When you are tasked with making a presentation or speech, nerves can take hold. These tips provide practical advice to help you keep your nerves at bay, and deliver a professional, polished presentation.
Accept that nerves are only natural
Feeling nervous before a presentation is entirely normal, even for people who make presentations regularly. Symptoms can include:
- nausea
- butterflies in the stomach
- dry mouth
- shaking
- sweaty palms
- palpitations
- talking too fast
- speaking too quietly
- stammering
- an overwhelming feeling of impending doom
- forgetting what to say
The first point is to acknowledge that you are not alone in suffering a bout of nerves. The second is to understand that while you may never eliminate stage fright or nerves, you can take positive action to lessen their effects and control the situation.
Be as prepared as possible
Remember that getting nervous before a big presentation or interview is only natural,so try not to worry. To combat nerves, the best thing you can do is prepare thoroughly for your presentation or meeting. You can do this by thoroughly researching the topic of your presentation, and planning what you will say in advance. Ensure that your presentation has a clear introduction, and that you move through the key points in a logical way. Also remember to finish with a brief summary of your key messages.
Take time to consider your audience,and any prior knowledge they may have on the subject. Think about what your audience would want to know, as this will help you pitch your presentation at an appropriate level, and will also help you anticipate potential questions.
Use support tools
You may find it help to support your presentation with a script, notes, cue cards or slides. These tools can go a long way towards making you feel more confident that your presentation will go well and thus reduce any nervousness. There are advantages and disadvantages to using support tools so let’s look at which of the following options is best suited to the task at hand:
- A script is usually a word-for-word account of a presentation or speech. Scripts are most typically used by politicians and keynote speakers, where every word is carefully chosen and considered vital to the speech as a whole. The benefits of using a script include:
- increased confidence
- minimal risk of forgetting a point
- precision timing
At the same time, negative factors are:
- skill and practice required to sound natural
- minimal eye contact
- you are tied to the lectern/podium
- scripts are inflexible and are difficult to change at the last moment
- Notes typically include the main headings, subheadings and a brief outline of each point to be covered. The advantages of using notes are that you can make more eye contact with the audience. Furthermore, additions or subtractions can be made at the last moment.
- Cue cards contain much less information so the chance of forgetting certain sections is much higher. However, cue cards are much more discreet so you appear to be speaking without notes. Like notes, cue cards also allow you to quickly add or subtract sections very quickly.
- Slides work very well as memory joggers and also take the direct focus of the audience away from you at certain points, which can serve to lessen nerves. However, it is vital that slides and visual aids are only ever used as supplementary aids and that the presentation could stand alone without them.
Rehearse and visualise
Once you have gathered all the information to be included in your presentation, and have decided which support tools, if any, you are going to use, it is good practice to rehearse your speech until it is largely committed to memory.Try your presentation out on a trusted colleague or a family member and get some feedback. You may also find it helpful to use a visualisation technique to reduce nerves, where you visualise yourself giving a successful speech. Try to focus on this in the lead up to the presentation itself.
Control your voice
You might be worried that the pitch of your voice is not suited to presentations, especially when you feel nervous. When someone is nervous the pitch of their voice tends to be higher. However, with practice, the tone, pitch, volume and clarity of your voice can be improved upon. To improve tone, try to relax your body and stand in a natural, upright position. Acquiring relaxed limbs can seem like an impossible task when nerves kick in, but try a few gentle head, neck and shoulder exercises before the presentation.
You can also help to warm up your vocal chords by sipping a hot drink and exercising your voice before the presentation itself. This will help produce a lower pitch as well as a deeper, warmer voice.
Your audience needs to be able to understand what you are saying, so clarity of voice is essential. To improve clarity, try relaxing your tongue before the presentation and exaggerate the movement of your lips and mouth slightly more than usual.
On the day
On the day of your presentation or meeting, make sure you arrive at the venue well in advance so that you can check out the equipment, any props, seating arrangements and technical support etc.
Make sure you are comfortable with your position for the presentation, and familiarise yourself with your surroundings. Have a glass of water available within easy reach and arrange your support tools in such a way that it will be easy for you to see and use them.
Start by welcoming your audience at the beginning of your presentation and thank them for their attention at the end. Concentrate on projecting your voice and pace yourself. Try to pause briefly between each sentence to catch your breath and compose yourself before moving on to the next point. Remember, only you know the content of your presentation. If you forget part of it, keep going and, if possible, try to subtly add the missing part later on. The audience is only likely to notice that something has been missed if you tell them so!
Do your best to maintain eye contact with your audience and resist the temptation to look at your notes. To minimise the risk of this happening, refer to your visuals and use them as a guide to what you will say. Try to avoid any distracting habits such as fiddling with your notes or jingling coins in your pocket. Try to stand with your hands by your side and use open gestures. Standing with your arms or legs crossed or with your hands clasped or behind your back can make you appear nervous.
Summary
Speaking to an audience can be a daunting prospect, so give yourself the best possible chance of success by preparing well in advance. Practising what you will say beforehand and use support tools to enhance your presentation and add interest. On the day, give yourself plenty of time to get organised before the presentation, and try to remain as relaxed as you can. Good luck!