PRESENTATION: POISE UNDER PRESSURE

 

The success of your presentation will not be based on the irrefutable logic of your arguments or the overwhelming nature of your content. Most of the time, your audience will decide to trust your information and act on it only if they decide to trust YOU.

During the presentation, your audience is doing more than listening to your information; as a matter of fact they may be hardly listening at all. But, unless you have completely put them to sleep, they are watching you and subconsciously grading you in their minds. That is not good news, but it is time you realized this if no one has told you before. The more composed, confident, relaxed and natural you appear, the more your audience will relax and trust what you say.

Your challenge as a presenter, then, is to not only thoroughly prepare your content and your PowerPoint slides; you must also prepare yourself, because – as the messenger – you actually become a very important part of the message!

Follow these simple steps to help maintain your poise under the presentation pressure:

Learn how to practice a few simple stress reduction techniques. You can use these before you arrive at the meeting, and you can also quietly practice them as you sit and wait to be introduced during the meeting. Deep breathing exercises and muscle relaxation exercises require very little effort on your part, but they can slow down your pulse rate, get the blood flowing to your brain and create an important sense of wellbeing.

Practice "looking confident" by being aware of your body language. People who fidget, take their hands in and out of their pockets, jingle their change, flap their arms and hands around wildly, and pace back and forth are telegraphing a serious case of nervousness. This makes your audience nervous, too. Besides, it is hard to feel confident about someone who obviously isn’t confident about himself. Learn to establish a central position and don’t stray far from it. Stand up straight and keep your arms at your side unless you are using a calculated gesture to emphasize a point. As soon as you finish the gesture, put your arms back down at your side.

Look them in the eye. Don’t stare at your notes, your shoes, the ceiling or the wall at the back of the room. Instead, maintain consistent eye contact with the audience. Casually scan from face to face as you speak, making sure that you briefly make eye contact with each face. Smile as you do this, and you will project confidence and control. It is easier to trust someone who is comfortable making eye contact in a relaxed, friendly way.

Speak up. You don’t have to shout, but you should always have the feeling that you are speaking in a voice that is louder than your normal talking voice. If you are using a microphone, the person running the sound can adjust the volume if it is too loud. Also, speak in firm, measured, clear tones – not too fast and definitely not too slow. Use occasionally pauses to create dramatic impact, but don’t drag or mumble.

Leave room for questions and welcome them. The Q&A section is one of the best times to drive home your important points in a way that projects confidence and control. You can continue using all the techniques listed above, but you are now free to be more relaxed and personable. Smile, make eye contact, and thank each questioner for their question (don’t say "good question;" it may create the impression that someone else asked a bad question). If you don’t know the answer, admit it and promise to find out. If someone wants to be confrontational, simply tell them you will discuss their concerns after the meeting is over and take the next question.

Employing these easy strategies will go a long way toward assuring the audience that you are capable, sincere and trustworthy. If you also did your homework and studied your presentation, this should be more than enough to achieve the success you hope for.

 

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August Presentation Quick Tip of the Month– Pre-flight Your Equipment

Microphones, computers, PowerPoint slides, screens, handouts, markers – giving presentations is a very complicated process these days. There is no more embarrassing position for a presenter to be in than to press the button for a big special effect and only hear an ominous "clunk." It is definitely worth the effort to get to the venue extra early to set up and make sure everything works. If you are presenting out of town, run through everything in your hotel room the night before. It may take extra effort to correct problems if you are in unfamiliar surroundings, so give yourself plenty of leeway.