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7 Tips for Presenting More Confidently
By Darlene Price and John Messerschmitt; originally published in Presentations Magazine, 8/99

Nervous about speaking? Not sure how to come across like an expert? Try these 8 tips to help you sharpen your presentation skills so you can present with confidence and power.

1. Seize the Opportunity. A key building block for developing confidence as a speaker is to speak, and speak often. Seize every opportunity you can, personally and professionally, to speak in public. If someone invites you to “stand up and say a few words,” or a co-worker asks you to make a presentation, jump at the chance. Don’t wait to be asked…volunteer!

2. Use the "as if" principle. If you want to be a persuasive presenter, start acting “as if” you are. Dress, speak, and behave as a confident speaker would. Assert you r knowledge and expertise by speaking up in meetings, contributing articles to company or trade publications or positioning yourself as the presenter on a specific subject. When you think and act as though something is true, you help make it happen.

3. Realize you are the expert. If someone asks you to speak or give a presentation, there’s a reason- namely that people perceive you as an authority on a subject and they want to hear what you have to say. That should give you some self-assurance. Trust yourself as a presenter, and you’ll project confidence.

4. Meet your audience before you present. A good way to build your confidence (and instill a great first impression) is to arrive early and, as guests enter the room, introduce yourself, shake hands, smile, and look them in the eyes. You will be surprised at how this exercise rids you of nervousness. It also sets the tone for a relaxed natural deliver, making your presentation seem more like an extended conversation among friendly people.

5. Visualize your success. Before any presentation, mentally walk your body and emotions through your talk. See yourself speaking with confidence and poise. Hear yourself speaking with eloquence. Feel your energy as you stand before an enthusiastic audience. Your body will respond to the pictures you hold in your mind. Then, when it is time to perform the real presentation, your thoughts and emotions are in control – you know you’ve been there before.

6. Make anxiety your ally. Many people get a pounding heart, buckling knees, sweaty palms, a dry mouth and “butterflies” are pre-speech symptoms. The key to conquering anxiety is not to abolish it, but to learn to use it effectively. Rather than squandering your energy of nervousness and fear, use your natural physiological reactions to think faster and talk more fluently and with greater intensity.

7. Rehearse, Rehearse, and Rehearse some more. Rehearsal familiarizes your mind and body with the mechanics of presenting. Practice frees you to focus on the message, not the manner of delivering it. This way, during the real event, you are less self-conscious and more audience-conscious. So be sure to rehearse your presentation out loud- even in front of a “dress rehearsal” audience if you can.