Ever had a terrible speaking experience? This blog is for you.
To be honest, I think we’ve all had terrible experiences with public speaking. If you haven’t, then you probably haven’t done too much public speaking. Many years ago, I had an experience that scarred me for years, until I realized that it was my lack of commitment that was holding me back from achieving what I wanted to from the stage.
It wasn’t my lack of speaking ability, it was my commitment issues and my commitment to my own goals that were getting in my way. I wanted to be up on stage delivering my message to an audience, but I realized I wasn’t putting in the work. Being a great speaker doesn’t just happen. It’s a skill. And it takes time to develop. I can confidently say that, many years and many stages later, I’ve grown in my public speaking abilities, and with the right level of commitment on your part, you can, too.
Here’s what I do to prepare for my public speaking engagements:
Start with your intention
In the days and weeks before I’m about to give a new presentation, I repeatedly ask myself these questions, “Why am I doing this presentation? What idea am I trying to communicate?” Not only does this help focus my content, but it also removes me and my ego from the equation.
The focus of this presentation becomes about my audience and representing my Cardone Ventures team. It’s about clearly communicating an idea to an audience desperately in need of the information being presented. I’m not the focus; I’m just the conduit.
Wanna increase your confidence? Work on your follow through!
This one is really true for me. If I want to increase my confidence, then I focus on my follow through in everything I do. For instance, if I say to myself that I’m going to workout five days a week, then that’s exactly what I do.
How does this help your presentation? It helps because your goals are all interconnected. You’ll feel better, think more clearly, and be less distracted by the things you didn’t do, when you have the boost in confidence that comes from knowing you’re making incremental progress on all of your goals.
You gotta review your content
By this time, I’ve delivered the Cardone Ventures’ “People Essentials” presentation at least 300 times in the past year. Easily. I feel like I have a mastery of the content now. But it took me a while to get there. I used to review every word on every slide and was constantly making tweaks to things until it felt just right. But I don’t need to do that anymore.
You need to be honest with yourself and gauge where you’re really at when it comes to your own presentations. Is this a new presentation that you’re delivering? Then you better get out the microscope and the fine-tooth comb until the deck is perfect and your delivery is natural. You have to put in the work.
But if this is something that you’ve delivered time and time again, then the way you prepare is different. This is what I do now: To make things feel fresh, and to make things feel relevant to what’s happening in the business right now, I look for stories that I can weave into the narrative that relate directly to the content while speaking to the present moment.
And don’t forget: Generate some excitement!
You need to bring some positive energy in the room with you, no matter if this is your first time presenting this information, or it’s your four hundredth time delivering your content. It’s your job to make the audience feel comfortable. It’s your job to sell them on the concept you’re communicating.
They don’t care (and, in fact, they shouldn’t know) if you’re even kinda bored speaking on this topic. You’re there to engage and enlighten and, ultimately, close the deal. Take some responsibility, have some pride in what you do, and be the best version of yourself you can be so your audience can see it and feel it when you’re up on that stage.
Want to learn more about delivering great presentations? Then you need to join us for People Essentials! Go to Cardone Ventures now to register for our next 10X360 event!