How often do you deliver presentations at work? This is a trick question.
The answer: all day!
Whether you are at the office delivering the quarterly numbers, calling a prospect, sitting across the table in a heated negotiation, or networking at a Business After Hours, you are giving a presentation.
Have you ever thought about presentations this way? We are trying to persuade people to buy, learn from, or foster relationships with us every day. Our ability to connect with our fellow team members, colleagues, or prospects is crucial to building that trust, respect, and credibility.
Research shows that the fear of Public Speaking (a.k.a. Glossophobia) is a fear that tops almost every list. This phobia is growing with our younger generation who would prefer to text one-word answers than speak face to face.
Too often we hold ourselves back from getting on the stage because we are in fear of being judged.
What if I introduce you to another perspective on Public Speaking? As with many fears, once you gain more knowledge or change your outlook, that emotion shifts and propels you to take action.
I want you to overcome your fear and this is a proven strategy to do it.
I was a recent guest on Alliance of Channel Women’s Webinar series. The topic was: Amplify Your Voice – Unleashing Speaking Opportunities. Kathryn Rose, Founder of channelWise and my wonderful Moderator, and I had a lively discussion on specific strategies to implement to shape your Personal Brand using Public Speaking.
Public Speaking is a powerful tool that builds credibility, relationships, and lead lists. We discussed so many strategies, including My 3 P’s. I use this strategy with my Coaching clients and my own businesses too.
Webinar attendee Marissa Marsicano, Business Development Manager, DAS/Mobility, shared this feedback with me via LinkedIn:
“Your talk was fantastic! My biggest take-away would have to be getting rid of the fear of public speaking, regardless of the venue. I love the whole — think of the audience versus myself, prepare, practice, present. It’s simple but I find myself and others making it a lot more complicated than that and missing the whole point of why they are there.”
Yes Marissa! Think about each encounter with a colleague as a Public Speaking opportunity. Next, know that someone in your audience needs and wants to hear your message.
Now that you are in the right frame-of-mind, implement My 3 P’s to shine on stage.
- Prepare – Many of us flounder when put on the spot. So don’t “wing-it.” Pull together all the necessary information for the talk. Research your audience’s needs and the message you want to share. Organize your content into slides or talking points, whichever is right for you and the audience. Note: Be sure you don’t overdo it with text on the slides! Your slides should be used as a guide for your discussion, not to be read from.
- Practice – I can’t stress this enough. Practice delivering your presentation in front of a comfortable audience, such as your family, pets or friends. Get comfortable with your content and delivery style. Write down answers to questions audience members may ask. Have a “Plan B” for how you will pivot if the technology glitches or any other unexpected issues arise. I’ve seen too many speakers stress out mid-workshop because they did not prepare for the “what-if” scenarios.
- Present – You’ve prepared your content and various scenarios of how the workshop will go. You’ve practiced delivering your presentation, responding to possible audience questions, tested the tech, now get up on that stage and engage your audience! You have so much valuable knowledge to share.
If you have an upcoming workshop or simply a message to share with your target audience, I am happy to help! Message me and let’s start the conversation.
Here is one more wonderful testimonial I received after my Alliance of Channel Women talk from Hannah Pryfogle, Director of Channel Development at Pax8:
“Your discussion was super beneficial. I loved the advice on how to best structure an abstract for a speaker proposal, that’s something I struggle with the most. I found the session to include tangible, unique advice that I haven’t heard elsewhere. Insightful stuff!”
Don’t be the best-kept secret.
Lisa has been in Sales and Marketing for over 25 years. She focuses on building and developing Personal and Corporate Brands for IT and other businesses to be “polished and prepared” to handle any situation to maintain leadership credibility.
To read this article on LinkedIn, click here.