Present Beyond Measure

29Practice Like the Pros

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

—Benjamin Franklin

There are umpteen reasons why we want to hit the ball out of the office park with our presentation audience. We want to inform them, delight them, and create an impact. But from my research and experience, the greatest drive to do this well is something that drives most of our human behavior: fear.

There is an urban legend in the presentation sphere that the foremost fear of humans is public speaking, ranked higher than death. However imprecise or implausible this statement is, I believe there is a smoking gun here.

While there are numerous contributing factors to why we get thrown off our game, there's one that I'd like to focus upon first. I believe it's the number-one cause of presentation meltdowns; can you guess what that is?

It's…nerves! Nervous stress is the great conference room equalizer; those shaky hands, sweaty palms, sudden dry throat, and strangled voice are dead giveaways that we aren't confident in delivering our material.

And while we may be supremely confident in our numbers, remembering everything we want to say about them and staying cool in front of a stone-faced group of very important people is an entirely different animal.

The Cure for Presentation Nerves

What's a jittery presenter to do? The answer is quite simple, yet many find themselves completely blocked from hearing it. You may have heard the famous musical theater adage, and it absolutely applies ...