Reduce Nervousness Just before You Go on Stage

This is episode two of our 12-week series on how to win shortlist presentations or other types of group sales presentations. Last week, I explained what these presentations were and how I first got exposed to them. Just as a review, a Shortlist Presentation or Shortlist Interview is a very high-level sales presentation. Companies will often submit a proposal to a potential customer or client. The potential customer or client will weed through all of the proposals to create what they call a "shortlist." Then, the remaining companies will often each get a shot to come in and pitch themselves to the customer. We talked about how this type of presentation can be nerve-racking even if you are a confident speaker.This week, I briefly overview the five of the biggest secrets I've discovered about these high-level sales presentations. These secrets are the things that have allowed us to win over 80% of the interviews that teams that I have coached have been on. Next week, I'll give you ten things you can do when you are preparing or delivering these presentations that will help you keep calm and poised. So we have a lot of ground to cover!

This week, we start a new series on how to win Shortlist Presentations or Shortlist Interviews. Basically, this is a very high level sales presentation. Companies will often submit a proposal to a potential customer or client. The potential customer or client will weed through all of the proposals to create what they call a "shortlist." Then, the remaining companies will often each get a shot to come in and pitch themselves to the customer. If you think about it, this type of presentation has a number of very unique challenges. First, the stakes are really high. Some of these projects may be worth millions of dollars. So if the team does well, they may close a really big contract. And if they do poorly, they get excluded from that same contract. So, even if you are a confident speaker, this type of presentation can be nerve-racking.The next big challenge is that most of the presenters who deliver these presentations are technical experts -- they are NOT skilled presenters or salespeople. For instance, if the project is a building project, the presenters are often mechanical engineers, architects, or construction superintendents. Or if the project is a technical project, the presenters may be engineers or people who write and edit code for a living. Many of these presenters have never delivered any type of business presentation before. And this first one has a ton of pressure.On this episode, I tell about how, over the last 20 years, I and my team accidentally became experts at this unique type of presentation. Then, in the next few weeks, I'm going to reveal a few secrets that will make this type of presentation much easier. I'll show you have to reduce the nervousness and tension. We'll also show you how to master Q&A sessions and be more persuasive. Then, in the final sessions, I'll show you step-by-step how to design a really good shortlist presentation that will make the audience want to hire your team.

One of the real fears that many speakers have is that they don't feel like they are an "expert" on the topic. It actually leads to what some people call imposter syndrome.In this episode, I'm going to help you reduce that anxiety. Especially in the business world, if you are the person speaking, then, most likely, it is because you know more about the topic than anyone else in the room.Great speakers are great speakers because they are world leaders in everything. They are great speakers because they have found ways to give critical information to their audiences in ways that the audience members can easily retain that information.Guess what?You can too. 

This is part four of a four-part series on how to make your presentations more interesting. So far, we spent the first couple of weeks cover my seven "impact ideas" which are fun things to add into presentations to jazz them up. Last week, we cover audience participation. In that episode I covered a few mistakes that presenters make when they try to get the audience to interact as well as my best secrets to get the audience to open up in a positive way. This week, I cover what I call the "Secret Sauce" to a great presentation -- Analogies, Similes, and Metaphors. When you insert this small parts of speech into your presentations, they add flavor and fun. And the more technical your presentation, the more important these things are.They can make even the most difficult and technical speech easier for the audience to understand.

This is part three of a four-part series on how to make your presentations more interesting. This week, we cover audience participation -- how to get your audience to help you deliver your presentation. When you do audience participation well, you can really elevate your presentations!In the last couple of weeks, I mentioned that there are two major components of a fantastic speech. First, you have to have good content that the audience wants or needs to hear. And second -- and this is the part that many presenters overlook -- you have to have entertainment value in your presentation.You can have great content, but if your content is boring, no one will really hear you. So far in the series, we covered seven "impact ideas" that you can use to spice up your presentation.Each of these seven presentation impact ideas can be used strategically through different types of presentations to build credibility and make your content more fun and entertaining.This week, though, we are going to spend some time on audience participation. If you are delivering a persuasive speech to a smaller group, this addition to your presentation is like gold. In fact, presenters who get really good at audience participation can actually get their audience to prove to them what they are trying to prove to the audience.Keep in mind that this is a very high-level type of addition to your presentation. I go into some depth with this one, because it has a high propensity to backfire on the presenter. So, if you are new to presenting, this might be a tip that you hold off implementing until you get some practice. But for those of you who want to elevate your presentation, this is one of those skills that separates the amateur presenter from the more elite presenter.

This is part two of a four-part series on how to make your presentations more interesting. If you recall, last week, I mentioned that there are two major components of a fantastic speech. First, you have to have good content that the audience wants or needs to hear. And second -- and this is the part that many presenters overlook -- you have to have entertainment value in your presentation.You can have great content, but if your content is boring, no one will really hear you. So, last week, we covered a few "impact ideas" that you can use to spice up your presentation.This week, I show you a few simple ideas about how to build credibility by name dropping -- no it probably isn't what you think. I will also show you how to use non-PowerPoint visual aids. And finally, we'll get you to add a little showmanship to your presentations.Then, in the next couple of weeks, I'll cover audience participation and analogies. These final two impact ideas are really important if you want to be a great presenter.

We've spent the last few months covering ways to reduce nervousness and the last couple of weeks uncovering a few low-risk venues to practice presenting. For the next few weeks, I'm going to show you how to make your presentations more fun and interesting.There are two major components of a fantastic speech. First, you have to have good content that the audience wants or needs to hear. Second- and this is the part that many presenters overlook- you have to have entertainment value in your presentation.You can have great content, but if your content is boring, no one will really hear you. So, for the next few weeks, I'm going to give you some of my top ways to make your presentations more interesting.

This is part two of a two-part series about low-risk venues where you can practice public speaking. In the introduction last week, I mentioned that the absolute best place to practice public speaking is in a public speaking class with a great coach. A good public speaking class is a controlled environment, so the risk is very low. However, over the years, I've come across a bunch of other low-risk venues to practice public speaking. Last week, I covered a number of low-risk virtual venues where you can practice speaking in front of a group. Virtual venues can be great for fine-tuning your message and learning to be concise. And, in most cases, you can practice and get your message perfect before unveiling it to the public.This week, I give you some of the best low-risk venues to practice in front of a live audience. The live audience is crucial for gaining public speaking confidence because most of your confidence will come from seeing that positive visual feedback from the audience. When you communicate well, your audience will give you positive expressions. Those little nods when they agree with you and smiles when you make them laugh are critical to overcoming public speaking fear.

One of the most common questions that I get as a public speaking coach is, "Where can I go to practice speaking?" It is usually a good idea to practice your presentation skills somewhere that is more low risk than in front of a big client, or your boss, or the board of directors.Obviously, I'm pretty biased, but with good reason. I believe that the absolute best place to practice public speaking is in a public speaking class with a great coach. A good public speaking class is a controlled environment, so the risk is very low. Also, you get practice presenting in front of real people. That is an important part of the learning process.However, over the years, I've come across a bunch of low-risk venues to practice public speaking. So, over the next couple of episodes, I'll give you this list.That way, you'll have a bunch of different options to choose from. Pick the one or two venues that you feel will give you the best practice.

We just finished a series on public speaking fear and how to reduce nervousness during a speech. This week, I discuss how to better prepare for your presentation.For most people, the absolute most nervous part of the speech -- the place where they feel the most uncomfortable -- is right as they step foot in front of the audience.That nervousness builds to a crescendo up to that point. So, in this episode, I give my favorite tips for reducing presentation jitters from that day to a few minutes before you take the stage.