If this is the first time you are going to give a presentation in class and it is nerve wracking already, then we completely feel you. Let us first tell you that public speaking is not easy.
It takes a whole lot of energy and confidence to do well during a presentation. And if you are wondering how to do it, then let us do the honour of helping you.
In this post, we are going to tell you how to be confident during a presentation. Trust us when we say this… it is really going to help you.
How to be Confident in a Presentation?
The following mentioned are few confidence building activities on how to build confidence and improve confidence at work.
1. Try to understand why you are nervous:
So are you nervous because your boss is going to have a bad impression? Or is it worrying that your colleagues are going to make fun of you?
There are a lot of reasons why people get stressed during interviews and we would suggest you not to feel that way. The key to knowing how to handle stress before a presentation is by understanding what makes you nervous.
Once you have identify it, you won’t be all that nervous anymore. Instead tell yourself that your boss is going to get impressed with your work because of how well you are going to do.
2. Practice the whole presentation on your own:
You had this coming your way! And this applies not just to a presentation but anything that is going to cost you. If you want to do well in something, work hard and practice.
Before you are about to go for a presentation, give yourself a couple of hours to rehearse how you are going to speak. This is going to be a very good confidence booster.
Even though it can be very difficult for those people who have tight schedules and busy days, it is essential so that the presentation is not rough. If you want to sound your best, prepare yourself for it.
3. Video yourself:
This technique is effective for all those who want to know how well are they speaking during a presentation. People are often anxious about their performance and want feedback.
Instead of making your friends sit and go through something they don’t understand, try to shoot yourself instead. That would be a very good thing.
If you believe in the capacity to improve, this technique will also help you a lot.
4. Come a little early:
This is also something you should do in order for building self confidence before an interview. Give yourself some time to chill and relax.
So please come before time so that you can just be on your own for a bit. Ensure that you are not late. Those who are late do not get any time for themselves.
It will give plenty of preparation time and you will learn how to be more adapted to the situation.
If you want to give a good presentation, get on the bus early and show up beforehand. That would be good.
5. Meet and greet more people:
Do your level best to chat with everyone before you begin your presentation? When you are speaking to your audience, you will come across as someone who is more likeable.
Ask others questions and take in some of their responses. They could give you some help and inspiration so that you can weave into your talk.
6. Smile:
Smiling is always helpful when it comes to boosting and confidence building. It will increase the endorphin levels, boost calm and reduce stress and anxiety.
You will begin to feel good about your presentation as well. Smiling is something that builds enthusiasm. Just do not overdue it because nobody enjoys the look of a maniacal clown.
7. Do some exercise:
Exercise is good for the body and is often called an excellent confidence booster. It will help in alleviating anxiety and balance endorphins at the same time.
There are some who also suggest you to try out Zumba classes a few days before the presentation. It will actually be effective for you.
8. Drink some water:
Dry mouth is often caused when someone is feeling too stressed or anxious. It will make you feel depressed and sad. So before you talk, drink enough water.
Keep a bottle right in front of you when you are chatting up a storm. It will provide an object to hurl at those hecklers… if you know what we mean?
9. Go and become a part of other speeches:
This is also something that will help you. When you see others speak, you will learn how to observe and hopefully that will teach you something new.
It will be a great way to gather more experience and actually see how attending other speeches can make a big difference to you. Another speaker could also say something that you could pay off in your own presentation later on.
10. Practise yourself looking at other faces:
People who tend to be anxious will either have to avoid looking at the faces of the people in front of them or fixate on the faces of those who have actually become bored.
There are great ways to learn about presentations and how to speak in the process. When you practise looking at other faces, you tend to become less scared and more conscious. This will actually be a great method and good confidence booster.
11. Practise having a good body language:
When you practise having a good body language, you are able to deal with things better. When your body shows confidence more physically, it is able to do much better.
Even though you don’t want the confidence to just right out of your chest, there are studies that have proved that when you use power stances before going for a presentation, you are able to create and boost more confidence.
Standing or walking around for just a bit will help you check those tummy bats.
So before you get up to giving a good presentation, give your power ranger stance and make sure to look strong and confident.
12. Use negative energy to create enthusiasm:
It will sound a little strange but there are people who drink energy drinks and even listen to hip hop or pop music on their earphones before giving a presentation.
And what could the reason be? It will pump you up and allow those nervousness to become enthusiasm. Studies have often shown that giving a speech which is good can help in winning over a quote that is eloquent.
Since this is not one of Winston Churchill’s presentation, you can be as energetic as you want to be before you go up on stage. Of course not everyone reacts to caffeine the same way. So keep away from those monster energy drinks as well.
13. Try to improve those pauses:
When you are nervous, it often happens that we speed up the length of your speech and end up talking as fast as we can.
This will make us more nervous and a result of it we begin to panic. And this is where you should stop. Do not ever be afraid to slow down and sometimes pause yourself in between.
Pausing can sometimes be used to emphasize certain points and help the talk become more conversational.
If you feel like you are losing control of your pacing, just try to take a pause and keep yourself calm and cool.
14. Keep yourself calm and composed:
When the big day arrives, keep yourself calm and composed. It could be very helpful for you to take a look at some of the stress relieving breathing exercises in which you can reduce stress levels.
You keep yourself calm from beforehand and don’t scare yourself a bit too much before you have even reached class.
15. Speak to someone:
A final thing you should do is speak to someone you can trust. This will actually help you in building confidence at work. This person should not be someone who will increase your fears. They should be helping you out with a more realistic image.
So ask them how they have handled some of their presentations and how helpful this was to them. Maybe they will be able to offer you a lot more than just the practice audience. That would actually be good for you in the long run.
Conclusion:
This bring the chapter to a close. If any of you have questions regarding the post, feel free to comment below. We will try our best to answer all. And we are sure you must be having some kind of feedback about this topic too.
So keep us informed about that too. On that note, good luck and here’s hoping that after reading this post you will never face a nerve wracking situation before an interview.
