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During one of our
recent workshops, a woman banker had just delivered a wonderfully
engaging presentation about a project she was passionate about.
During the presentation, she smiled. She moved excitedly around the
room. She spoke with energy in voice and in her face.
When she sat down,
our coach looked at her and said, “That was great. Now I have one
question for you. Are you willing to be that good all the time?”
We often find that
people are able to improve their presentation skills
dramatically with only a little coaching. But that doesn’t mean that
they’re going to be great presenters. They have to have the courage
to stand out and be great in front of their peers.
Sometimes you
must buck the environment
Most corporate
environments do not seem to encourage great presenting. If you look
around at the other presenters, you will see that most people
deliver boring presentations that are unfocused, fail to tell
stories, have too many slides, and are delivered with all the
passion of a house-plant.
If you choose to be
good, you’re going to stand out from your peers. And that can be
scary.
We were working
with a partner at a large law firm who saw herself speaking with
passion on camera and had to admit that she looked great. “But most
people don’t present that way,” she said. “I’m not sure if I’m
willing to stand out like that.”
Give her points for
honesty.
Preparation Helps
You Gather Courage
Ultimately, the key
to screwing up your courage comes with preparation. If you have
worked hard in rehearsal and know that you’re ready, it’s a lot
easier to stand up and deliver with passion.
But you're still
going to have to screw up the courage to really stand out and be
great. There's no getting around it. Being a great speaker
takes courage.
At Speechworks we
help our clients learn how to communicate in a way that connects and
persuades. If you’re interested in becoming a great communicator
give us a call at 404-266-0888 or check out our website at
www.speechworks.net. |
