(2 minute read)
Professional people are frequently called on to present their work in a team, client or public forum. Yet so many of us dread the prospect of speaking in public. We lack confidence or we fear “freezing” in front of other people.
“The fear of public speaking is the most common phobia ahead of death, spiders, or heights. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that public speaking anxiety, or glossophobia, affects about 73% of the population. The underlying fear is judgment or negative evaluation by others.”
www.nationalsocialanxietycenter.com/2017/02/20/public-speaking-and-fear-of-brain-freezes/
If you’re planning a presentation in the near future, here are our three big C’s that differentiate great presenters from the rest. We’ve framed them as outcome statements:
1. “I understand the CONTEXT…”
Being an expert in your topic isn’t enough. Understanding the context means you’ve thought about the situation and setting in which you’re presenting, so that you can tailor your message to your audience. Here are some key CONTEXTUAL questions to ask yourself in framing your presentation:
- Purpose: Can you align your purpose statement (i.e. what key message are you trying to convey) with the expectations of the audience (what expectations do they have of your presentation?)
- Audience: Who are they? what’s their demographic? how many attendees? what do they already know about your topic? how pre-prepared might they be? what time of day are they sacrificing to be at your presentation?
- Delivery Mode: Is this a speech, a presentation, a pitch, a facilitated discussion, a group workshop? Is it a formal setting or an informal setting?
- Constraints: Knowing time constraints, venue, seating arrangements, technology requirements, use of presentation aids (slides, whiteboard, post-it label)
2. “I know my CONTENT…”
Knowing your CONTENT means a lot more than just having subject knowledge. Knowing your content means you can present your information in a way that incorporates:
- Structure, logic, flow, linkages of relevance
- Stories, examples, anecdotes
- Facts and evidence
- Insights and opinion
- Principles, learnings and key take-aways.
3. “I present with CONFIDENCE…”
You might be across CONTEXT, and have strong CONTENT. But there’s more to think about. Great presenters find ways to connect with their audience, and demonstrate CONFIDENCE in delivery, and reveal their passion for their work. There are a range of techniques to project confidence. They broadly fall into the following categories, and the good news is they are learnable skills:
- How you use your voice: tone, tempo, breathing
- Your body language: eye contact, hand gestures, use of space, facial expressions
- Interaction: rhetorical questions, show of hands, use of humour
And of course, like any discipline, achieving the 3 C’s means preparation and practice before the event. Perhaps the best form of preparation is the dry run: Practicing all aspects of your presentation beforehand in a controlled setting, and ideally in front of a test audience.
There’s a lot to think about, which demonstrates there is lots of opportunity to upskill. And the way you implement the three C’s is what shapes your personal style to make you a recognisable and memorable presenter.
Tabiya workshops unpack these concepts and provide a safe and fun environment to practice using these skills.
Dr Nigel Nutt
Founder and Principal
Tabiya Services Pty Ltd
www.tabiya.com.au
The views and concepts presented in this article are the intellectual property of Tabiya Services Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. The article may be forwarded or recirculated as long as the article remains complete, and attribution to Tabiya Services is retained.