Why is it that so many people are terrified at the thought of public speaking? According to Glen Croston, PhD, at a fundamental level, ‘when faced with standing up in front of a group….we are afraid of being rejected. The fear is so great because we are not merely afraid of being embarrassed, or judged; we are afraid of being rejected from the social group, ostracized, and left to defend ourselves all on our own.’
While this primal fear is rarely borne out in reality, that doesn’t always prevent the feelings of anxiety you may experience before you deliver a presentation, when your heart is in your mouth, your mouth is dry and your heart is pounding.
So what can you do to reduce those feelings? Writer and presenter Viv Groskop shares much valuable advice in her book ‘How to Own the Room.’
Specific tips I picked up:
1. Make yourself feel comfortable.
Viv describes the optimal state for delivering a presentation as ‘happy high status.’ Imagine yourself at your best; relaxed and comfortable in your own skin. You transmit energy and attract people to you. You are able to focus your interest on others, taking yourself lightly and putting others at ease. In this state you will transmit energy, trust, enthusiasm and humour. You are likely to feel comfortable with taking a risk and unconcerned about failing.
The trick of achieving this state is to focus on your audience and their needs, not on you and how you’re feeling. There will be times where you have experienced ‘happy high status.’ Make a note of these. These can be helpful to recall before giving a presentation.
2. Presence
Presence, which Viv describes as different to happy high status, and something good speakers seem to ooze, is more about openness, being in and enjoying the moment- quite literally being ‘present.’ You can change your physical state before giving a presentation by channelling social psychologist Amy Cuddy’s Power Poses . By adopting one of the poses Amy demonstrates in her much-watched TED talk, you can genuinely boost your confidence and achieve a degree of presence. I have found this genuinely helpful when I’ve tried it.
3. Slow down
To get through the ‘ordeal’ of presenting, you may have a tendency to rush through your content to get it over and done with. To check your presentation for speed, record and watch it back. Presentations call for slower delivery- slower than will feel natural or comfortable. However, by speaking too quickly, you risk losing your audience. Your talk also requires pauses in order that your audience can absorb key points. Pauses add gravitas and demonstrate respect to your audience.
Tip: According to RADA, the speaking rate for presenting is c190 words per minute.
Remember: you deserve to be in the room. Act as if your opinions matter. Be excited about sharing what you know with others. Excitement is infectious. Smile a lot – and focus on the audience, not on you.
In real life, the majority of speeches are not ‘I Have a Dream’ moments, designed to shift the fabric of the universe. They are off-the-cuff, unprepared remarks given by someone in a position of authority to impart information, to say thank you or provide some low-level inspiration to get us through another day at work.
Viv Groskop
See also my previous post on presentations for additional tips.
Very interesting article. Applying Amy Cuddy’s power poses to the interview situation gives candidates an invisible cloak of confidence and naturalness. They are “bringing their true selves” and “being in the moment” in a way that positively influences the interviewer in their favour.
Indeed they do Mike- I’ve tried them myself and they work! I reference them in a couple of my posts including this one: https://thecareercatalyst.co.uk/3-ways-to-reduce-your-presentation-anxieties/
Yes, I see you’ve got some NLP in there too. This would be a fascinating subject for further research – the degree to which this form of psychological preparation pre-interview can really swing the interviewer in your favour. I have some research on interview anxiety I can share with you too.
Thanks Mike- that sounds interesting!