Some people love standing up in front of an audience and performing – they love the limelight, the attention of the audience, their ability to control and influence the group of people sitting there in front of them.

For others the thought of presenting, the thought of public speaking, fills them with abject terror. The panic induces a fight or flight response which tends to go straight to flight. Everyone else obviously sits somewhere in between but for many people public speaking is an uncomfortable experience.

The first time many of us get to speak in public is at school – standing up to read out loud in front of the class. The teacher correcting us in front of our classmates, our nerves causing us to stumble over the words, can make it an unpleasant experience. Though we may not remember the actual time this occurred, it has taught us that speaking in front of a group of people is something best avoided. When we are asked to give a talk or make a presentation, we would love to stand up with confidence and wow the audience with our words but for some reason we just can’t put a finger on, we feel nervous and our charm and confidence desert us.

Being in an audience, watching someone present poorly can be excruciating. At a recent presentation I attended, one of the presenters was obviously petrified, he was like a rabbit caught in headlights and instead of improving throughout the fifteen minute talk, the nerves seemed to get worse. I cannot remember now what  the content of the talk was, instead of focusing on the content I was willing it to be over to put the presenter out of his misery. I don’t like to watch someone in such obvious discomfort. A client was telling me about a talk she attended recently where the presenter was moving about incessantly, so much so that she had to look away as the movement was distracting and she found she was no longer listening to the words. And the presenter was a professional motivation speaker!

This can all be easily overcome. There are simple strategies that you can use to become a more confident presenter. Some people suggest picturing the audience naked which may work for you but it has never appealed to me! Focusing on the audience and how they are feeling and reacting can help us to stop feeling critical about ourselves. Remember that the presentation is for your audience, hopefully one of your outcomes is that they feel good at the end of it and come out of it with something worthwhile. The focus is on them, not you.

When preparing for a presentation, often people spend more time working on their Powerpoint slides than thinking about the reaction and feelings of the audience. Tools such as Powerpoint are precisely that, tools. They do not make the presentation for you, they are there to add to it if you need pictures, graphs, figures and the like. Watching someone read out a bunch of Powerpoint slides is boring and a waste of everybody’s time – if that is all that is to be presented, save everyone a trip and email the Powerpoint presentation instead. I went to a presentation by a well known author and he started off by telling us that he had only bought along 300 slides as he just had an afternoon with us, the full presentation consisted of 3000 slides. Lucky escape, although I admit we actually escaped after the first 150.
When preparing we need to think about how we will come across to the audience. How do we want the audience to feel? How do we expect them to be feeling when we start the presentation? What are we going to do in order to get their attention, to get them in a relaxed state to listen, and what can we do to maintain their interest throughout?
So what can you do to develop more presence when presenting?
Below are some simple steps that can help you become a more confident presenter. If you have a real fear of presenting, a real phobia of standing up and talking in front of a group of people, then contact us using the contact form or call 0845 890 7700 to find out about working one to one with one of our coaches – this can be dealt with often in one session quickly and without pain. We have referrals from past clients who are happy to recommend us.
If you would like to tone up your presentation skills, to develop more charisma and become more influential and persuasive when presenting, come on our 1 day Presentation Skills Masterclass. We won’t be using any Powerpoint slides! You may be surprised at how good you can be.
This is what a journalist has said about the Presentation Skills Masterclass:?”The transformation in the delegates during the day-long course was startling. At the beginning, they had all of the failings of those unused to or anxious about public speaking. By the end of the day, they each delivered articulate and professional presentations that were a joy to listen to – and they did it without notes.”

5 tips for more confident presentations:

• When you are preparing your presentation, imagine it going well. Imagine how the audience will react at the end of your successful presentation, how good they will be feeling. Think about how you will feel when you see the audience smiling and hear the applause! Build a clear picture in your mind of it going well.

• If you have a chance to get to the presentation room before the audience are there, stand at the front of the room, imagine the audience sitting there and focus on feelings of calm. Breathe deeply and relax as you look out at your imaginary audience.

• Focus on the audience. It sounds rather obvious but very often when people are nervous they tend to focus more on how they are feeling throughout the presentation, they get too busy listening to their own internal voice questioning how they are doing, rather than focusing on the audience and how they are reacting. Remember, it’s about them, not you.

• Pace your presentation. Nerves can make us talk too quickly, to get the presentation over and done with as soon as possible. Slow down. Talking at a slower pace makes it easier for the audience to listen to you and helps you to breathe which in turn will help you to feel calmer.

• Get balanced and centred. Walking back and forth across the stage or room can be off-putting, as can rocking back and forth or jingling coins in your pocket. Practice standing with one foot forward from the other so that you can move easily but are feeling balanced and centred. You want to be able to move but pacing up and down can make your audience feel seasick.

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