Yesterday’s post talked about preparing for your big presentation. That is the easy part though isn’t it? The hard part (for many people) is actually delivering the presentation. Getting up in front of everyone and being the center of attention isn’t easy and creates a lot of anxiety for people. There is a lot of pressure to do well and no one wants to face the possibility of failure. Many people will do whatever they can to avoid speaking in front of audiences because they are so afraid of rejection and failure.
What if you changed the way that you thought about giving this presentation? The things that you have to say are important, but no one will know if you can’t share them, right? Check out this TED Talk called How to Perform During Life’s High Stake Moments by Michael and Amy Port.
Some of my takeaways from watching this talk were:
- How to be authentic and perform in everyday manufactured environments like interviews and presentations because “all the world’s a stage.”
- How to consciously choose your objectives and think about how you want people to feel during the process
- The killer of a great performance is playing it safe, because you are so concerned about what others think.
- When you are a great everyday performer you are focused on what you want to create vs what others think
- You will build your confidence by being more open and performing to allow your strength to come out and share your unique voice
- When you prevent yourself from speaking to protect yourself from being hurt you are actually silencing your voice and your dreams
Thinking about how to use an opportunity like presenting or giving a speech as a performance is a mindset shift. Imagining how you want the audience to feel and what big outcome you want for them takes the focus off of you and puts you into a place where you can create that for them. They need to hear what you have to share, so focus on the message you are sharing and perform it in your own authentic way.