Speaking Out
Speaking Out
At some point whilst running a new business you’ll probably have to stand up in front of a room of people and say what you do.
For many people this can be a terrifying experience. Minds go blank. Palms go sweaty. Often there’s a sleepless night at the thought doing it in the first place. Even if your reaction to public speaking is more muted, and it’s simply that you dislike it, imagine how your life would be different if you could reframe your perspective and make speaking publicly something that you actually enjoyed!
We have a 3 step plan to share which will support you when you getting ready to speak publicly:
- Prepare
- Practice
- Perform
- Think about the messages you to get across in your presentation
- For 60 second ‘pitches’ keep it concise and too the point
- For 5-10 minute presentation work on a ratio of 1 slide for each minute you’ll be speaking – with no more than 5 bullets on each slide
- Keep the bullet points short – it’s not a script
- Find some visually appropriate images that will subliminally underline your message on each slide
- Choose fonts and colours that are clear and easy to read
- Avoid over fussy animation schemes to animate the slides
Practice
- Do a couple of run throughs (out loud!) of what you want to say
- Practice expanding on each bullet point and see what works well as you speak
Perform
- As you get ready to speak focus on how great it will be when the presentation goes well – not on what might go wrong
- Know that even if you make a mistake, if you respond calmly then your audience will – they will feed off your energy
- Enjoy the experience and focus on how great what you’re doing is for your business
Striding Out provides 1-1 coaching and workshop training on presentation skills. Contact us if you’d like to know more.
Simon Ireland-Davies CPCC, ACC
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