SIX STEPS TO CONQUERING YOUR PRESENTATION

NERVES

Step 1 – Know Your Audience

Topic Feedback Understand expectations Arrive early

Notes for Slide 2

Make sure your topic fits their interests or meets their needs for information.

Get feedback from others – make sure they can understand your topic – too simple or complex?

Contact the “host” to make sure you understand what is expected of you.

Arrive early & talk to members of the audience. Ask why they are there & what are their expectations. This also gives you a chance to check out the room, make sure you know how to run the equipment, preparation.

Step 2 – Know Your Material

Confidence Be an expert Poll the audience Pertinent points

Notes for Slide 3

If you are not confident in your knowledge of the material, you will be nervous that the audience will “find you out”.

Learn more about the subject than what you will speak about. Cover the most pertinent points.

Engage the audience in questions – gives you a break from presenting and helps you understand more about them.

Step 3 – Structure Your Presentation

Opening, body & conclusion – projects 2 & 3

Key phrases Don’t memorize

Notes for Slide 4

A simple, widely used, and highly effective structure is to tell the audience what you're going to say, then say it, and then recap what you've said. Opening, body & conclusion – Toastmasters covers these in projects 2 & 3.

Don’t try to memorize your speech. Write key phrases on note cards or on the presentations slides.

Memorization is OK for a competition, because you are timed and you should use up as much time as you can, without going over.

Memorizing opening, conclusion and quotes is OK and recommended.

Step 4 – Practice, Practice, Practice

Give your speech Confidence Natural delivery Video/Audio recording

Notes for Slide 5

Give your speech – I practice my speech out loud alone many times. Each time, noting where I stumble, what sections don’t sound good to me, where I need to think about adding or deleting. Then I practice in front of my husband – he loves it! Toastmaster friends are also great sounding boards.

Confidence – there’s that word again. Practice gives you confidence. It will help calm some of those nerves. You’ll work out kinks as you practice.

Natural delivery – when you have practiced – out loud – you can hear what doesn’t sound natural.

Video/Audio recording – This is a great way to see for yourself what your delivery is like. We are our own worst critics, so be nice, but look for areas where you want to improve.

Step 5 – Prepare, Prepare, Prepare

The Devil’s in the Details

Notes for Slide 6

Decide what you are going to wear – make it comfortable and appropriate.

Arrive early and get your equipment set up.

Anticipate problems and have backups and contingencies in place in case something doesn't work, you forget something, etc. Having handouts of your presentation can alleviate projector problems.

If possible, give everything one last run through in the real environment.

Prepare responses to anticipated questions. Try to think like that one person in the front row who always tries to trip the presenter up.

Step 6 – Calm Yourself from the Inside

Practice deep breathing Drink water Smile Use visualization techniques Pause! Breathe. Move around during your presentation

Notes for Slide 7 Here are some suggestions for controlling the physical aspects of nerves.

Deep breathing before you go on stage increases the oxygen to your brain and the slower breathing pace will trick your body into believing you are calmer. Deep breathing also keeps your voice at a lower and more natural sounding level.

Nerves can cause your mouth to go dry, making it difficult to speak. Sip water before your speech. If dry mouth is a recurring problem, keep a bottle of water handy for during the speech. This has the added benefit of slowing you down & giving you a natural pause.

Studies suggest that smiling helps the brain identify the mood you’re in. Even a fake smile can help to alleviate some stress and help you recover faster from short term stressors. A real smile – that engages the eyes as well as your mouth – has been shown to positively affect your mood.

Visualize yourself giving a successful speech. This can help build your confidence.

Moving around during your presentation can help use up some of that nervous energy. It’s also good Toastmaster practice when it is done with intention.

Toastmasters

The education program teaches you the first 5 steps.

The meetings give you the chance to practice step 6.