For many people public speaking is a big fear.
In fact a number of surveys have shown that it is often rated higher than death on the fear scale.
That means, to use a famous Jerry Seinfeld quote, ‘if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy’.
But if making a presentation is fear-inducing, being asked to deliver one you haven’t written can be positively terrifying and very challenging.
The most stressful presentation I ever gave was to a room of about 200 people from emergency services backgrounds. The size of the audience admittedly felt a little daunting, but the biggest factor for me was that I hadn’t written what I was about to deliver.
There was nothing wrong with the words and slides which had been prepared for me, but despite some practice I just couldn’t make it stick in my mind or feel like it really flowed.
The result was a lifeless, mediocre presentation delivered to a rather uninspired audience.
I learnt a lot from that terrifying experience, and even more since then. Here’s what I would do if I found myself in that situation again (and a lot of the points are also relevant for media interviews):
Take ownership of the content
Perhaps the biggest failure of my own disastrous presentation was the fact I made no attempt to personalise the content. The presentation was made in a previous role as part of a crisis communications event and having managed many crisis media management incidents around that time I would have had plenty of timely and relevant examples to include. We always talk to delegates on our presentation skills training courses about the importance and value of personal anecdotes in public speaking. It brings the content to life, engages the audience and makes messages memorable.
Incorporating them into a presentation you have not written should also help you to relax when you come to deliver – after all you will be talking about your own experiences. Try getting to some of this personal content early in your presentation. The same point is also relevant for media interviews - we always tell delegates on our media training courses about the importance of personalising corporate messages to bring them to life and make them memorable.
Simplify the content
Don’t feel that just because you have not a written a presentation you cannot make changes to the content. Even if it has already been successfully delivered by other presenters, it doesn’t mean it is right for your delivery. Make cuts; change the language; take out words which tend to trip you up; change the order of slides and take the emphasis away from the areas you are less comfortable talking about.
Small changes make a big difference
We mentioned earlier that simplifying the content is very important. And it is worth emphasising just how small those changes can be. For example, if you’re faced with long meandering sentences which could trip you up (and lose the audience), break them up. Short sentences are not only easier to remember and read, but they will also add urgency and energy to your presentation.
If the presentation writer keeps saying ‘you are’, for example, and you more naturally say ‘you’re’, change it. Make the changes you need to make you feel more comfortable, no matter how small or irrelevant they may seem.
Get the amount of practice right
This can be tricky. On the one hand you certainly don’t want to try to wing your presentation, particularly when it is one that you have not prepared and the content may not be that familiar to you. But there is also a danger of practicing too much, which is the category I fell into all those years ago. Even if you are able to memorise the entire presentation almost word perfectly there is a real risk you will come across as being unnatural, stilted and over rehearsed and consequently you may not be able to make that all-important emotional connection with the audience.
Don’t try to figure out what the audience is thinking
When I found myself in the position of delivering a presentation someone else had written, I spent far too much time wondering what the audience was thinking. Did they already know the presentation had been prepared by someone else? Did I sound like I knew what I was talking about? Had they lost interest? All questions which ultimately went on to further shake my confidence. Instead, believe in the presentation and your delivery, especially if you have made the changes outlined above.
Media First are media and communications training specialists with over 30 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.
If you like this blog, read more about our practical presentation skills training courses.
Subscribe here to be among the first to receive our blogs.
