This weekend there will be 22 professionals dealing with immense pressure to perform. All eyes will be on the Real Madrid and Liverpool football team players as they go head to head in the UEFA Champions League Final.
Even if you’re not a completely overpaid football player (I wish!), as presenters we can still relate to the pressure of having to perform on the big day. No matter the type of presentation you’re giving we always know what day it’s happening, and we normally start to build up quite a lot of fear or anxiety about it. Probably why public speaking is one of the top fears amongst adults!
To make sure you hit the back of the net in your next presentation here are our top 3 tips for handling the pressure:
1 . Carve out the time
As soon as you have the presentation date OPEN YOUR DIARY and schedule in time for writing content, building the presentation, and (most importantly) practice. These dates need to be un-moveable in your diary and we strongly advise not trying to do all three on the same day as that could lead to a rushed presentation. Having these dates scheduled in and knowing that you aren’t going to be leaving everything to the last minute will instantly put your mind at ease and remove some pressure. Score!
2 . Have a clear objective
One thing that will keep you on track throughout the entire presentation process is having a clear end goal. Before you do anything just grab pen and paper and write down your presentations objective and core message. Some examples might be:
By the end of this presentation my audience members will:
- Be so clear about my products benefits they will want to buy
- Be able to perform the new process I have delivered to them
- See me lifting the UEFA Champions trophy and collecting my million pound cheque (No wait that’s the overpaid footballers objective, sorry!)
One of the top reasons presentations fail is because they don’t have a clear goal from the start. With this in place, you can structure your entire presentation content around it and be as on target as Mo Salah’s left boot!
3 . Practice makes perfect
Do not avoid PRACTISING your presentation as many times as it takes to feel confident. For most people, 3-4 practice runs are enough to feel good about the big day, and any more than that can sometimes have the reverse effect. You want to be in a position where you know the content really well and don’t feel like any final tweaks or additions are needed. And you also want to feel relaxed enough about the way in which you’ll deliver key points throughout your presentation. We’d highly recommend locking yourself away for an hour or 2 and doing your first practice runs on your own rather than in front of colleagues, as that can feel even more pressurised!
Neglecting the practice of an important presentation is without a doubt the number 1 reason things can go wrong. By putting the time in here you’ll remove so much pressure from yourself and feel mega confident on the big day.
Onward to victory
We guarantee that following these top 3 tips will have you leaving the presentation feeling like this guy
If you like these tips please share them amongst your organisation and create your own top squad of skilled presenters.
