The best way to sound like you know what you're talking about is to
know what you're talking about. ~Author Unknown

Be sincere; be brief; be seated. ~Franklin D. Roosevelt, on speechmaking

Dry mouth, sweaty palms, shaky legs, nausea, fast pulse, trembling lips. Who knew that your body could turn on you in this way? Traitor! And it’s not like you’re delivering the inaugural address, you say to yourself. It’s just a 20 minute presentation to the senior execs at your firm. Still, you are panicked.

You are not alone. As fears go, only fear of snakes tops the fear of public speaking. And the fear of dying comes after!

Speaking publicly is threatening and makes many of us feel quite vulnerable. Frankly, we’d just as soon stand up naked in front of people as open our mouths and let our audience judge our poise, intelligence, subject mastery, looks. You name it. Public speaking revs the engines of our inner critics and they’re off to the races at breakneck speed.

Why do our bodies betray us with the shakes and sweats and stammers? It’s because public speaking sends us into a very primitive flight-or flight mode. Our brains and bodies are literally preparing us to confront or to run from an impending threat. No matter that we agreed to the presentation—tell that to your adrenals! If you can scan back to 7th grade bio class, you’ll remember that the fight or flight response prompts increased hearth rate, higher blood pressure, rapid, shallow breathing, boosted nervous system activity. These physiological changes manifest as anxiety, sweating, indigestion, stomachaches, shaking, trouble thinking, headache, dry mouth.

We were originally built to do our best to survive predators. Over time, our ‘predators’ have evolved. Now, exams, presentations, public speaking and a host of potentially ego crushing challenges have replaced the fearsome beasts that threatened our very lives.
The good news is that there are a number of tips for both mind and body to help slay the dragon and enable you to step in front of a small group or larger crowd to deliver your message with calm and success.

Tips for quieting your nerves:
1. Yawn to relax your throat.

2. Review your notes. Do not hold 8x11 pages as your hands may shake and your audience will see this. Note cards or power point are smarter choices.

3. Take a quick walk before your talk.

4. Take quick drinks of room temperature water to help moisten a dry mouth.

5. Do some isometrics that tighten and release muscles.

6. Warm up your voice—or at a minimum talk to someone just before you present to make sure your voice is smooth and ready.

7. Breathe deeply, evenly and slowly for a couple of minutes.

8. Do not have a glass of wine or liquor or take tranquilizers to calm you down. You may think you will do better but will probably do worse and not even know it.

Tips for presenting:
1. Remember you do not need to be brilliant or perfect to succeed. Your audience wants your success.

2. Do not memorize, use big words to impress, or turn something intrinsically informal into a state of the union address.

3. Be crystal clear about the purpose of your presentation. If someone were to ask you “what’s your presentation about?” you should be able to reduce it to one sentence.

4. Don’t try to cover more than three main points in a short presentation. Be clear on what you want the audience to take away from the talk.

5. Do not try to copy the physical or vocal style of others.

6. Practice, practice and yes… practice. The best way to let go of anxiety is to know your material cold. Make the time to practice in front of a mirror, a co-worker, into a tape recorder. This does not mean memorize. It does mean, know the flow of your presentation, the points you want to cover and the data to back your thinking.

7. If you’re a funny person—include humor. If you are a more serious sort, a smile will go a long way. Lame jokes or jokes poorly delivered go nowhere fast and create discomfort instead of ease.

8. For presentations, brainstorm possible questions and concerns. Have good answers at the ready.If you really want to improve the quality of your public speaking skills, join a toast masters group. You will be forced to give a short talk every week (as will everyone else in the room) and so speaking in front of a group of people will become a regular part of your life.

Bottom line, business is all about persuasion. Some of it occurs one on one and much of it in small groups. You do not need to be a brilliant orator to speak well and clearly. You do need to come out from behind your desk, and knees trembling, heart pounding and hands clammy, step in front of the room take a deep breath and start talking.

The best leaders of all, the people know not they exist.
They turn to each other and say ‘We did it ourselves.’
~ Zen Saying

Dina Silver, MCC, is the Principal of Pegasus Coaching Group.

I specialize in leadership coaching working with senior executives and their teams to create great leaders and high impact groups. I have enjoyed success working with technically proficient people who need guidance in developing the interpersonal skills that are essential to effective and compelling leadership.

My background in the entertainment industry as a feature film and interactive game producer effectively assists me in helping leaders develop powerful executive presence so that ideas and challenging initiatives are met with keen interest and excitement. In order to lead, people must be excited to follow!

I have enjoyed trusted advisor status with high performance individuals, teams and organizations, coaching in high tech, entertainment, banking, and marketing.

I hold a B.A. in United States History from Princeton University. I am a Master Certified Coach (MCC) and hold my credentialing through the International Coach Federation. In addition, I am certified in a range of assessment tools including DISC and PIAV, and am an active member of Professional Coaches and Mentors Association (PCMA) and the International Coach Federation (ICF). I am married, have two teenage kids, two fat black cats and live in Santa Monica, CA.

If you are interested in learning more about how my work may be of value to you and your organization, please get in touch. I am happy to offer interested prospects a complimentary and confidential half hour coaching session so you can take me and coaching for a test drive.