Start with knowing that you are the expert. That sounds trite, doesn’t it? If you were not the expert no-one would have asked you to speak. So you are the expert.

Smile.

Cast your eyes around the room, not like a searchlight, but focus left, rear centre, front right, rear left, front centre, dead centre. These people are your friends. smile at them. Do this from time to time during your talk.

Exhale.

Remember that time runs differently on stage and off it. On stage your internal clock fools you into thinking you need to go fast and that any pause is too long. Off stage people wonder why you are gabbling. So slow down. Us pace, pitch, vocal dynamics (volume), inflection and use pauses. A musician will tell you that a ‘rest’ is a note that has to be played, but it is silent. ‘Play’ those rests in your talk.

Exhale again.

Ideally do not stand behind a podium. There is the temptation to hold it and to tense up. Tensing up strangles your breathing. Try it and see. Come out from behind the furniture and make friends with your audience from there. You may feel more vulnerable out there. That’s good. No-one is going to rush the stage and hit you! Instead they love that you look vulnerable. You’re approachable now. Open your body stance and smile.

Exhale. Remember to talk! remember to use your body to emphasise points. Right now your breathing is calm and regular. The reason? You are in control of the show. You no longer need to think of controlling your breathing because you are managing your whole environment. Fancy walking into the audience and up the aisles? Try it for size. See what works for you. Breathing is now on automatic.

Tempted to fill every second with sound? That can compromise your, erm, breathing, actually, because, well, erm, at the end of the, er, day, erm… Yup, drop the rubbish noises and words like actually and basically. Use silence. And compromised breathing normalises.

Carol – You probably need to SLOW DOWN and take your time while presenting.

One way to do this is to have a Post-It note on your podium that says, “SLOW DOWN”. When you see it, it will remind you to pause between sentences.

Also – speak in declarative phrases, “The monkey IS in the tree.” Pause “Most monkeys LOVE living in TREES.” Speak slowly and with emotion.

Hope this helps – Rich

If you dry, tell them. “Two seconds ago I knew precisely what I was going to say. Iyt was wonderfully formulated, well modulated, even witty. As I opened my mouth to speak the words ran away without making a sound. Let me catch my thoughts for a moment, please!” No-one wants to be where you are at that moment. No-one will through rotten eggs at you. We, the audience, appreciate honesty. We are on your side. Take a pause. Take a sip of water, take a moment to collect your thoughts and get going again.

If the equipment fails, say so. I’ve been on stage with an unfamiliar computer and an unfamiliar release of powerpoint when the slides all went, from my perspective, horribly wrong. There was no way I could solve this while presenting. “I’ve obviously pressed something stupid. My fault, but could someone who understands this thing please come and rescue me?” No-one in the audience wants to be where you are right now. You have their 100% sympathy. They will wait for the problem to be solved.

Just before I had to go on I spilled coffee down a light coloured pair of trousers, precisely by the fly. I looked as if I had been unduly nervous! “The more alert of you will be thinking ‘this guy has spilled coffee down his trousers’ the less charitable will be thinking about incontinence. It was the coffee. Or thats my story. Now, on with Making Relational Databases Fly!” Yes, they laughed at me. With no change of clothing the show had to go on. So I chose to be honest and be laughed at. I got a huge groundswell of sympathy and folk listened to what I had to say.

Nothing is impossible to overcome. If electronics fail all you need is a whiteboard and a marker and knowledge of your subject. If the room is a bad size or shape, you can move around. You should move around.