Jerry Seinfeld once quipped: “At a funeral, most people would prefer to be in the casket than delivering the eulogy.”
This is a sideways take on the outcomes of multiple surveys in which respondents said that they feared speaking in public more than death! A little extreme, perhaps, but public speaking anxiety is so common, it even has a name – ‘Glossophobia’.
While you may not normally consider yourself glossophobic (now you’ve added that to your lexicon), even the most experienced presenters can feel anxious, nervous and be fearful of the consequences of things going wrong.
Researchers writing in the Journal of Anxiety Disorders found that making a presentation generates stress symptoms that are similar to those experienced when facing a physical threat. The fight or flight response is well known, and its physiological effects may be experienced as you stand alongside your laptop with the PowerPoint slides ready to go – raised heart rate and blood pressure, heightened alertness – the adrenaline boost we experience puts us ‘on edge’, ready to flee for the hills at any moment. (Hopefully, your response will stop short of wanting to punch a member of your audience, though from personal experience, you wouldn’t be the first who needed to suppress this!)
The top 5 research-backed strategies for managing presentation anxiety
At Huthwaite International, through our research and working with groups who need to improve their presentation skills, we have recognised that we can never eliminate all the nerves and anxiety faced by people needing to present. This is especially true if there is a lot hinging on the presentation going well.
However, that stress can be managed and reduced through new skills and approaches. You can learn what’s needed and implement new presentation behaviours in your real-world environment.
1. Presentations should have a clear purpose, based on the required actions expected of the audience following the presentation.
2. Presentations do not need to be exclusively one-way – especially with smaller audiences. Seeking information, testing the audience's understanding and entering into a dialogue is just as important as giving information.
3. Preparation and planning are crucial. We use an acronym – SIEVE – which starts with structuring your presentation appropriately to meet the needs of your audience and to achieve your objectives for the presentation.
4. Visual aids should be used where required but should focus on what the audience needs. They should not be a script for the presenter to read and they should not be used as a handout.
5. The presentation is a story and within the presentation may be other stories that illustrate and emphasise the point you wish to make. Storytelling is not some mythical, standalone artform, but an effective way to communicate complex concepts and gain buy-in and engagement.
The top 5 common presentation mistakes to avoid
Whenever we work with a group, they will probably have had some – often a lot of – experience of presenting. With the post-pandemic reliance on video calls, many of our participants are presenting several times every day.
This results in frequently encountered habits. Some are OK – useful even – and can be reinforced by going through a programme in which your presentation skills will be reviewed and objectively assessed in a safe and supportive environment.
Other habits are decidedly not helpful, and these need to be jettisoned or changed.
The main culprits include:
1. Winging it. Someone has provided you with some slides and asked you to present them. As one memorable piece of feedback we once saw said: “Some of the contents of the slides were surprising. Not only to us, but obviously to the presenter!” Winging a presentation can be perceived as disrespectful because it demonstrates a lack of preparation and consideration for the audience's time and attention.
2. On the subject of slides: many of our participants turn up with a standard presentation – prepared by someone else or by an external agency. Most of the time, these slides start with the history of the company, the background to why they are Greee-at! and then descend into levels of detail that will never be remembered by the presenter. So, they turn away from the audience, face the screen and read the slides out – line by excruciating line. Most of these visual aids are also expected to double up as a leave behind or handout or something emailed over later. If you can get the same information from a document – send the document. Why go through the stress of the presentation?
3. The lecture. Scripted notes, delivered in a dull monotone from behind a lectern. Not wishing to lose their place, the presenter makes no eye contact. No questions are asked. Assuming you can check if the audience is engaged from simply looking at the sea of faces (or phones, or laptops) in front of you (by the way you can’t) these presenters don’t even check for signs of life. As for real engagement – beyond a final slide that says, ‘Any questions?’ – there is none. Zero, nada, zilch.
Do you ever finish a presentation and ask the first friendly face you see “Was that alright?” If so, the chances are that you’re not asking enough questions or checking understanding; you’re not summarising or properly seeking reactions from your audience. If you were, you’d know!
4. No clear action. The function of a presentation is not to tell people things. We have other – some argue much better – ways of doing that. Giving information is part of the story, but why do they need it? What should they do with it? What would you like them to do with it which justifies the preparation time, the delivery anxiety and taking up the time of your audience? Presentations are a spur for action. What action do you want them to take? That is your objective.
5. Presenter = human being. How do we connect with people? How do we come across as someone who cares about the audience and deserves to be heeded by them? It’s rarely facts and figures. It’s rarely corporate jargon. It’s rarely homilies with pretty pictures of sunsets, sports teams or spiritually arranged pebbles. Your dog does not make you likable!
It's about stories. They don’t need to be long or detailed. They can be short anecdotes. But they should be authentic and about something you – and by extension your audience – care about (or need to). In our programmes, we provide a map of the key ingredients and ask participants to formulate and tell a story which lasts no more than 60 seconds. It’s a real ‘A-ha!’ moment.
Most importantly, there is a difference between storytelling and bragging (or – on occasions and often worse – humble bragging). Telling a story that makes you out to be the hero is someone else’s story – not yours. Use stories that resonate with and connect to the audience, not ones that make you out to be better than them. Holding a remote mouse confers no special powers.
Final thoughts
Presentations. Always a bit scary. Always nerve racking – but sometimes, that gives you the energy to do a really good job. It’s not something people just do naturally. Like all communications behaviours, presentation skills can be learned, practiced and improved. However experienced you are and however panicky you get, you can be a better, more successful presenter.
How can you Present for Success?
Don't settle for forgettable presentations. Create consistent, impactful, and persuasive experiences that get real results.
