Presentations: Shoot the bullets
These's few better platforms for telling stories than the Christmas table. As families and friends gather together and catch up, the stories fly in a very entertaining way. It's not long before you are in the act and telling a funny story about work.
You're comfortable ... even relaxed. But who would have thought that you were the same person who froze at a similar table just the week before? The table was a boardroom table and the seats were occupied by colleagues. In the centre of the table was a faceless speakerphone rather than food and drink. When it was your turn to speak your brain locked up and the words that did come out were like a seemingly unconnected avalanche.
Like most people, the mere thought of standing in front of an audience (of one or 1,000) to give a presentation will give you sweaty palms and a very fast pulse ... at the very least. It doesn't matter what the subject is, the idea of performing in front of others is enough to cause an anxiety attack.
There is no question that the ability to make presentations is a great enhancement to your job performance. But it is still one of the least practiced forms of business communication. When taking the first steps to try to master the art (it's really 80 percent science) some well-meaning person will tell you to imagine your audience in their underwear. It doesn't work too well to imagine your family in their underwear at the Christmas table, so it's unlikely to work for your business audience either.
The true determining factor in delivering a calm, cool and collected presentation is not how comfortable you are with your audience, but how comfortable are you with your subject matter. When you're telling the story at the Christmas table, you are very comfortable with what you are trying to say. You've probably already told the story a few times before. You know all the twists and turns of the story and you can picture it as it unfolds in your mind.
So what was different in the boardroom? You concentrate on getting all the words just right, making sure that you don't miss a single bullet point, while at the same time your mind is running on overdrive trying to imagine the reactions of the listener on the other end of the speakerphone.
In short, you've crowded out all the room for your content to seamlessly intertwine with your subject matter. You've thought in words rather than in pictures.
The easiest way to become quickly competent at presentations ... even to be memorable ... is to kill the bullet points and wrap your message into a story. Go over that story in your mind ... play the story in your mind just as you would watch a movie.
Your story does not need to be funny or dramatic. Humour can be dangerous. But certainly the more engaging your story, the more engaged your audience will be. However your story must feel right to you, not what you think your audience will like. Finding a story that you enjoy telling is the key to sharing it with ease.
As you grow comfortable with your story, you will find yourself letting go of all the bullet points that make you freeze. Your story will play in your mind and your words will accompany them with ease. With the right story, you will be able to confidently and comfortably communicate with any audience.