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Tongue Tied About Public Speaking? You’re Not Alone …

“According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy” – Jerry Seinfeld

Public Speaking with Microphone

With the Right Preparation, You Can Become a Better Public Speaker

The phone rings, I pick up to hear the familiar and confident voice of a friendly business acquaintance, let’s just call her Liz. We talk briefly about upcoming projects, discuss current events, and then what she says next absolutely floors me! Liz, who is one of the most talented public speakers I know, has terrible stage fright. This is a woman who is articulate, poised, and has a great sense of humor that effortlessly engages her audience, and yet, she revealed how thoroughly she must prepare herself for the task of commanding a room with confidence. Curious as I was amazed, I asked Liz how does she does do it? How does she make it look so easy, and what’s more, continually overcome this fear?

“It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech” – Mark Twain

With a humble chuckle, Liz explains that she has a strict method that gives her some comfort and predictability.  Very early in the morning, she is either practicing a speech, pitch, or presentation for an upcoming client or company who she will meet that day. For shorter pitches, Liz does this about 10 – 15 times before leaving the house and continues this process of rehearsing as she drives to the intended meeting. Sure, her hands shake, and she usually opts out of having a cup coffee if someone will see it shaking. She’ll usually skip her second coffee due to a nervous stomach, but every week she defies those persistent anxieties.

“You may not be interested in strategy, but strategy is interested in you.”– Leon Trotsky

The credibility and extensive network that Liz has built in, part because of her effective public speaking, led me to believe that hers was a natural talent that very few possess. However, her candid admission made me realize that a large part of her success is due to her work effort and strategy. It’s quite possible that other great speakers have certain rituals or tactics to lessen their feelings of intimidation in front of an audience. For instance, Liz found a creative approach by removing her eyeglasses. She says this makes her less nervous. It helps blur the numerous faces staring at her so that she doesn’t get caught up in their expressions and can focus on the content, rather than the actual room.

So, what are some of Liz’s behind the scenes tricks you can use to prepare for your next presentation, speech, or big meeting?

  1. Accept that you have stage fright, but boldly confront it anyway
  2. Practice and prepare in advance (time management is key). Consider recording yourself in an audio or even a video format.
  3. Use resourceful ways to ease your fright. If you have glasses, perhaps taking them off may ease the intense glare of eyes on you. You may want to find an outfit (albeit professional) that is comfortable. This includes footwear. It’s amazing how the wrong clothing can distract you, or make you uncomfortably warm, itchy, or feel constraining when under pressure

    Woman Speaking in Public

  4. Use your surroundings; map out where you will be speaking from. Pick a seat that you can easily get up from to head to the podium. You may want to try walking while talking if the stage permits movement, this will give you time to find a spot to pause and deliberate if there are questions.
  5. Plan your pauses, take deep breaths, and never rush through your speech.
  6. Try breathing exercises and or meditation techniques starting days before the public speaking to help you relax.

If these tips have been helpful, but you still feel your fear of meetings, job interviews, speeches, or any other public situations are still excessively bothersome please contact me. Together, we can customize a personal strategy to make you a more effective speaker (or meeting chairperson or interviewee) and help you to develop the necessary skills.

If you have HR or career-related matters that you’d like to discuss, please contact me by email, phone, or via direct message on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. I’m also available if you’d like to discuss any of these topics in more detail.

More than career coaching, it’s career psychology®.

I/O Advisory Services – Building Resilient Careers.

6 mistakes entrepreneurs make when seeking out funding

Praveeni

Entrepreneurs often have many  “great” ideas and rely on funding in the form of a business loan or investors to bring their dreams to light.  Pitching your business and asking for funding can be an intimidating and grueling process. However if successful the payoffs can be huge. Unfortunately many entrepreneurs aren’t successful in securing the funding they require. Here’s a look at 6 mistakes entrepreneurs make when seeking out funding:

  1. Over-valuing their firm or product
    Ok you’ve got an idea- that’s great, but how much is it worth? If it’s your idea it’s probably priceless to you but how much is your business really worth? People tend to over-value their business in hopes of securing a greater investment but that very often fails. Take an objective stance when valuing your business – look at how much you’ve done in sales, your costs and how much revenue you’re really brining in. Remember sales do not denote firm value. Don’t forget to factor in your production, operational and carrying costs.
  1. Presentation & pitch is too long
    Your elevator pitch and investor presentation should be short and informative. Keep your presentation under 10 slides and make your slides concise with 3-5 points per slide. Your elevator pitch should be about a minute long at most. If you can’t summarize your business in under a minute you may need to spend more time understanding your business. No one wants to be stuck listening to a 20 slide presentation.
  1. No concept of market size
    Whenever you offer a product or service you must be aware of how large or small its market is. Whether it’s a nice or mass market item, every product/service has a market. It’s up to you as an entrepreneur to research your market and determine who your target audience is and how much of a market share you would like to capture. Remember 100% market share isn’t always a viable or profitable goal. Be realistic in your market share goals and understand the size of your market.
  1. No professional business plan

A well written, factually correct business plan can garner you the funding you               require. It’s important not to skimp on your business plan. Don’t rush it, take time     to understand the risks, opportunities and profitability of your idea. Make sure you     comprehend your product and what it will take to bring your idea to market.  Many     people overlook the financial aspect of a business plan. Projections can be                     intimidating so seek out professional help if you require it, never assume always ask.

  1. Inability to explain what problem their product solves
    Ok so you’ve got an idea – great! How can it help me? What problem will it solve? Many times entrepreneurs are unable to explain exactly how their product is useful to consumers. This can be off-putting to investors as they think – if a person can’t even explain their own product then how can they sell it? You must fully understand your product or service and how it benefits consumers. Be prepared to answer questions about your own product and your competitor’s offerings as well. The more informed you are the better.
  1. No flexibility
    When asking for funding you need to be flexible. Remember you’re asking someone else to put their trust and money in you and your business. You may not always get the offer you prefer and in some cases may have to counter offer as well. It’s good to be prepared with at least 3 different counter offers when pitching to investors. You should also be open to different kinds of offers. This doesn’t mean give away your whole company for free but listen to what they have to say and run the numbers before you decide to accept, counter or decline. Most importantly be realistic – have a realistic valuation and seek out the appropriate amount for the share you’re offering.

 

Praveeni Perera is the CEO and co-founder of Professional Edge Consulting a corporate training company based in Ottawa offering training and coaching services to clients around the world.  She can be reached via Website, Twitter, Facebook or her Blog.

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