We tend to avoid what we fear, so before you hand that presentation off to someone else or try to shirk responsibility altogether, consider what you’d be letting on. Every presentation in front of your peers, your boss, an important client is a unique opportunity to show your value. A home run in a presentation or briefing can do more to enhance his reputation and build trust in these important relationships than all the hard work you’ve already put into preparing.
That’s because your audience can see and hear your ideas. for themselves. They can connect the messages to the messenger and get the full measure of their impact. Importantly, they will give credit for those ideas to you, the presenter. In short, presentation and reporting skills are essential tools that every executive must master.
Take advantage of the presentation opportunities you have by overcoming those fears and letting your experience shine. Follow these pro tips to help:
don’t memorize
If you memorize (instead of just getting comfortable with your ideas), all you’ll focus on when you deliver your presentation is remembering what you were saying. i’m supposed to say. That’s going to interfere with being your best, most confident self. Instead, stay in the moment and give yourself permission to express your key ideas in a way that sounds natural and comfortable to you. Don’t worry about perfection. Your audience is not.
Get Ready (The Right Way)
Narrow down your essential ideas to (no more than) three main points. Practice delivering these orally. Pay attention to how you communicate them naturally, what details you use to explain each one, and how you move from one main point to the next. There is simply no substitute for listening to yourself present and developing some muscle memory of how you want the presentation or briefing to flow. (Recording yourself is a great tool for this.) If you’re writing a full script, start practicing with a very short one with just bullet points or notes with key points and phrases. It’s much more important to stay connected with your audience than it is to remember every detail of something you’ve prepared.
Build in a breath
Many presenters need help managing their fears from the start of their presentations. Once they get into the body of your material, the content of what they’re saying helps them find their stride and move forward. If you’re more anxious at the beginning of your presentation, try a different approach. An audience question allows you to subtly shift the focus of your audience momentarily and might give them the breathing space they need to settle in. (Of course, the question should be one that you’re reasonably sure will elicit the correct answer, or a poll with no right or wrong answer to help you make your points.) You can also use a prop or flyer to momentarily draw people’s attention to something you’re about to talk about. You can even start with a short video or other image after the shorter presentation.
Go with what works for you
Many executives breathe a sigh of relief when the presentation or briefing is over and can move on to answer questions. If that’s you, don’t feel limited by formats. Keep the presentation shorter and the q and a longer. You’ll still need to deliver some key messages about your conclusions, but you can save the details for when your audience prompts you; asking a question. Simply tell your audience what you’re doing (“I have a brief overview and then I want to directly answer your questions about what this means”). Remember to present to your audience with everything in mind: what is the essential information THEY need?
treat symptoms
Fear causes a physical reaction in us, as our brain tells our body that we are in some kind of danger. Our breathing becomes faster, our voices may tremble, our palms sweat. It’s those ‘symptoms’ that many presenters are afraid to show, so have a plan to manage those reactions. You should know that no one can hear what you are thinking and do not notice your fear. Tell yourself you’re going to be great, remind yourself of past successes, and visualize how great it will be to hear the congratulations afterwards (even if you don’t believe it). Tell yourself: You have this! Remember that no one knows what you were supposed to say, so if you forget something, move on without apologizing. If you forget something, it’s a good time to pause and ask “any questions so far?”. Do not try to banish your nerves, channel them. It’s the same energy that will help fuel your performance. Spend a little if you can just before your presentation (a brisk walk, some deep knee bends, and long, slow, deep breaths).
Remember, the more presentations you make, the easier it will be. Don’t avoid talking about your own ideas and your own capabilities. Remember how scary things were the first time you tried them, that now you do them with ease. You can build this ‘muscle memory’ of success, one presentation, one briefing at a time!
