Great Habits – Fake it ’til you make it!

Some people love it, some hate, some are ambivalent but there are few people that progress in their career without having to present to others, whether it be a small group of peers, senior management or addressing a crowd. Whatever the occasion it is a great opportunity for your ideas or needs to be heard and getting the message across in a confident, clear and professional manner will be beneficial to everyone.

This is not something that most people can do naturally, preparation and experience make all the difference. This months great habits are designed to help you make the most of the opportunities you have.

Great Habit 1

How are you preparing yourself before you present? Consider what you will say and the resources you need?

Once the presentation starts you want to be as relaxed and focused as possible, not hunting around for the prop you thought about or the handouts that support what you are saying. Planning what you are going to say, how you will talk around your slides (not reading them out!) and ensuring any resources are at your finger tips will put you in a great place to start the presentation and it will all flow from there.

Great Habit 2

How are you connecting with people through positive body language? How often are you demonstrating circle 2 presence, a good tone and good eye contact?

7% of your presentation is the words you say… yet this is what most people focus on in preparation. You don’t have to wait for the next big presentation to start practicing this, it is a factor whenever you are speaking to people. Consider your body language in the next meeting, are you sitting at the table and looking interested or sitting back and slouching? When you are addressing individuals or a group, are you making eye contact? What message is your tone of voice giving off? The more you reflect and practice this during your every day life the more natural it will be when that big conversation or presentation happens.