Overcoming the fear of presentation palpitations

You might know or work with certain individuals who approach the delivery of presentations with unbelievable gusto – we all do.  Never fear that you are some sort lost cause if you, on the contrary, are totally daunted and flawed at the prospect.  In fact, they are in the minority and you are in the majority, as public speaking ranks highly as a universal worst case scenario, striking untold terror in to millions of people worldwide.

However, like or not – and let’s be honest, in most cases we are definitely talking about like it not – you are more than likely to be called upon to give a number of presentations throughout your personal and professional life.  Confident and proficient public speaking is realistically within your grasp when you learn to believe in yourself and aim to master your craft.  Just like any other skill, it comes naturally to a gifted few, yet requires fine honing for most mere mortals.

You can and you will beat the palpitations caused by looming presentations.  Those ‘in the know’ have done so by learning about what are known as the five Ps of public speaking and by incorporating the wisdom of these simple lessons in to their codes of conduct and plans of action.

1)    Passion
It is imperatively important that you are passionate about the subject matter of your presentations.  If you are not fired up about it, why on earth would anyone else be?  Think about the know-like-trust theory.  The more you know about the topic at hand, the more you will hopefully like it.  Consequently, the more you know and like it, the more you will not only trust it, but you will also trust yourself to share your views about it, cojently and enthusiastically, with your audiences.

2)    Persistence
“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again”.  Have a little mettle and do not get too down in the mouth if your first few presentations fall slightly short of the triumphs you had envisaged.  Keep your chin up and aim to deliver your presentations repeatedly if you can, noting the vast improvements you make each time.

3)    Positivity
Just before the delivery of your presentations, focus in on your ‘can do’ rather than your ‘can’t do’ mindset. Tell yourself that you can and you will knock your audience’s socks off with your dynamic presentations and deft delivery skills.  Glasses half full are infinitely more appealing than glasses half empty, so inspire yourself to go for it and spread some joy.

4)    Practice
Going overboard with the practicing of your presentations simply does not exist, as practice makes perfect.  Go through your presentations out loud to yourself, and also in front of trusted colleagues, family members or friends who will offer you firm yet fair feedback.  Then go back to the drawing board to redress any issues with your flow and wording.  If at all possible, it is also a great nerve soother to have a practice in the actual rooms in which your presentations will be delivered.  The environments will feel less hostile and more familiar to you.

5)    Preparation
Comprehensive preparation offsets a multitude of sins.  Once your subject matter has been agreed upon, your first port of call should be your own experience, backed up by copious research.  The coupling of what you know and what you have learnt will make preparing for your presentations much easier, free flowing and logical.  Your preparation also extends to a pre-understanding of your audiences.  Knowing about their age groups and levels of proficiency in the topics under the microscope gives you the competitive edge to pitch your content and style just so.

Overcoming Palpitations Caused By Pending Presentations

Many charismatic and commanding professionals are reduced to quivering wrecks when having to speak publicly to small or large audiences made up of people they either know or do not know. Whatever shape or size their public platform takes, they are unable to switch their mindsets positively. Their regular daily aptitude to speak cojently and confidently evades them. They feel isolated by their fears. They battle on, hoping against hope that the day will finally dawn when they do not transform in to the human equivalents of Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse whilst presenting.

In modern working environments, you don’t have to be a Senior Manager of an organisation to be asked to give a presentation. On the contrary, it is not unusual to finding yourself being asked to present during job interviews, making it all the more imperative that you tackle the fears that you share with many people. Your employment prospects can potentially hinge on your ability to deliver an engaging presentation – or not. And if you are lucky enough to bag your dream job, chances are that that there will be much of the same to follow, both internally and externally. You will be far from out of the woods, but you are not alone!

Resultantly and very understandably, many professionals at a variety of different levels call loudly for presentation training and coaching. What the pros have leant from experience and understand intrinsically is why people like you are stricken with terror when faced with presenting. Whatever your own personal reasons might be, anyone’s and everyone’s reasons generally stem from a natural reluctance to sound silly.

This is a human universal that blights many people, whether during an informal chat with friends or in the workplace. You might be loathe to venture your ideas and opinions in case others don’t agree with you or fail to value your contributions – so you keep them to yourself. You are afraid of sounding stupid or showing yourself up as a charlatan who doesn’t know what they are talking about. Keeping it zipped is preferential.

You might admire those people who seem to ooze uber confidence and have inimitable knacks of always quipping in with dazzling one liners at just the right moments. Remember that they are often faking and quaking, too, but have conquered their inhibitions. Presentation training and coaching professionals know this and can share with you practical techniques to unlock your hidden potential, engage your audiences and move forward in all aspects of your life.

At Presentation Guru, we offer presentation training and coaching that goes far beyond the giving a humorous talk before sending you on your way. Our twenty years of experience in the art of presentations has not only benefited FTSE 100 companies; our deep insight has challenged and influenced the training of trainers. We do not claim to be the cheapest, yet we do pride ourselves in being market leaders. Our time served methods and techniques constitute your very own box of tricks to banish your presentation butterflies and jettison your jitters.

Editor notes

Presentation Guru is a specialist presentation training and coaching company aimed at senior managers. Further information can be found at http://www.presentationguru.co.uk or email john@presentationguru.co.uk, telephone 0845 899 1248.