Powerful Presentations - For Business

Would you like to deliver impactful business presentations that get your message across clearly and in an inspirational way?

How about feeling a sense of inner confidence each time you walk up to the stage?

If you are saying ‘yes’ to the above questions then welcome to ‘Powerful Presentations – For Business.’

We are about to explore some simple but highly effective strategies for you to not just handle your nerves a little better, but to create an empowered state of mind for you to feel nothing less than the best you can feel when delivering a presentation in a business environment.

Handle nerves and deliver presentations with impact

It all starts in the mind

You may feel that this is stating the obvious yet ‘managing your mindset’ is absolutely critical if you wish to deliver a highly impactful presentation.

Many people do feel nervous before they present and presentation skills courses train participants to understand that nerves are natural and can be used as a positive because being a little nervous means you care about doing a great job!

For today’s article though, let’s take this up to the next level.

Rather than focusing on ‘not being nervous,’ it’s far more effective to focus on ‘how you are going to be great!’ The Secret, which is a personal development documentary, discusses that whatever you think about the most, you will attract more of into your life, even if you do not want it! If you are thinking about ‘not being nervous’ you are still thinking about nerves, therefore you will still feel nervous.

If we are to look today at a more scientifically proven reason for ‘what you focus on you bring into your life,’ then we can discuss the reticular activator which is a part of the subconscious mind and it creates your ‘behavioural patterns’ around what you think about the most. This is exactly why it’s a great idea to visualise yourself succeeding when you deliver your presentations as opposed to struggling. It allows your reticular activator to recode your subconscious mind to help you.

Turn up your emotional intensity

Whenever you think about something with a lot of emotion, you give it power. Unfortunately, one thing that is rarely taught very well in ‘visualisation techniques,’ is that you also need to think about how you want to feel before, during and right after your presentation.

Take a moment now to try this.

Close your eyes and see yourself through your own eyes delivering a presentation at your work and everything going exactly how you want it to go. The audience are smiling and are totally bought into what you are talking about. Now, think about just how GREAT you feel as a result of this. Start to take on the body language, the breathing and that amazing emotion right now as you play this movie in your mind.

The above technique needs to be practiced over and over again, the more you practice feeling amazing in your mind whilst visualising your successful presentation, the more you are going to feel exactly that way when you deliver your next presentation in reality.

Remember – most people don’t practice how they want to feel, this is why they don’t create the energy and passion to walk up on stage and deliver at their absolute best. Always practice the FEELING and visualise your success.

Overall

There are many more mind management techniques to increasing your confidence to deliver powerful presentations but overall it’s a matter of knowing what you want from your presentation, practicing over and over again in your mind how great it will go, right down to your confident body language and then simply making it happen.

Stay focused, stay positive and visualise the finest detail of what you want and that will be your result.

Written by Pete Scott
Learning Consultant, Capita Learning & Development