You may be wondering, “What’s up with the image for this blog post? Star Wars lover he must be.” Nope, that’s not it. Nancy Duarte, a marketing and communications expert and owner of the Silicon Valley design firm Duarte, Inc., reminds us to “Be Yoda” when we are speaking. You’re the one that’s imparting wisdom and knowledge to “Luke,” or in this case, your audience, to help them perform, react, or live better. You’re helping them take away nuggets of valuable knowledge and put them to use. As you share what you’ve prepared, model for the audience how you want them to feel…excited, concerned, proactive, etc.

Kayla Barrett’s (President/CEO of Organization Impact) mantra is short and to the point: “Prepare, Practice, Present!” This pretty much sums up everything I’ve covered in this series. But what else can you do to calm your nerves and boost your confidence as the time draws near to deliver your wonderful speech? 

As we touched on a few weeks ago, remember to imagine success! Never undertake anything you want to accomplish thinking about defeat. Have the attitude of “It’s easily in my power to deliver a compelling, persuasive, effective talk. I will succeed!” Believe this firmly, then do what’s necessary to bring about success.

Have you ever heard the expression, “Fake it till you make it”? Well, when you’re developing your presentation prowess, it’s definitely the time for this approach. Usually the best way to start feeling courage or confidence when you don’t have it is to act like you do until it is part of you. Also, the more presentations you do, the more the fear of the unknown will dissipate. You’ll know how to give a great speech, what works and what doesn’t, and will feel like more of an expert. This will lend to your confidence as well.

What do self-confidence and the ability to talk more effectively mean to you? Ponder what you feel is the answer to that question for you as you near the date of your presentation.

Remember that you are more qualified than any member of the audience to give this talk, and that you’re going to do your best to get the ideas across. You have EARNED the right to speak from experience and study. And you’ve put a lot of time into preparing this talk.

Before you go up to begin, keep your attention off yourself. I’ve never thought of this…it’s so simple but makes such sense. Swimming in your own pool of anxiety is not going to help you give a great presentation. Get your focus off yourself, and remember you are there to help your listeners. Visualize them as eager to hear what you have to say.

For some, a pretend state of mind can help. Expert speaker and creator of the famous course on public speaking Dale Carnegie recommends this: Imagine that everyone in attendance is there to petition you for an extension of credit.

Finally, know that once your speech is underway and you’re at ease with the audience, you’re not likely to hold yourself back when it comes to the normal, everyday expression of your opinions. From this point on it will be easier to express your ideas and talk naturally with the group—like you’re presenting to a bunch of folks you know and are comfortable being around.

I hope this series has been helpful to all of you who have speeches as part of your work. What have you done that’s helped ease tension before a presentation?

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