Presentation Anxiety - Game Plan

Presentations are my thing - I enjoy putting the content together, delivering it in front of an audience and getting an appreciative applause at the end of it with enthusiastic participation in between.
However in a presentation in May 2013, I paired with a colleague where I had to take over the second part of the presentation. I had been fairly quiet throughout the first part of the presentation and when it was my turn to take the presentation forward, I found that I had to draw my energies from a minus to a base level before I could soar forward. When this delay in energy happens then it takes some sheen off the first few minutes which I believe are crucial for a speaker to make an impact and capture the audience's attention for the rest of the presentation.

Image courtesy: www.publicspeakingexpert.co.uk

Luckily there are numerous techniques at the disposal of a speaker which can be used to be manage a presentation delivery and here are a few tips from a ToastMasters Podcast.
For my situation which needed a quick bootup to high energy - a warm up is suggested. Just like a sprinter stretches before a race and a singer practices scales before a song, a speaker too needs to practice. Read your lines out loud as a method of preparation.
Here are some other techniques as heard on the podcast. Each of the following techniques need to be chosen and adapted to what works for you.

To handle blanking out
1) Put a structure around the presentation; for example Problem-Solution-Benefits, so if you were to blank out at the middle of the solution then you know you have delivered the problem, and benefits are yet to come so you are somewhere in the solution part.
2) Back up and recall; this practice enables you to reset and therefore restart. Just like one asks "where was i" when a train of thought derails and a recall of the last thought puts you back on track.

To keep the tempo throughout
1) Chunking; while practicing your presentation, chunk your content and practice in different orders and not in the order of presentation - so that when you actually present you can start fresh when you move through different chunks

To handle anxiety attacks
1) Holding cold water - Before you get start with the presentation, bring your body temperature down similar  to a cold patch bringing a fever down
2) Breathe - Inhale, exhale slowly and deep to bring your heart beat back into control
3) Pushups - or some other physical exercise to enable that nervous energy to find an outlet
4) Toe squeeze - while presenting you could squeeze your toes out of sight from the audience but getting yourself back in control

To handle ém hands
Let your hands relax at the side when you have said something and are waiting for the audience to complete their reaction. Use your hands to add gestures that supplement the content. Keep your hands at the level of your belly button so focus is on your face and hands

As we grow in our careers, making presentations effectively is a necessary skill, so having a game plan to acquire and enhance this skill is imperative. This post is a quick reference for me to build on my presentation skills, I hope you find it useful too. Do share your tried and tested techniques for effective presenting.
Happy Presenting!

Credits: 
ToastMasters Podcast
http://www.nofreakingspeaking.com/
http://www.boldecho.com/
http://www.toastmasters.org/MattAbrahamsHandout

Parable of Sufficiency

A parable that I heard on the PersonalMBA by Josh Kaufman goes something like this: 

An executive was on a holiday and one morning he was standing at the pier in a fishing village when he watched a fisherman dock his boat and haul his catch for the day - one large fish - to the market. He spoke to the fisherman and asked him if that was his catch for the day; to which the fisherman replied in  the positive. Ok, said the executive and continued to ask the fisherman why he didn’t get more fish. The fisherman replied that this catch brought him enough resources to take care of his loved ones. Oh! Exclaimed the executive, so what do you do for the rest of the day asked the executive to the fisherman. To which the fisherman replied, I go home play with my kids, have a siesta with my wife, go to the town in the evening, meet my friends and play on my guitar. The executive was obviously uncomfortable with the fisherman's response. The executive continued - let me help you he said - I am a Harvard grad and a successful executive in a promising firm. As a fisherman you could increase your earnings by spending more time out at sea, and hauling in a bigger catch to fetch more money. And what then, asked the fisherman and the executive replied - why you can invest in a bigger boat, probably hire some hands and bring in more fish to make more money and grow to be a very rich man. And what then asked the fisherman - well after that said the executive, you can go home and play with your kids, have a siesta with your wife, go to the town in the evening, meet your friends and play on your guitar. As the executive completed his sentence he saw the puzzled look on the fisherman's face.

And so it follows that the executive went back, resigned his job, and opted for a better lifestyle - i suppose.

The PersonalMBA uses this parable to discuss setting revenue targets for a firm. 

However this parable resonates with me as I rush through the day, moving from task to task, accomplishing my work demands and reserving little energy for pursuits of the soul. I'm definitely not for staying away from contributing to the GDP - I derive great pleasure and fulfillment from my job, but this parable makes me think about how much of my limited time and energy do I invest into my professional growth so that I can go home to have fun with my family, friends, and hobbies; or simply sit back and relax with a cup of tea. The balancing act continues.

Grit - from 9 Things Successful People Do Differently

Image courtesy: Amazon.com

Getting Gritty - to persist in the face of discouragement and failure, is my #1 lesson from the 9 Things Successful People Do Differently by Heidi Halvorson.

Many a time, I find that had I persisted a little longer, I may have got what I was striving for. This trait is a difficult one to build - how would you know that what you want is just a little further away. It calls for faith in one's abilities and perseverance.

Sometimes there comes along a friend who or an article that rubbishes the value of the pursuit that you have been engaged in. Self-doubt then seeps in and it takes conviction to look beyond a subjective opinion. To find facts that support the value in your pursuit and carry on.

Then there is downright failure or even worse is the fear of failure. What then? Lord Krishna's advice from the Gita - To do your duty to your very best without expecting rewards, should keep you focused on working towards your goal. And if you have failed - then get up and move on, failure is a stepping stone to success, don't give up just yet.

I finished the book as an Audible, it a quick listen - all completed in a day's commute. I would recommend you read this one.

See the author's post here. http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/02/nine_things_successful_people.html

The 9 Things from the Blog:


1. Get specific.

2. Seize the moment to act on your goals.

3. Know exactly how far you have left to go.

4. Be a realistic optimist.

5. Focus on getting better, rather than being good.

6. Have grit.

7. Build your willpower muscle.

8. Don't tempt fate.

9. Focus on what you will do, not what you won't do.