“Presenting with Confidence: How Expat Professionals Can Stay on Track and stay focused with the right Preparation and a Positive Mindset”
Many participants in my courses have the experience that when they present, they tend to deviate from their plan or lose track.
They meander to parts that are maybe linked to their idea or subject somehow or other, but nevertheless was not at all their intention. It keeps them from obtaining their presentation goals, time and again.
How to make sure, like on a chart, you keep track and take the necessary steps to arrive together (you and your audience) from A to B? Instead of metaphorically ending up somewhere on a cold mountain ridge all by yourself?
There are 2 things you CAN do to make sure you keep track when the time has come to present. Both, practical (during preparation) and from a mindset perspective.
Let’s start with the practical tips during your preparation.
- Do not dive into your slide software immediately. First craft your story!
Nancy Duarte, says:“When you’re creating a presentation it’s going to be really tempting to dive right into the slide software but that software forces you to think about your content linearly and in small chunks. Instead hammer out what you want to say and then think about the visuals that you need to support it. That way you’re going to craft your whole message instead of little bitty slide parts.”
Needless to say, it will be so much easier to remember your story when your starting point has been to craft your story FIRST. Instead of getting lost into the little bitty slide parts, that will disintegrate your story and thereby make it hard to keep track when you present.
“Reverse the order, first story, then slides to support your story.”
- Practice your presentation out loud! While doing this, you will lay a track in your memory. You already did it several times. You know you have the right terminology and words at your fingertips, you know you can flexibly talk about it. Tell the essence in own words.You will not only create your own elephant path, easy to follow when presenting, because it has already been“eroded”. Beside, this it will also help you to calm your nerves, make it easier to connect with your audience while presenting and make you a more convincing presenter. So, we have a WIN< WIN< WIN<WIN situation going on here ;-).
“It is almost impossible to lose track, when you have created your own elephants’ path by practicing out loud”.
Then, choose a helpful mindset
- Think of a mindset that will keep you in the “here and now” when you present.
Because nerves can distract you as well as reactions from the audience, it might help to embrace a mindset that will keep you in the “here and now”, or balanced, when you present. So, you will remain on track.
Kamala Harris, does this by embracing the words, “it is not about you.” By saying this to herself before presenting, she can focus on the story, instead of being preoccupied with what the audience might think of her.
It keeps her from being over conscious about herself. She knows that this, will distract her from her story.
Or maybe you say to yourself, “I am well prepared, now I let go” to keep you in the here and now.
Or “it does not have to be perfect. Doing my best is enough.”
In my experience, the combination of both the practical and mindset often make the difference.
Good luck!
- Want to learn other ways to keep track, when you do not have a lot of time to prepare or practice out loud?
- Want to learn what YOU need to boost your skill?
- Want to receive tools that make it so much easier and more fun to present?
Then apply for the open training “Presentation Skills for Expat and Dutch Professionals” Friday 30th of June in Amsterdam.
https://presentingwithimpact.nl/english-presentation-skills/