Picture it. You are minutes away from your presentation, and you aren’t sure what to do with yourself. Sure, everybody, even the most seasoned professionals, feel their pulse beginning to race before it’s time to present. It’s completely normal to be nervous. In fact, not being nervous would be abnormal. Whether you’re presenting in front of just a few people or a packed room, you’ll certainly start to feel your adrenaline going.
This adrenaline surge can be a good thing. Take this boost of energy and channel into a great performance. In addition to letting your adrenaline help you instead of panic you, there are several best practices you can do in the countdown to your moment.
This tip is taken from the world of athletics, which has long found that positive self-talk results in better performance on the field. In the 15 to 20 minutes before your presentation, reassure yourself with confident language about your capabilities and expertise.
These could be some of the same things you might say to yourself during affirmations. Just keep it positive. Don’t let your mind start spinning into negativity or doubt.
The last thing you need is to encounter technical difficulties. So, whether you have a PRO AV set-up at an event or are meeting with clients virtually, you need to make sure that all attendees can see your presentation and hear you clearly. Test everything out at least half an hour before it’s time to go.
With your adrenaline pumping, your breathing may be accelerated. Slow it down. Take deep breaths, taking the time to inhale and exhale. This calms you and will help you pace yourself when it’s time to talk.
Visualizing what you expect to happen can be very powerful. If you see yourself in front of the crowd delivering your introduction as you hope it will go, then you have an expectation. You’ve probably worked on your presentation many times, but now that you are minutes away, you can really envision what it will be like.
That probably doesn’t sound too tasty, however, room temperature water with lemon is a good thing to sip as it alleviates dry mouth and helps clear the throat. You should actually avoid cold water. Make sure that water is within reach during the presentation as well.
No need to go into full yoga pose but doing some light stretching will help loosen you up especially if you’ll be standing during the presentation. Keeping active rids the body of excess nervous energy and sends oxygen to the brain.
Go ahead and stand up. Even if you don’t have to stand throughout the presentation, this gets blood flowing and can give you a boost of energy.
Knowing that your presentation will be helpful to your audience takes some stress off. When it’s not about you selling yourself to them, you can focus on their needs instead of yourself. It’s about the subject at hand and what your audience should know about it.
This is the simplest thing you can do before and during your presentation. Smiling is comforting to those that see it and those that do it. Smiling relaxes the body and emits endorphins in the brain to calm.
You don’t have to dread presenting. With these tips, you can work yourself into a serene mood where you’re totally in control. And what’s the best thing you can have to support your presentation? A kick-ass presentation that has great design and clear message.
Don’t leave your presentations until the last minute and have that added stress on top of the actual presenting. Instead work with a professional presentation design team like KO/AD. From data visualizations to catchy copy to custom fonts, you’ll find everything you need for presentations that connect.
Get in touch today to learn more about our presentation solutions.
Ask questions. Get a quote. You know what to do.
