5 tips for presenting brilliantly at work. A blog by Michelle Bowden, best selling author of How to Present.
I delivered a presentation a few years back in the worst venue possible! There were no walls – just curtains between the various parts of the event. Unfortunately, there was another speaker who was scheduled to speak in the room right next door at exactly the same time as me. He was a well-known TV personality with a powerful voice! As you might expect, we were both wearing lapel microphones and as we both needed our audience’s to. Hear what we were saying and love our presentations we shouted over the top of each other for a good hour until thankfully his session finished before mine. I had a good hour to bring it back on track! The good news is that I’ve received bookings from the people in that audience to speak for their companies. They loved the presentation despite the dreadful venue.
It’s true that your presentation is not always going to be held in the best possible venue with the best possible environment, or even the best possible audience! As the presenter, remember your role is to put your best foot forward and at all costs you must serve your audience.
Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t love that experience. But the audience will never know – unless they read this blog!
Here are 5 tips for presenting brilliantly at work, no matter the circumstances:
1. Know your Audience. Make sure you work out what your audience is thinking, feeling and doing prior to your presentation. What is their current state? Then work out what you need to achieve from this presentation. What is your desired state? If you do this before you craft your message, you’ll be sure to create a presentation that has purpose and that serves your audience.
2. Rehearse your Key Messages. Rote learning doesn’t work. It overloads your brain and almost certainly causes you to go blank. Rehearsal or practice is essential though. Be sure to run through the key messages of your presentation out loud (different words each time) so you know what you want to say and in which order. Some people like rehearsing in front of a mirror. Just be sure to make time to practice as often as possible so that no matter what, you’ll be able to keep going. One of my all-time favourite sayings is, “Great speakers rehearse until they can’t get it wrong.”
3. Get in the zone. Serena Williams believes she wins tennis games because she follows a certain routine each time. She brings her shower sandals to the court, tying her shoelaces a specific way and bouncing the ball five times before her first serve and twice before her second. The Wimbledon champion even wears the same pair of socks during a tournament and she believes she loses when she doesn’t follow her routines. When presenting you might like to listen to a certain song to get in the zone, or maybe you want to wear a certain pair of socks, a lipstick that makes you feel great or a suit that just works for you. I recommend that like serious actors, you always do your vocal warm-ups to help get in the zone before an important presentation. My confident speaking vocals audio is available from my website: www.michellebowden.
4. You are what you eat. Avoid alcohol and caffeine the day and night before you present because they dehydrate you. Chose herbal teas, coconut water or energy drinks at a push. Plan your day and be sure to eat a good breakfast with more protein that processed carbohydrates (think green leafy vegetables, eggs, salmon) or you’ll end up starving and exhausted and at the end of the day with a massive headache to boot.
5. Work off your stress hormones. When we are ‘nervous’ or ‘stressed’ our body produces cortisol in response to a perceived threat, promoting the burst of energy that allows you to run or fight. Too much cortisol and you’ll be too ‘full-on’ when you present, and the audience won’t be able to relate to you! In my early days of speaking I recall almost shouting at an audience because I was so pumped up on cortisol. This is not OK! Although our distant ancestors may have benefited from this physiological response, a modern lifestyle that involves high levels of stress may lead to excessive amounts of cortisol in your system, which is not healthy for you. Regular exercise can help reduce your cortisol and stress levels. The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice reports that aerobic exercise seems to have the greatest effect on reducing cortisol levels.
There you have it! 5 tips for presenting brilliantly at work.
Happy presenting!
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Become a more confident, engaging and persuasive business presenter & stay true to your natural style!
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Would you like to participate in our presentation skills training course?
We have a 25-year proven track record in developing people’s business presentation, public speaking and pitching skills. We will help YOU stand out for all the right reasons!
Master the art of public speaking and persuasive presenting in business with our life-changing public speaking training in Sydney LIVE and ONLINE via Zoom or MS Teams.
One presentation skills training course once is all you need.
Become a more confident, engaging and persuasive business presenter & stay true to your natural style!
We promise no hand holding and we will not video your presentation because it’s not necessary for awesome improvement!
