Presentations
Instant Confidence Boost
Focusing on what’s going on around you rather than what’s happening in your head is a powerful way to change your mindset, and one I highly recommend.
The whole looking outward topic came up at a Power Presentations workshop I was running; it was fascinating to see what a difference focusing inwards or outwards made to the participants.
When they were doing their own presentation – and focusing inwards – they were much more nervous than when, minutes later, they had to give an evaluation of someone else’s presentation because, clearly, they were focusing on something outside themselves. They looked and sounded 100% more relaxed and comfortable when they were evaluating and not just to my practised eye – everyone noticed the difference.
It was a valuable lesson in how your mindset has a profound effect on the way you act: my group went away promising to practise their presentations while focusing on their audience rather than on their own performance.
Brilliant presentations are vital to your business
Why? If you’re, say, a furniture polisher or a widget builder, why does it matter whether you can deliver a brilliant presentation or not?
The answer is simple: people buy people. You are your best ambassador for your goods and services providing, that is, you’re not a bumbling, mumbling, red-faced bundle of embarrassment when it comes to your turn to speak.
If networking plays an important part of your marketing strategy – and if it doesn’t, it really should! – every time you go to a new event your presentation skills are put to the test. Speak fluently and confidently about yourself or your business or both, even if for only sixty seconds, and you have a much better chance of winning new customers than if you’re tongue-tied or, worse, if your lack of confidence makes you sound stern or brusque.
Here are three simple ways to improve your presentation skills:
- Visualise yourself making a brilliant presentation. If you’re nervous your negative side has probably pictured a poor outcome hundreds of times; improve your chances of a positive outcome by consciously creating mind-movies showing you delivering an absolutely wonderful presentation. Picture the audience cheering at the end of it, picture yourself looking calm and confident, knowing you’ve done a great job.
- Check your material. All you need for a simple, brilliant presentation, is a beginning, a middle and an end. If what you say seems to have rather more elements than that, think again and remember that simple is good.
- Practise. Practise and practise some more. Practise in front of a mirror first, then in front of a friend or friends, listen to their feedback and ACT on it!
Check out Your One-Week Countdown to a Brilliant Presentation, here.
The Golden Room
A perfect place of peace and tranquillity you can visit whenever you like
Visualisation is a truly powerful technique and this guided example is an excellent way of practising it.
When the shark bites, when the bee stings, when you’re feeling sad, simply transport yourself to a beautiful place where everything is exactly as you want it to be.
It’s all in the mind, of course, but this exercise in visualisation is great on two levels: it gets you into the swing of visualisation and, the bonus, it gives you a personal retreat to which you can retire if ever the world becomes just a bit to hard to bear.
There are many variations on this theme – I’ve heard a version that American Indians use, one that’s popular with hypnotherapists, and yet another that was passed on to me by a friend who’d heard it at her church.
This is my own version, and it works fantastically well for me. Give it a try, and if you find you need to add details or change the ambiance, fine – it will work better for you if you have created it for yourself.
Imagine a cube, about 10ftx10ftx10ft. This cube is made up of bright, golden light which gives off a gentle warmth. This cube is the Golden Room.
Give yourself a minute or so to really picture this room: it’s bounded only by light, and everything you place in it is bathed in beautiful clear rays of energy.
Soft as thistledown
My Golden Room contains a sofa with comfortable cushions that are soft as thistledown; there is a lavender aroma; I can occasionally hear windchimes in the distance, and I often hear the shushing sound of the sea lapping against a sandy beach.
You will choose your own details: your Golden Room may contain only clouds or a simple table and chair; there may be no aroma, or it may be the delicious fragrance of an apple pie cooking in the oven in your mum’s kitchen; your Golden Room may have beautiful pictures or sculptures or loads of books…it’s entirely up to you.
Fill your Golden Room with things that bring you pleasure and comfort. Because this Golden Room is entirely yours, you can have fountains of liquid silver or baby deer, tame tigers or gleaming cars – there’s no limit to what you can have, except that whatever you choose must bring you pleasure and comfort.
Your Golden Room may be minimalist or you might go for Art Deco or Goth or something that only you could describe. Great! Enjoy the experience of creating this light-filled space exactly as you want it to be.
This Golden Room, once you’ve described it clearly and fully to yourself, is where you will go when you need to relax, or take time out, or move away from a stressful situation.
Calm and peace
The bright golden light in your Golden Room will fill you with a feeling of calm and peace; your energy reserves will be topped up by it; aches and pains will be relieved by it; tears that you take to the Golden Room evaporate in the gentle warmth of the light, leaving you feeling refreshed and revived. Sadness seeps away in the Golden Room; anger dissipates and tension simply disappears.
Now see yourself in the Golden Room. Notice how relaxed and calm you are. Notice how happy you feel; acknowledge that while you’re there, nothing troubles you. Realise how clearly you are able to think. Feel how much the light refreshes you, re-energises you and gives you a sense of comfort and security.
Once you have a Golden Room of your own, you can go there whenever you need a boost of energy or confidence, or respite from stress. It’s a great place to go when you’re getting ready to sleep, because you’ll relax straight away. It’s also a great place to go when you feel unhappy or sad, or when your temper’s getting the better of you. If you’re feeling nervous a few seconds in the Golden Room can calm you down; the train journey home can be a little piece of heaven if you concentrate on spending your time in the Golden Room.
You can visit as often as you like and stay as long as you like, and you can add or subtract from what’s inside it. The only thing that’s constant is the bright golden light and beyond that, the only limit is your own imagination.
Enjoy!
The Four Ps of Presentations
1. PREPARE: do your homework on both yourself and your topic
2. PLAN: start with the end in mind. Visualise yourself and your audience having a great time
3. PRODUCE: your speech in its entirety and then as “prompts”
4. PRACTISE: practise, practise and then practise some more
Are you a glossophobe? That is, are you terrified of making presentations?
A two-hour rehearsal and coaching session with redbird Hazel Walker is just £150. Call 07986-982-695 or email hazel@redbirdcoaching.co.uk
Meanwhile, try these presentation tips:
Before:
Practise. Lots
Know what you’re talking about. Obvious, but you’d be surprised!
Find out about your audience and present accordingly.
Check the resources available. Then double check.
Do whatever you need to do to address your nerves. Find the best solution for you.
Breathe deeply
Try greeting people as they arrive – it helps to be inclusive
Believe your audience wants you to do well: you do badly, they’re uncomfortable.
Be early. Not just punctual – early.
During:
Smile
Always have more material than you think you need.
You know your subject, yes, but check that you know it from the attendees’ viewpoint – how do they need to use the information you’re giving?
Think in 15-minute chunks of time: change pace, ask a question, provide an exercise, use a visual aid, do something different every 15 minutes if you want to keep the audience’s attention.
Use “props” like the whiteboard, flipchart, glass of water, to encourage you to move around.
Most mistakes won’t be noticed; don’t make a meal of them. Apologise if necessary then move on.
NEVER read out your Powerpoint slides. Unless you’re presenting to little children who can’t read.
After:
Always ask for evaluations. And act on them
Do your own review. Change anything that felt less than great.
Think about joining a Toastmasters group to put your presentation style into the superstar league.
Are you a glossophobe? That is, are you terrified of making presentations?
A two-hour rehearsal and coaching session with redbird Hazel Walker is just £150. Call 07986-982-695 or email hazel@redbirdcoaching.co.uk