Have You Heard… E4 with Simon Shaw
“I get so nervous I want to be sick or run-away”.I believe presenting is a skill that can be learnt, just like any other skill.
It takes practice, the ability to be honest with yourself, finding a mentor that you can trust who will guide and help you.
Normally the courses I run last two days but with the following nuggets you can up your presentation game, whether it be on social media, stage, team meetings, and the way you present yourself to your clients.
1. Expect to be nervous
Your brain doesn’t know the difference between, presenting or being caught in an avalanche. Adrenaline will flood your body this will trigger the flight, fight, freeze, response. A lot of the Nerves you have are baggage that you are carrying from earlier life.
Breathing is absolutely vital. try this simple breathing technique. find a quiet spot, sit in a chair, with both feet on the ground, place your hand on your stomach, close your eyes and start to notice your breathing, as you breathe in feel your stomach come outwards, as you breathe in feel your belly button go towards your spine. this will fill and empty your lungs
so providing your whole body with oxygen. Try this for 5minutes twice a day, and before any presenting, you will be amazed how much calmer you feel.
2. Research your audience
Before coming on this live with you, I have watched all the previous ones. I have looked at people who are watching, so I have a base for what I am talking about, and remember it’s your audience’s interests before your own.
Imagine for a second – we all know Jack is famous for hair painting right?! As an audience member I booked onto one of his seminars, and he started delivering content about racing cars… keep your content relevant to your audience.
3. Your Message
Be clear on what you want to say, what are the key messages you want to leave your audience with? Often people will remember what you said last, that is why a recap is so important.
Think about the last presentation you heard, research says we generally remember about 10% of what is said, so keep repeating your messages in different ways. Mood boards and bullet points as opposed to a script.
4. Eye contact
This is one of the most important pieces of advice I can give anybody especially on social media, if you keep looking away (very easy to do) it can send a subtle message that you’re distracted or not interested…
Imagine doing a consultation with a client, and not making eye contact.
minimise fiddling, by this I mean playing with your hair too much, moving around in your seat, playing with a pen or any mannerism that is distracting. Film yourself presenting and become conscious of what you do. Most people have no idea of the little habits they have.
5. Confidence
People always ask me about confidence – What is it? How do I get it? The way I look at confidence is to look at the meaning of the word. Confidence comes from two Latin words
CON & FIDES
With faith
Or with belief, take a leap of faith into yourself, whatever happens you will survive, if you make a mistake so what, you will have learnt loads and next time you will grow.
Practice, Practice, Practice.
I have clients who are very successful but struggled with presenting all their life. Improving your presentation skills has impacted their professional and personal life. This stuff is powerful.
This subject is so vast, I could go on forever. Contact me for any more info or help.
(https://www.instagram.com/simonshaweducation Email simon@simonshaweducation.com
Mobile 07525185570