What Should You Do Before Speaking To An Audience?
I get that one a lot. 'Yeah yeah, Nick - these are all nice ideas about what to do during my speech/presentation. But what about before?'
Well...before, you gotta prepare!
Preparation matters, and it can make the difference between a decent presentation, and an amazing one. When the stakes are high, you want to be GREAT, not just 'decent'. Here are a few steps I take before delivering a presentation - and that I advise ALL my clients to take. Some of them initially resist, until they see the results 😆
1. PRACTICE. For the love of god - practice, practice, practice. No, you most likely won't be able to just wing it. If you're not one of the few naturals (in which case, you wouldn't be reading this and/or working with someone like me), inspiration won't just strike in the moment. Public speaking - hell, all communication skills - is something you learn and practice. Practice the damn speech. Practice until you can do it off by heart.
Feeling like it's getting a little stale and sounding 'rehearsed'? Surprise: that means you haven't practiced ENOUGH! Really. We learned that at drama school. Seasoned actors have rehearsed their roles a bazillion times - and yet the performance feels spontaneous to the audience.
That's the magic of rehearsing so many times that it's emblazoned in your mind. Then you get to be free and creative, because it no longer feels like multitasking.
2. DECOMPRESS. If you're not the type who can just choose to have a good night's sleep before (*raises tired hand*), then do your best to clear any physical stress.
- DON'T take much (ideally any, but again...sleep deprivation might be an issue for some of you!) caffeine. It gives you the jitters and anxious energy.
- DON'T go against your inner clock. Are you hungry? Eat something. Are you not hungry? Don't! Don't let people convince you that you must eat something - we survived for millennia with very intermittent access to food. Your body won't self-destruct if you don't eat for a few hours. If your stomach is saying 'no' - listen to it.
- DO get in some exercise. Go for a walk, or a workout. And just before your presentation, try to sneak off and do a few jumping jacks, or a few wall-pushups. It's good to get some of that excess jitter energy out.
Credit: Alexander Krivitskiy / Unsplash
3. HYDRATE. But appropriately. It's very common for the mouth to go really dry when anxiety kicks in. The temptation here will be to drink like a maniac - which only leads you to the toilet. You don't want the added stress of 'will I manage to be on time, or will I get derailed by my 578th pee of the day?'. Watch your water intake, and have an idea of how much water you drink on a normal day (and still feel OK, obviously).
Don't let it deviate drastically from that. If you normally drink 2 litres, don't let your drama queen brain convince you that you suddenly need 3 on Presentation Day...but also don't just drop to 1 because you forgot to drink out of sheer nerves. Set an alarm or two, if you're the disorganized type.
There you have it, folks! Follow these three steps consistently, and you'll see your presentations and speeches drastically improve. Sound a bit boring? That's because the magic happens ON STAGE (/on camera) - not behind the scenes 😉
If you want some 1:1 help with polishing your presentations and stage/camera presence, send me an email or book a quick chat on my calendar (both below).