When I facilitate presentation skills workshops or consult one-on-one with an executive, I encourage them to drown out the negative voices in their
heads with a positive mantra and visualize themselves successfully giving an
effective presentation.
The power of visualization has long been used
by top athletes to achieve high performance and it also applies to giving
presentations. I recently read a concise
description of visualization in The Best
Tennis of Your Life: 50 Mental Strategies for Fearless Performance by Jeff
Greenwald, a sports psychology consultant and former world-ranked tennis player
(read more about Jeff at http://www.jeffhgreenwald.com/
).
In chapter 12, "Visualize After Errors and
Before Matches," Greenwald recommends the following process for successful
visualization [I am paraphrasing loosely]:
·
Find a quiet place
·
Relax your mind
·
Take deep breaths for about 5 minutes
and focus on your breathing
·
Imagine yourself succeeding – exaggerate
the image and allow yourself to experience what success feels like, looks like
and sounds like
·
Use a quick snapshot of this image to
focus yourself before you play [or in your case, present] and also to refocus
yourself after you've made an error
You can apply the same steps to visualizing
your presentation success. Imagine what
it feels like to hear your name spoken by the person introducing you at the
event or welcoming you to the meeting. Then feel yourself walking confidently
to the front of the room or smiling as everyone seated at the table turns
toward you. Experience the sensation of
delivering your content with ease, overcoming any fear or anxiety.
If you stumble over a word, forget what you
were going to say next or go blank when someone asks you a question, call up
the images of you eloquently describing your topic, easily remembering what
comes next and confidently responding to a question. These positive images will help you make a
quick mid-course correction and prevent a small mistake from snowballing into a
presentation disaster.
© Gilda Bonanno LLC - Gilda Bonanno serves as a
trusted advisor to executives and entrepreneurs to transform their
communication, presentation and leadership skills. She has worked with companies on 4
continents, from Chicago to Shanghai and Rio to Rome. The instructional videos on her YouTube
channel have received over 2 million views and her e-newsletter has reached
subscribers in over 45 countries since 2008.
For other articles or to receive Gilda's e-newsletter, visit www.gildabonanno.com