Resources

A few quick tips for any presentation

Think about what your audience needs to hear - not just what you want to say.
Talk TO your audience not AT them.
Learn some relaxing breathing exercises and use them.
Rehearse properly – always practise your speech ALOUD.
Even if you don’t book us – get a colleague, partner or a passing stranger to watch your presentation and give feedback. Presenting to someone is very different to working on your own in an empty room.

How to deal with nerves

Prepare Properly

Make sure you do the work; be rigorous in your script preparation and rehearse as much as you can. If you’re unsure of any elements of the speech, how you get on stage, how you pronounce any names in your presentation, how to handle a Q&A – any doubts at all will only increase nerves. So… Prepare Properly.

Physical Exercises

When people are nervous the body initiates the fight or flight response – our heart rate increases and our breathing speeds up - we want to fight something or run. Instead, we need to show composure and give a beautifully controlled, engaging and inspiring presentation. To that end – pre-speech we need to give the adrenalin somewhere to go. If we don’t – and I’m sure we’ve all seen this – people can end up shaking like a leaf due to public speaking nerves. When we work with you, we give you a simple series of physical exercises that, as well as dissipating nerves, also help the body warm up, avoiding cricked necks and cracking ankles. That said, a simple stretching routine will help – as will shaking different parts of your body to temper the adrenaline rush.

Remember to Breathe

Nerves change our breathing patterns – breath becomes quicker, shorter and struggles to support the voice. Again, when working with you we give you exercises to help breathing and centre the voice. However, just taking a few deep breathes per minute – in for five, hold for five, out for five – will really help.

Get Used to Being On Stage

Walk around the stage and get used to your environment - looking out across an imagined audience. Chat with someone in the auditorium, phone a friend and talk to them or quietly run through a few bits of your presentation. As well as massively improving your on-stage comfort levels - it will also help pinpoint any potential problems such as uneven stage steps, or a bit of creaky staging.

Take Your Time

Never rush. This is especially relevant at the beginning of your presentation. Establish yourself on stage before you start to speak – even count to 3 whilst you let the audience see you. And as you do…

Smile

A genuine smile – a smile of warmth and greeting goes a long way in dealing with nerves.

Exercises

Physical

On the morning of any presentation – do a physical warm up. If you’re a runner – run, do some squats, use exercises you might do when stretching or doing yoga, or just shake your body all over.

Breathing

Deep breaths – in for five, hold for five, out for five. Just twice per minute. If you have to make your entrance from a seat in the auditorium, you can do these at any time.

Breath in and out to an “Ah” sound – like the one you do at the doctors. It opens up the throat and the airwaves.

Hum. It helps the breath regulate and puts your voice in the right place for public speaking.

Diction

Get the tip of the tongue the teeth and the lips moving. When we present, we use loads of muscles – here are a few tongue twisters to get those muscles working. Say them aloud, slowly, and form every consonant clearly.

The tip of the tongue, the teeth and the lips
Look at the windmills whirling in the wind
I’m pulling a long length of string
Stand to and pipe the captain aboard
Hot coffee in a proper copper coffee pot
I’ve got a lot of chocolate melting in my pocket
Two flew through the window
Try to attend and take the test
Clean the carcass as quickly as you can
What a to-do to die today