Today I attended a sales & marketing Superconference in my home town of Melbourne – with a wealth of inspiring speakers and presenters from all over the world.
During one of the breaks in a small circle of peers, a developing speaker asked me: “What tips can you give me, I don’t get up much on stage, that would help me the most in making a powerful presentation?”
I felt moved to answer, “If there’s one thing you could shift to enhance the impact and effectiveness of your presentations, I’d suggest you identify and embody the 3 keywords that match your underlying essence before you say a word up there – the words that represent your compelling presence and message that draws people to you.
So far, in the way you’ve reached out to connect with everyone in this little circle, your whole approach to us, for instance, has been HEARTWARMING, ENGAGING & INQUISITIVE.
If you can say the words “I am heartwarming, engaging and inquisitive” – and match the Verbal words with Voice tone and Visual gestures that match what you’re saying, you’ll find that your outer words of your presentation flow more fluidly as you practice “getting into the zone in this way.”
If I were to work with you further on this, I’d have you practice the new self-talk / mission statement of “I am heartwarming, engaging and inquisitive” by shouting it, whispering it, singing it, speaking in gibberish, having your gestures alone ‘say” it with no spoken words – and through this practice of practicing it through as many senses as possible, you’ll encode this new default program into your muscle memory. And it will become more compelling than the old litany of self-criticism and being in your own way, so you will return to the new self-talk more and more often, and people will be drawn to whatever you have to say. Even your words will flow more easily as you come from this place of authentic presence.”
More related info on this, including more encouraging practices to develop self-confidence on stage, can be found in the blog section of www.mypresentationdoctor.com