How to Master A Presentation With Confidence When You Hate Public Speaking
When I tell people that I love giving presentations, I am often met with disbelief. Most people hate speaking before a crowd, but there is something about the experience that I find exhilarating. During my time as an undergrad, a spent a great deal of time preparing and giving presentations, and it is something I got really good at.
As I gave more and more presentations, people started to take notice. My professors always told me that I had the best, most engaging and organized presentations, and I was often complimented for my skills and asked how I did it by my classmates. It got me thinking that I could I help others by imparting some advice on how to give presentations. I know how stressful presentations can be, especially if you lack confidence, so I have come up with a list of tips and tricks to make the presentation process less stressful to help you give a spectacular display. Let's get started!
1. Before You Present
Practice!
Practice!
Practice!
I know plenty of people who think that they can just wing a presentation with no problem, or those who are too embarrassed to practice presenting out loud, so they don't do it. You are not going to give a good presentation if you do either of those things. Period.
Don't you hate it when you're listening to a friend present and you hear them say "um" a dozen times. It's irritating! It's like nails on a chalkboard. "Um" is, of course, a placeholder, and not necessarily a bad thing to say a few times, but it screams unprepared and nervous if you say it after every sentence. If you come off as nervous, it will make you more nervous. I suggest you only use placeholders if you run into the problem of timing and need to slow down. Which connects with my next point...
Use a timer when you practice (depends on required length)
If you hit above: Go through it five more times then time yourself again. You'll hopefully get better at running through your presentation without pausing or reading your notes.
If still above: You need to cut stuff out. Stick to the basics and make sure every thing you mention clearly connects/ contributes to your final claim or thesis.
If you hit below: Slow down and take some breathes. This is where you can effectively throw in some placeholders. Plus, when you pause after key facts or statements, they will stick out more in your audience's memory.
Lastly, practice in front of friends, roommates, record yourself, make a video of yourself. This will not only help you get better at speaking out loud and/or before other people, but it can also help you improve the presentation itself.
2. Day of Presentation
Watch this video:
I'm a HUGE Ted talk kinda gal, and this video is one of the most influential videos I have ever seen. I firmly believe this video helped me land my job. Your posture really makes a serious impression on other people, and when I was interviewing for jobs, I always tried to form a power pose. My latest interviewer (and future boss) even complimented me on how I presented myself. (see it works!)
You might thing the way you stand doesn't make a difference, but 93% of our communication is nonverbal. That means people are going to be reading more into your body language and the way you talk versus paying attention to what you are actually saying. Go for the power pose!
In addition, dress professionally, even if you don't have to. You might feel like an idiot, but I promise, when you look good, you feel good. Also, professional clothing is a power play. It shows that you want to step up your game and that you have something important to say. More specifically, it makes you look like a confident person (even if you are freaking out on the inside).
3. About to Present
So, you are finally there and presentations are about to start, here's what you do:
Go after 3-4 people.
Don't go last...if you get a choice. If you don't get a choice, well you should know beforehand, but if your instructor or boss just forces you up at random, keep calm. That would mean that everyone around you is freaking out just like you, and chances are, more than a few will get frazzled and make a mistake...but not you! You practiced, and worked on your power poses.
If you go last, you are going to compare yourself to everyone, and at that point, you will have also lost your audience because everyone is excited for presentations to be over. You will have also sat there for how many minutes contemplating how to rearrange your presentation because you liked what Tim did or noticed your instructor hated when Joy did that. Do not go last!
Also, don't look at any of your notes because the few sentences that you ruminate over will be the ones you end up screwing up, and then you will get flustered. The moments before you present are not the moments you should be using to edit your presentation.
4. Actually Presenting
I cannot stress this one enough. Keep your damn eyes away from your professor, boss, superior, everyone who ranks higher than you if you're a nervous person!
The minute you make eye contact with a superior is when you are going to over-analyze everything. Nervous people are over-thinkers and when they hate public speaking, they automatically think they are not good at it so any glance they catch from their superior will be interpreted negatively. You will shut down, lose confidence because you were reminded of your inferiority, and things will swiftly spiral out of control.
However, I should mention, there is a second kind of nervous person I should mention here: the kind that ONLY stares at the professor/boss.
You are speaking before an audience of people, not just one person. Granted, that person is critiquing you, but it screams desperate; it screams that you desperately seeking the attention and approval of your superior. It is the equivalent to cowering in a corner, and most importantly, it shows a lack of confidence.
Confident people, or those faking confidence, make eye contact to everyone sporadically.
Can't make eye contact at all? Look right above everyone's head. Looks like eye contact from a distance, but no one can really tell you are avoiding everyone's eyes.
Also, don't start picturing people naked, that doesn't actually work. It's just plain weird...or distracting if you've got some attractive people in your audience ;) .
5. Ending Your Presentation
Stand up tall and wrap up all of your points. Even if you don't think it went well, you must end it will confidence (even if you are faking it). Stand tall with your shoulders pushed back, take a deep breathe, and smile. You did it!
Bonus tip: Don't say thank you. (This is absolutely nothing to do with confidence, but it is properly public speaking etiquette). Only say thank you after there is applause because that is technically what you are thankful for in the first place.
And there you have it. Those are my tips for how to rock a presentation when you don't like public speaking. Did you find this article helpful, and/or would you like to see more content like this? Leave me a comment down below to hear your thoughts.
Thanks for reading,
Stina :)