Presenting Yourself With Confidence.

One thing that often causes your heart beat to quicken and slowly raise your anxiety levels is being asked to given a presentation, even the most accomplished professional speakers will have some nerves before they speak in front of an audience. There are some simple but effect steps that you can take to ensure your presentation goes smoothly and that you message is heard.

Know your topic - The more you know about the topic you are talking about the more confident you will be. It would be unrealistic to every small detail of the wider aspects of your topic but some extra reading around or research will enable to you talk with greater confidence, especially if you are likely to be asked questions afterwards.

Rehearse - When you have written your presentation read through it in front of a mirror or even film yourself using a webcam. Everyone feels awkward listening back to themselves, especially the first time but it will help you identify areas of your presentation that needs redrafting. Perhaps there are words you stumble over, perhaps write them phonetically. You might notice there are parts where you get breathless, mark your notes to remind you to take a breath earlier on. Depending on how confident you are you may use a scri pt or prompt cards, whichever you have they should only be used to assist you and not read directly off them. You will give your presentation at a quicker pace than your rehearsals, this is normal as adrenalin will help you through your presentation.

Preparation - Whatever you are going to say, make sure you give yourself time to prepare the other things that will give your presentation the greatest impact - power point, picture, props? Make sure you have them ready and especially when using technology make sure you are familiar with using the equipment. Have a run through the things you are going to use and where possible have a back up.

Presentation - Before you give your presentation take time to do some breathing exercises, as I`ve said your body will be making adrenalin to help your through! It is wise to have some water near by as a dry mouth is perfectly normal, other drinks with have a negative affect on your vocal cords so avoid them. Different people have techniques to relax when standing in front of an audience, quiet often these rely on visualising the audience in different situations. The key thing to remember is the audience want to hear what you have to say. You are in a position of expertise because of your knowledge...so be confident and proud that you have been asked to speak. Rather than seeing a large audience imagine you are talking to one person, this makes what you say more personal.

These are just a few things to help you be more successful in giving your presentation. If you need further help or assistance then please contact me.