If you don’t believe in the content you’re sharing, your audience won’t either.
If you don’t love what you’re talking about and feel compelled to get it out into the world, your message could fall flat.
The greatest presenters in the world speak with such conviction and with such belief in the words they are saying you can’t help but buy into their message.
You may watch these presenters and think they were born that way, but more often than not, their confidence comes from their belief in what they are saying.
The first step to really engaging an audience is to fully believe in the idea you’re sharing.
Now tell me, what is it that you feel compelled to share?
It’s time to practice
Once you are clear on your message, it’s time to practice saying it out loud. Record yourself talking about it with passion.
The more you speak on your topic, the easier it will flow. If you aren’t sold on your presentation the first few times, then just keep practicing. The right words will come to you the more you say your ideas out loud.
Imagine the difference in practicing a presentation once compared to practicing it a hundred times. Which one do you think will come across better?
The best speakers in the world have practiced and delivered the same presentation hundreds of times. Performing a presentation or speaking to camera is a skill like any other, that can only get better with practice.
Think of the Bruce Lee quote, “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”
It may feel like you don’t have enough time to practice a presentation or script dozens of times, but when you break it down, you can practice a five-minute presentation 12 full times in an hour. When that hour is up, your performance is going to be vastly different from where you started.
Every single time you rehearse that presentation or get in front of the camera, you become more confident. Every time you do it, you solidify in your subconscious, the identity of being someone who is a confident speaker.
It’s quite easy to trick your subconscious into believing you’re confident when you spend a bit of time giving it the clues that you are.
You might feel like a total dork when you rehearse your first script or presentation. Do it while you’re home alone and allow yourself to get comfortable with hearing the sound of your own voice.
Pause with Purpose
Once you’ve practiced being on camera a few times, you can start to think about how to refine your presentation.
Quite often we say ‘um’ and ‘ah’ and other filler words because we’re trying to buy time. If we’re silent for too long, maybe our audience will think we’re stupid, that we don’t know what we’re talking about.
When in fact the case is quite the opposite. Buying time with silence instead of using filler words will actually help you sound more professional and intelligent. Get comfortable with silence.
Be conscious in your everyday speech how often you’re using filler words, and use your everyday conversation to practice replacing them with pauses when you need to gather your thoughts. Use your day-to-day interactions as a training ground for your professional speaking.
Do this for a month and see how your presenting changes.
Slow it Down
Speaking too fast can make you sound nervous. Being really excited about something can cause us to speak really fast because we just want to get all our thoughts out at once!
But being controlled, and slowing our talk just a little, can help our presentation seem more professional and help your audience better follow your words.
Exercise your presenting muscle. It will get stronger with every performance as your biceps get stronger with every workout.
Practice, practice, practice. And start today.
Are you ready to overcome your fear of the camera? Here’s how.
For more video tips and techniques subscribe on YouTube.