Media Training Blog

For me, attending a keep-fit class has never really appealed.

All that flinging your limbs around in time to loud music just doesn’t do it for me. However I have now reached an age where something needs to be done, so I have joined a Pilates class!  This is all great fun for ladies of a certain age but the best bit is at the end, when we are all asked to lie down,and empty our minds of all the day to day chaos. We just focus on our breathing and relax.  Now, trying not to juggle a hundred and one things in my head for five minutes is a slightly odd sensation.  However, I think this is a great way of getting into the right state of mind for a presentation.  Just stop, breathe, and focus on the matter at hand.

To mentally prepare for your talk involves knowing your stuff first.

Read your talk and go through your slides a few times until you are so familiar with them you no longer need to look at your script. Don’t learn it word by word though as this will show.

You need to make yourself appear relatively informal in most presentations as reading from a prepared script is off-putting to the audience.  Once you know your talk well, you are ready to move ahead with your preparation.

Imagine you are giving the talk and everyone is applauding – a standing ovation if necessary. In other words, visualise your own success. One of the reasons why so many people are poor presenters is that they expect to fail. If you can see yourself being applauded, thanked and the audience smiling at you the whole time, you are much more likely to succeed. You will reduce your natural nervousness and come across as more confident.  If you expect to fail, you will appear nervous, making a negative audience reaction much more likely. You will perceive such feedback as failure, pushing your presentation into an ever downward negative spiral.

Visualising your own success is a highly valuable way of making sure you win your audience over.

One sure way of winning over your audience is to show them you care for their needs. Your planning and preparation should have already taken this into account. But when you come to the final stages of preparation you will be much more likely to succeed if you can get into your mind the kind of questions and needs the audience has. If necessary, do some more audience research at this stage until you are completely comfortable in understanding who you will be talking to. This will help you get your mind into the right position to ensuring you demonstrate care for audience needs.

Practice, then practice again.

All of the planning and preparation you have done will go to waste if you do not rehearse your presentation. No matter how small your audience you will be putting on some kind of show. Good stage performers, put in many hours of practice.  That’s why they appear polished.  Even some ‘ad libs’ are rehearsed so that they appear to be ‘ad libs’.

So without alarming too many of your colleagues, I suggest you turn your computer off, lie down, close your eyes and focus. It could reap dividends!

Sharon

P.S. If you would like some advanced level media, communications or presentations training then please get in touch www.mediafirst.co.uk

Glass half full or half empty

Are you a glass half-full or a glass half-empty kind of a person?

I am strong advocate on the power of positive thinking. Last year, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Yes I know….horrid, awful, terrifying.  But having got over the initial shock, I decided I could go one of two ways. I could either sit in a corner and feel very sorry for myself for the next six months or I could come out fighting, I could beat this and come out the other side a better person. So I decided to fight and now it’s a 18 months later and I’m doing fine. But it was the mental state of remaining positive, of still being enthusiastic about life that kept me going. We can apply this to all kinds of things. If you think positive, I can guarantee you will feel more confident and your presentation will be a breeze.

When you are asked to stand up in front of the audience, be positive and smile.  Establish eye contact with as many people as possible. Glance around the room during your talk, making eye contact with everyone. No-one should feel left out and so regular eye contact around the room will help.

Whilst talking:

• Be enthusiastic

• Vary the tone and pitch of your voice to emphasise the points you are making

• Use gestures to emphasise your points as well

In other words, be dynamic. Do not be afraid. You will come across much less dynamic than you think you are. So it’s almost impossible to go ‘over the top’.

Try to get close to the audience. Don’t hide behind a podium if possible and move towards the audience whenever you are making a key point.

Use open body language. Don’t fold your arms or droop your head. These are indications that you are uncomfortable and you will lose support from the audience.

Throughout your presentation be yourself. Don’t try to behave like someone else. Act naturally, but positively. Wherever possible, involve your audience by asking questions and seeking feedback on your progress. This will continue to demonstrate that you care for them and are seeking to address their needs, winning you even more fans!

When it’s all over – relax. You can have a drink afterwards to congratulate yourself, but never before to ‘steady your nerves’. You will actually perform much worse after alcohol, even though you will believe you are doing well! Oh and before you leave the room, get feedback on your presentation. Ask the organisers and some of the audience how they felt it went.

If you’ve been following all my other blogs you should now have the complete guide on how to do a brilliant presentation – so off you go and good luck!

Sharon

P.S. Make sure you let us know how you get on with your presentations – we’d love to hear from you.