Now is the time to concentrate on the messenger as well as the message. You will need to prepare yourself for your presentation so that you come across confidently and in control of yourself. You’ll find practical tips for reducing your feelings of anxiety.In this chapter:You have prepared your final outline, got your notes together and decided on the visual aids, and now you start thinking about delivering your presentation.
Do you get butterflies in your stomach? Sweat a little? Mouth go dry? Are you beginning to panic a bit and it is not even the day of the presentation?Up to this moment all your preparation has been on the message – what to say and how to say it. Now is the time to concentrate on the messenger, preparing yourself to deliver the message, to create the thoughts and feelings for optimum performance.
Preparing Yourself As Well As Your Speech
Many great performers in sports and the world of theatre don’t perform well unless they experience some stress. Anxiety can give you an edge, make you more alert and give you an energy that makes your presentation sparkling and dynamic. However, you may prefer not to suffer from a dry mouth, sweaty palms, rapid heartbeat or a twitchy stomach.
Dealing With Anxiety
Whatever you feel, you have a strategy for it. Feelings are a consequence of something you do. Your nervousness is
related to your thinking. Feelings are less to do with the ‘real’ world and more to do with what you tell yourself about the ‘real’ world.
Your teenage son is late. He should have been home from the football game an hour ago. You are worried and anxious because you fear the worst: rival fans fighting each other and your son caught in the middle of it. The more you play the scene in your head, the more vivid you make it, the more blood you see, the more upset you will be. However, your anxious feelings were unfounded. Why? Because at the game he met some school friends and they went for a burger … he just never thought of ringing home.
Negative Programming
Your mind is like a computer. Programme it with negative messages (’I can’t do this’, ‘I’m no good’) and you will get these negative feelings. Like any computer it is obedient and has no other choices than what you programme it with.
Visualising Success
Visualise success. See yourself with good posture and moving confidently as you look out at your audience. Hear yourself speak in a calm, authoritative way. Notice a responsive audience and feel the rapport between you. You feel confident, relaxed and in control. Hear the well deserved applause and people congratulating you on a first-class presentation. Feed yourself with negative pictures, self-doubts and assumptions of disaster and you will fail:
Breaking The Cycle Of Self-Doubt
We are often our own worst critics. We can be very good at beating ourselves up and giving ourselves a hard time. Chances are, you are better than you think you are. You might really be that beautiful swan who only thinks he or she is an ugly duckling. You may have yet to discover this as most delegates on my presentation skills courses have. Although reluctant to be video taped, they are surprised and pleased when they see themselves on the TV screen. Typical comments are ‘I’m much better than what I thought I was’, or ‘I didn’t come across as nervous’. Seeing how good they really are, rather than the poor presenters they think they are, is a big boost to their self-confidence.
The audience won’t expect you to be perfect. You might, and then you beat yourself up over those little imperfections that will go unnoticed by your audience.