this).
How do I become more confident?
Well look at why are you not confident? Do you feel not very well equipped on the topic; is it that you don’t know anyone in the audience? You need to find the key to feeling confident; I personally have a number of suits, however I have certain suits which I feel more confident in and I keep those suits for interviews, or meetings of importance when I need to ‘cut the cream’. Yes it is just a piece of clothing but by staging it that way you change your own perception, I also use the suit for days I need an extra boost. Whenever I wear this suit I get many compliments from people, which helps with the confidence.
If you are nervous with the audience, then practice with your family or loved ones; present to them. They possibly won’t know flaws etc in the content, but who says your real audience will be any different? If this is the aspect you struggle with carry that ‘play’ presentation into the real one; picture your loved ones in the audience listening. If it is delivery you lack confidence in, you can go see a vocal coach, or look at joining Toastmasters or similar. If you will regularly need to do presentations then these steps can be very beneficial.
Content creation
This can be the challenge many people struggle with; creating slides which are informative but not overly wordy. You want to make sure you are expressing the main points of importance; this is also done verbally when you are presenting.
Don’t ever make your slides full of words and stand there and read monotone from the projector. Think about your posture and stand firm, solid and upright but be relaxed and comfortable. Just like an interview, self-talk is what can crush you; know you own it and you will be able to conquer it. Be like Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones, believe it’s yours and take it fairly. Other’s will have their opinions and they are allowed to, but you are the one doing this presentation.
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