A Shield of Confidence: 3 Magical Steps to Vanquish Your Presentation Jitters

Some people are great in front of an audience. They seem to live for it, and blossom when they walk to the front of the room. How do they do that? What were they born with that the rest of us weren’t?

I was once that person who presented with eyes cast down, tied to her notes, speaking in a soft, trembling voice – and probably reading every word just as I had written it. Ugh!

While I still have a lot of room for improvement in my public speaking, I have come a long way. Although no one who ever had to suffer through one of my oral reports in high school or college will ever believe it, I now present in front of audiences for a living. And the bigger the audience, the better!

I know exactly what improved my level of confidence in front of an audience, and it wasn’t difficult or time-consuming. The first and most important technique I used was this: I created a Confidence Shield.

How do you create a Confidence Shield? There are just three steps:

Building Your Shield

1. Visualize it. Close your eyes and conjure up an image of the most confident person you have seen in front of an audience. Is this someone you know? Someone you have seen on TV? Someone you have imagined? It doesn’t really matter – you just have to think of them when you think of the phrase “confident presenter.”

Now, in your mind’s eye, watch this person for a moment. What are they doing? What people are they interacting with? How are they managing the audience? How are they using their voice and their physical presence? Really think through this and make it come alive in your mind before you move to the next step.

2. Analyze it. When we take our observations and transform it into a list of behaviors, that list becomes a technique we can use. With your confident presenter from Step 1 in mind, make a list of observable behaviors that create the perception of confidence.

We don’t mean “he just seems to have it all together.” That is a perception you have. What are the observable behaviors that create that perception in your mind? Does he do something specific with his voice? His hands? Does he make intense eye contact, or stand a particular way?

Make this list as long as you can. At a bare minimum, list four or five behaviors you can identify. Next, prioritize those behaviors. Which ones are the most important in creating a perception of confidence? This list of behaviors is now your technique.

3. Emulate it. Finally, act out one or two of those behaviors – even if they don’t feel normal. (In fact, especially if they don’t feel normal.) Put each one on in the same way that you would put on someone else’s coat. Wear them. Walk around in them.

For instance, if one of the behaviors on your list is “she has great posture,” then when you are in front of an audience, be sure to have great posture. Take ownership of at least two behaviors on your list that you don’t already make a habit of and practice them daily – even if you are not delivering a presentation.

These behaviors are now your Confidence Shield. It may sound strange, but this simple technique makes a world of difference! Simple solutions can truly be our most powerful allies.

Shields Up!

The next time you are about to go in front of an audience, close your eyes, take a deep relaxing breath, and consciously “put on” your Confidence Shield. You can be certain in your knowledge that no matter how you feel while delivering a presentation, you will look and sound confident. If at any time during your presentation you feel anxious, do one of your shield behaviors to quickly get your confidence back.

As you practice, you can enlarge your shield. Once you are comfortable with your first new behaviors, go back to the list you created in Step 2 and pick one or two more to incorporate into your own behavior in front of an audience. Repeat until you have added in all of the behaviors.

Your Confidence Shield will continue to get bigger and thicker and stronger and more protective – until one day you find that you don’t need the shield at all!