Get a grip! We’ve all heard that before. The phrase reflects the fact that our expression “self-control” finds its roots in a Greek word that means – loosely – to take hold of. Get a handle on your attention and follow along with the rest of this article if you want to learn how to take command of your space at the front of the room.
The difference between being a great, calm, confident public speaker and a shambling wreck is largely a matter of self-control. You have choices to make everyday. What’s for breakfast? Should I ask her out? Can I spend this money? Should I take the long way home? As a public speaker you also have choices to make. The biggest decision facing you isn’t the number of slides you’ll use or your font size. The real decision you need to make is whether or not you are going to totally freak out when you find yourself at the front of the room.
Your hardest challenge when it comes to your PowerPoint presentation is managing your anxiety. That is the difference between coming off as a joker or a Jedi when you are speaking in public. If you really want to feel the Force, you have to dedicate yourself to developing your own comfort-level in your own skin. This will take discipline and dedication, and with these five tips, you’ll be a master in no time.
Keep Cool
Remember, you’re not going to freak out! You’re going to take a deep breath and you are going to own the room. Just like Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction, you are going to be like Fonzie. You’re going to be cool.
Mirror Mirror
One of the best ways to discover your assets – and liabilities – when it comes to delivery, is to watch yourself in a mirror, you can even tape your pitch and play it back. This kind of self-criticism will reveal that you do weird things with your hands when you start your speech. You also just said “ummm” 430 times in 15 minutes. Be willing to take a long hard look at yourself and you’ll soon find that you are the smoothest presenter of them all.
Round Up your Posse
Of course, there is a limit to the good you can do yourself as your own critic. Run through your PowerPoint presentation with your friends, your colleagues, your husband, your dog. Anyone willing to sit still and listen can provide you with invaluable insights.
Practice Your Stance Grasshopper
The very first moment that your presentation begins can make or break everything that follows. Stand straight, but comfortably. Don’t start speaking right away. Take that deep breath and engage your audience with a smile.
Questions are the Answer
Sometimes a question is the best way to begin a presentation. A pointed question will immediately engage your audience even as it creates a communicative rapport that can carry you all the way through to the Q&A!
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