I was walking at lunchtime last week, noticing the spring flowers appearing, when I came across a lonely daffodil. In a bunch of stalks it was the only one to be flowering, standing tall and confident.
It was saying ‘hello, I’m here, ready to take on the world’. Well, that’s what I was interpreting it as. It didn’t care it was the only one blooming. It was doing its daffodil thing, being open, bright and welcoming the spring sunshine.
How often in life are we the ones to be that daffodil? Standing front and centre making sure the world sees us. Likely not often and if you’re like me then you never want to be ‘seen’.
But if part of your job is to give presentations or talk to groups of people regularly, do you shine bright or shy away?
For some people they thrive on putting themselves out there and speaking to groups of people. But if you lack confidence or it’s just not your thing, then it’s tough to do.
Here are five things to help you succeed to stand tall and be proud when presenting to a group of people:
- Knowledge – if you have to talk or present to a group of people it can be overwhelming, however if you know your subject well and can talk freely then your confidence will grow. Sometimes the more you prepare the harder it is if you go off topic, go in a different direction or forget where you are. As long as you know what you are talking about and have the facts or stories you need then you will do great. The chances of someone having all the knowledge on a subject is slim, so take a deep breath and enjoy the experience.
- Understanding – make sure you understand three things before you begin prepping for your presentation or talk. Who the audience are, why they want the information and what level of detail do they need. If you can understand who they are then you can ensure you pitch the talk at the right level. No point going into technical details if you are talking to non technical people. To really help you get the right pitch you want to know why they want you to talk with them. What is the reason behind it? Are they learning, is it for fun ie. Lunch and learn or is it mandatory training? Thinking about the why they are there will help you. Finally, level of detail, this is important, if they only need a top level understanding then there is no need to go deep into the subject, however, if this is mandatory then what do they have to know. Make sure you cover the main points and you’ll do well.
- Audience – these people will be listening to what you have to say. So you want to keep them engaged. It might be you inject a little humour but make sure it is appropriate for the topic and the audience. No one enjoys listening to a presentation if it is just read from slides, this is where your knowledge kicks in. Keep the writing in slides to a minimum, you may not even use them and just be talking. Some of the best talks I’ve seen are ones where the person walks and talks and doesn’t seem like they are even noticing the slides or don’t even use them. Use them as prompts, if you get too caught up in covering each point, this is where your will likely trip up, particularly if you lose your place. Remember, we all make mistakes so don’t make a big deal of it, laugh it off and move on.
- Help – whilst you are prepping, be sure to seek the help of people who either know more than you, know the audience or will be in the audience. Just because you may be the expert, it doesn’t hurt to do a check in with a participant to get their feedback. After all, they will be in the audience, so use them to ask a question or two if you like.
- Breathe – don’t forget to do this. You may wish to take a few moments before you start, breath slowly and deeply. When you practice, make sure you pause every so often to let your breath catch up. We often speak super fast when nervous, so take a breather, stop and take a drink. There will be a point where you slow down and naturally become more at ease. Then you will relax into it and it’ll feel natural.
Giving a talk or presentation can be tricky if you are not used to it or are not keen on having all eyes on you. However, take your time and follow the above points and you will smash it. You will become the confident daffodil standing on its own shining bright.
Relax and enjoy the experience as it’ll go quicker than you think.
Have a great week, thank you for reading. Look after you.
Love Emma xx
Wellbeing with Relaxing Lavender 