Every business professional wants to deliver improved results, in order to achieve this you need to deliver your message as effectively as possible. Writing for Training Zone Simon reveals his top tips on how to ensure your STOP waffling & get to the point!
If worries about being understood properly are stopping you from contributing your ideas, or your style of presentation doesn’t seem to engage people the way it should, this article will help you.
1. Breathe and believe
Confidence in yourself is an important asset in presenting well. We all want to be the kind of person who is listened to, and whose ideas are acted upon by others, so if you don’t feel like you get the reactions you seek when presenting, it may be a lack of self-belief that is holding you back.
After all, if you don’t have confidence in yourself, then why should anyone else? Doubting your own capabilities can be the deciding factor that separates you from your more confident colleagues, so start taking small steps to improve your own self-belief. Learn a few simple deep breathing exercises to pace yourself and maintain calm.
Consider your many skills and the experience you have worked hard to gain throughout your career, and reassure yourself that you are worth listening to.
2. Get used to ‘being present’ in your space
Do you experience increasing levels of anxiety in the days and hours leading up to a presentation? Whatever else you might hear or have read on the subject, being fully prepared is the best way to conquer this anxiety – everything else should come second. Part of preparing fully for a presentation is getting adjusted to the space you will be in before you go to pitch.
So do whatever you can to get some private rehearsal time at the venue of your presentation to acclimatise to your surroundings, and the impact they will have on your audience and the way you address them.
Play around with three or four points of focus, including the stage you’ll stand on, and at each one, unwind by taking a big diaphragmatic breath and physically stretching yourself like you would when getting up in the mornings.
Taking this brief timeout will steady your heart rate, refire your consciousness and fuel your speaking voice. It’s the human equivalent of switching off and back on again – resetting yourself allows you to carry on at a calm and steady pace.
Read more on Simon’s tips on Training Zone here!