6 Tips for Presenting with Ease

Who’s freaked out by presenting? Raise your hand!?

I think we all have some level of fear or discomfort when getting up in front of a crowd, however big or small. Why is it such a scary thing?

I think the fear can be caused by our lack of comfort being vulnerable, of taking the risk that someone will see we are not perfect. We might say “um” or “like” or forget what we are saying all together. We might trip or a cuss word might slip. We might just straight up pass out.

So many things could go wrong! Why take the risk?

For personal and professional growth, people! That’s why!

I’ve had the opportunity, and sometimes horror, throughout my career to present in many different formats. From chatting with a small group of stylists in a salon about product knowledge, to presenting to a room of over 1,500 salon managers **GULP**, every scenario has its own unique pitfalls and reasons to freak. Over the last week I’ve had several presentations and it got me thinking about some hacks I’ve picked up over the years.

To be clear, I don’t pretend to be a master presenter, and I’m not by any definition “classically trained.” I’m just doing my best to get a little better each time I have the challenge of presenting to a room. These are just a few of the things I’ve learned along the way as I’ve tried to figure out how to offer value, keep people’s attention and be memorable when presenting:

1. Make friends with your audience.

Not in the traditional “know your audience” kind of way. I mean KNOW them. The more people in the crowd that you’ve met and built any kind of relationship with, the more support you will have and feel coming from the crowd as you present. When I used to do trainings for stylists in salons, I would arrive 30 minutes early so I would have time to meet as many of the attendees as possible. It helped me be less nervous and I think it helped them prepare themselves to listen to what I had to offer. So make an effort to get to know some folks who will be hearing what you have to say. You will probably learn something in the process! Which leads me to my next tip…

2.  EXPECT to learn, not just teach.

I think as presenters its easy to fall into the fear of feeling you need to know it all or be able to answer any question or challenge that comes up with ease. In my experience, one of the most calming tricks I learned was how to say “I don’t know” without losing credibility. This may sound different for you depending on your industry and the setting, but for me a simple “Great question! I haven’t heard that one before and I’m not 100% sure, but is it okay if I research and get back to you?”

Enjoy the freedom of admitting you don’t have all the answers. And why should you? You are human, not a walking google bar. But to be clear, that doesn’t mean you don’t have to….

3. KNOW YOUR SHTUFF.

If you want the right to your audience’s ever-dwindling attention span, you’ve gotta earn it! So know your subject matter. This will help ensure that you are actually delivering content that is valuable to your audience and it will also ease your nerves (yes we are talking about those pests again).

I’ve found the more familiar I am with the topic and the more times I’ve spoken about it, the more at ease I am when sharing the message with a group.

4. Be real and use humor.

The best presenters I’ve seen are authentic, real and quick to point out the humor of a situation or topic. In one of my presentations this week, I was actually presenting to a group of presenters about presenting. Say that ten times fast and try not to throw up at how scary of a situation that is!

As I was getting started and moving from my first slide to my second, I realized the clicker was a DUD.Now let’s walk this back…I’m talking to a group of trainers about presenting and I didn’t do the #1, basic, everyone knows to do it, thing. I didn’t test my technology before I had the crowd’s attention.

What’s a girl to do? Run from the room crying? Crawl under the nearest crisp linen covered round table and hide? NO! I kept going and as soon as I had the chance, I squeezed a joke in about what had just happened. Everyone laughed and the room got noticeably more comfortable, not just for me but for the crowd. Because everyone loves seeing the real side of people, the flawed, sometimes messy, imperfect real. Why? Maybe because it gives us all a little more permission to be perfectly imperfect too.

5. Choose carefully.

I’m not talking your topic or your words- more like your top and your skirt, or your dress, or your suit, or your jeans and tank! But whatever it is, pick with precision.

Consider not only your audience, your topic, the time of day and the venue, but even more important- consider your comfort. I think we overlook our own comfort sometimes for the sake of the aesthetic and in my opinion that’s a big mistake.

Recently I was on stage speaking at a professional event and I realized my skirt was just not right. The slit went up too far in the back and the whole time I was on stage, especially the mount and the dismount, all I could think was “Can they see my butt?” Not the best thought to have running through your brain when you are trying to deliver a message with confidence and poise.

So pick carefully and try to balance achieving the look you want with feeling good and not being distracted by whatever you are wearing.

And take it from someone who knows, please make sure they can’t see your butt.

6. Strike a pose.

Just like many of my other tips, this is more about preparation that the presentation itself.

I first heard about power posing in a TedTalk that has since gained some notoriety and along with it some criticism (watch the talk here if you are interested). The concept is basically that there is science that shows that by making yourself bigger, i.e. standing in a big X and taking some deep breaths, it releases hormones that help slow your heart rate, calm you down and essentially make you a better presenter. Now I’m no scientist but I swear this has worked for me. I’ve notice that when I practice this before a presentation my voice shakes less and I have an easier time slowing down my pace.

It’s not always easy to find somewhere to power pose without drawing some serious side eye so what I usually do is put my hands on my hips and a stand with a wide stance in the back of the room before it’s time to go on. I’ve also been known to hide out in a bathroom stall for a couple of minutes in a pinch (I swear I’m power posing in there).

What are some of your favorite presentation tips? Did you read anything here you are excited to try next time you have the chance to take the stage? Leave me a comment and let me know!