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Conducting presentations is one big mind-game. I believe it is the mind-games that presenting plays on us that makes presenting the number one fear in America in study after study. Just google “America’s #1 fear” to see my point. I therefore believe that the mindset of the presenter is what will determine the success or failure of a seminar presentation.
So, allow me to address different areas of “mindset” that are of huge importance.
Preparation: Practice How You Play
To me, preparation is rehearsing. A lot of people have this backwards—they spend more time on the PowerPoint slides than the rehearsing. Rehearsing out loud is crucial. I stress out loud because even though the words and the flow may sound smooth while rehearsing silently, it can be a night and day difference when the words are actually coming out of your mouth. Your brain works at a much different pace than your vocal cords and your tongue. By rehearsing (out loud) to the point where you have done one full presentation to yourself that flowed well, had the right pauses, right energy, right content, etc., you will knock it out of the park.
Embrace the Butterflies
Many people view being nervous before presentations as a bad thing. I believe that being nervous can have a positive impact on a presentation. As a matter of fact, the positive effect of being nervous is a chemical and biological fact, not something I am speaking about theoretically. Our maker has given us something called adrenaline, which is a blessing!
As you are walking up on stage the number one thing you should have in your mind is almost a verbatim “script” of the first couple of sentences of your talk. Once you have successfully articulated those first couple of sentences, your nervousness will have gone down significantly and your preparation/training will then kick in. Furthermore, after the first couple of sentences, that very important first impression mentioned earlier would have already been formed in the minds of the audience. The opening determines everything! Embrace the butterflies!
Confidence
I believe the core mindset variable that determines your success or failure in this mind-game of presenting is confidence. If you come across as confident to the audience (even if you aren’t confident), your audience will feel this confidence and reflect positive body language back to you which in turn creates confidence in your own mind. Now, if for whatever reason you do not feel confident, the term “fake it till you make it” has some truth here because of that self-fulfilling prophecy.
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This material is intended for educational purposes only. For financial professional use only. Not to be used for consumer solicitation purposes.
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