When he was on his way to be executed, so the story goes, Charles I insisted on wearing a second vest to make absolutely sure he didn’t shiver with cold – he didn’t want people to think he might have been shaking with fear. It’s very easy to confuse symptoms of one issue with those of another.
Your body is even easier to confuse. As a speaker, it’s worth hanging on to a a simple aphorism: what simulates, stimulates. In other words, if you do the same things as you would do if you were anxious (for long enough) the physical acts you perform will cause your body to react and behave as though there was something to be afraid of. Thus, if you’re making a presentation in a cold room (and therefore have tense muscles) you will find yourself (unfortunately) much more susceptible to the effects of anxiety and fear – you’re halfway there because of your physical behaviour.
Unfortunately, it’s sadly the case that simulating the things you want to avoid is a lot easier than simulating the things you want to make happen – but at least you’ve made a start. Today’s simple tip? Wear a vest! (Or at least wear sensible clothing for the venue. )
I’m not thinking here of a monk’s washing…. I’m more thinking of the kinds of phrases that have become so popular they annoy people. (Worse, they might even be nonsense phrases to begin with.) Oxford University scholars have just released information which might just help you avoid annoying your audience with their ‘pet hates’. Use certain combinations of words and you’re asking for trouble.
Examples include “24/7” and “At the end of the day….” and “I, personally“. (My pet hate, by the way is “At this moment in time…“.)
Now, because we often use phrases like this as fillers (something we say instead of “um” or “err” to give ourselves time to think) it’s very hard indeed to spot them as we say them. For once – just this once – I’ll give you permission ( ) to record yourself and play it back. Of course even when you play back a recording of your presentation you might not notice such phrases because after all they’re uttered without thought on your part…. so this might be a good time to test the limits of a friendship by getting them to listen to your recording.
I have to apologise for not posting for a while – I’ve been snowed under and my spare moments at work have been taken up devising a video presentation tip for youtube about how to handle nerves when you’re public speaking… let me know what you think (either here or on youtube! )
Actually, these aren’t American tips at all – they’re not even tips for American in particular, but they’re tips I wrote (in a hurry) for an American newspaper which needed some tips in a hurry to fill some space and meet a print deadline – I reporoduce them here simply “as is”.
1
Remember the presentation is not about you – you’re not that important…. get over it. Unless you’re Nelson Mandela or one of half a dozen other people in the world no one’s there to hear you. They’re there to hear what you’ve got to say. To think they’re there to hear you is a kind of hubris. Think about it: which is more important to the audience – you or the work of whatever charity you’re supporting? If you think it’s you, you shouldn’t be speaking.
2
Secondly, always check with yourself what your audience knows before you start. Your job isn’t to tell people what you know – it’s to tell them what they need to know in the way they need to know it. That means your presentation should tell them everything they need to know but only what they need to know: everything else just gets in the way and makes it harder for them to get to the guts of what you’re saying.
3
Lastly, don’t become a professional public speaker because you want to do public speaking! If you must become a professional speaker, let it be for the right reasons… because you’ve got something burning inside you that you’re so passionate about that you just have to tell people about it by making presentations. If you don’t have that, you’ll end up boring and your audiences (if you have them!) will end up disappointed. What’s more, you’ll deserve it. Your ego isn’t important – what you have to say might be!
Having something worthwhile to say is surely the most basic (but most often overlooked) of presentation skills…….!
)