Discussion board | Applied Sciences homework help

1. Consult with a local coach. Share your remarks with someone who is familiar with your audience before making the presentation, so as to make sure your ideas are clear and free of blunders that might otherwise undermine your credibility.

643 Sources: Adapted from Pearson, L., “Think Globally, Present Locally,” Presentations, 68, April 1996, 20–27; Schmidt, K., “How to Speak So You’re Open to Interpretation,” Presentations, 68, September 1999, 126–127. Dressing effectively does not always mean dressing up. If the occasion calls for casual attire, an overly formal appearance can be just as harmful as being under-dressed. Automotive consultant Barry Isenberg found an informal appearance contributed to his success as a leading speaker. While waiting to speak to an audience of hundreds of auto wreckers at a day-long seminar, Isenberg looked on as an attorney who was dressed impeccably in a three-piece suit gave an organized talk on warranties. Despite the importance of the topic, the audience was obviously bored silly. Isenberg rushed upstairs to his hotel room and changed out of his business suit and into the attire of his listeners—casual pants and an open-neck shirt. When his turn to speak arrived, Isenberg moved out from behind the lectern and adopted a casual speaking style that matched his outfit. Afterward, a number of listeners told Isenberg that he was the first speaker who seemed to understand their business.5 Step Up to Speak with Confidence and Authority Your presentation begins the moment you come into your listeners’ view. Act as if you are a person whose remarks are worth listening to. Employees are often surprised to discover that their forceful, personable superiors completely lose their effectiveness when they have to 330 address a group of people—and that they show their lack of confidence before they say a word. Speakers who fidget with their hands or their clothing while waiting to speak, approach the podium as if they were about to face a firing squad, and then fumble with their notes and the microphone send a clear nonverbal message: “I’m not sure about myself or what I have to say.” An audience will discount even the best remarks with such a powerful nonverbal preface. 644 Get Set Before Speaking It is important to set up the aspects of your presentation that you can control—such as the arrangement of the room and your visual aids—before you begin your speech. If you need an easel or projection screen, move it into position before you begin. If a lectern needs repositioning, take care of that task before you begin your talk. The same goes for the other details that need to be addressed with so many presentations: Adjust the microphone, close the door, reset the air conditioner, rearrange the seating. Just as important, be sure to position yourself physically before beginning. Some speakers blurt out their opening remarks, usually out of nervousness, before they are set in their speaking position. A far better approach is to stand or walk to the position from which you will talk, get set, wait a brief moment (a “power pause”) while you connect with your audience, and then begin speaking. Begin without Looking at Your Notes Make contact with the audience as you begin speaking. You cannot establish a connection if you are reading from notes. You can memorize the precise wording of your opening statement, but that step is not really necessary. Whether you say, “I have a new process that will give you more reliable results at a lower cost,” or “My new process is more reliable and costs less,” is not critical: The important thing is to make your point while speaking directly to your listeners. Establish and Maintain Eye Contact A speaker who talks directly to an audience will be seen as more involved and sincere. Whether you are proposing an innovative new product line, reassuring your employees about the effects of recent budget cuts, or trying to convince a group of local citizens that your company is truly interested in curbing pollution, your impression on the audience can ultimately determine your success. This type of immediacy largely reflects the degree of eye contact between speaker and listeners. Use the moment before you speak to establish a relationship with your audience. Look around the room. Get in touch with the fact that you are talking to real human beings: people you work with, potential customers who have real problems and concerns you can help address, and so on. Let them know through your eye contact that 645 you are interested in them. Be sure your glance covers virtually everyone in the room. Look about randomly: A mechanical right-to-left sweep of the group will make you look like a robot. Many speech consultants recommend taking in the whole room as you speak. If the audience is too large for you to make eye contact with each person, choose a few people in different parts of the room, making eye contact with each one for a few seconds. Stand and Move Effectively Table 11-1 describes some effective and ineffective ways to stand and move when you are speaking. The best stance for delivering a presentation is relaxed but firm. In such a stance, the speaker’s feet are planted firmly on the ground and spaced at shoulder width. The body faces the audience. The head is upright, turning naturally to look at the audience. Having good posture does not mean staying rooted to the ground. Indeed, moving about can add life to your presentation and help release nervous energy. You can 331 approach and refer to your visual aids, walk away from and return to your original position, and approach the audience. Your actions should always be purposeful, though. Nervous pacing might make a speaker feel better, but it will turn listeners into distracted wrecks. Table 11-1 Common Interpretations of a Speaker’s Body Language

Viewed as dictatorial or arrogant:

Crossed arms Pounding fists Hands on hips Pointing index finger Hands behind back Hands in “steeple” position Hands on lapel or hem of jacket 646 Preening gestures

Viewed as insecure or nervous:

Gripping the lectern Chewing on objects, cuticles, fingernails, or lips Constant throat clearing Playing with hair, beard, or jewelry Rocking back and forth Rubbing or picking at clothes or body Clenched fists Jingling coins or keys in pockets or hands Repeatedly putting glasses on and taking them off Slouching Standing extremely rigidly

Viewed as open and confident:

Open hands Expansive gestures Stepping out from behind the lectern Walking toward and into the audience Animated facial expressions Dramatic pauses Confident and consistent eye contact Source: Bocher, D., Speak with Confidence: Powerful Presentations That Inform, Inspire and Persuade. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2003. If you are addressing a small group, such as four or five employees or potential customers, it may be more appropriate to sit when you are delivering a presentation. Generally, the same rules apply in such cases. You should sit up straight and lean 332 forward—lounging back in your chair or putting a foot up on the desk indicates indifference or even contempt. Sit naturally. Your behavior while in a seated position should be as direct and animated as it would be if you were conversing with these people—which, in a way, you are. 647 Do Not Pack Up Early Gathering your notes or walking over to your seat before concluding sends the message that you are anxious to finish your presentation. Even if you are, advertising the fact will just make your audience see the presentation as less valuable. Keep your attention focused on your topic and the audience until you are actually finished. Pause, Then Move Out Confidently Be certain you drop your vocal pitch to end your remarks so you clearly indicate you are finished. A raised pitch sounds questioning and unsure, and it leaves the audience wondering whether you are finished. When you end your remarks (or finish answering questions and recapping your thesis), pause, then move out smartly. Even if you are unhappy with your performance, do not shuffle off dejectedly or stomp away angrily. Most speakers are their own harshest critics, and there is a good chance the audience rated you more favorably than you did. If you advertise your disappointment, however, you might persuade them you really were a flop. Verbal Elements The words you choose are an important part of your delivery. As you practice your presentation, keep the following points in mind. Use an Oral-Speaking Style Spoken ideas differ in structure and content from written messages. The difference helps explain why speakers who read from a manuscript sound so stuffy and artificial. When addressing your audience, your speech will sound normal and pleasing if it follows these simple guidelines: Keep most sentences short. Long, complicated sentences may be fine in a written document, where readers can study them until the meaning is clear. In contrast, in an oral presentation, your ideas will be easier to understand if they are phrased in brief statements. Complicated sentences can leave your listeners confused: “Members of field staff, who are isolated from one another and work alone most of the time, need better technology for keeping in touch with one another while in the field as well as while working from a home office.” Ideas are much clearer in a presentation when delivered in briefer chunks: “Members 648 of the field staff work alone most of the time. This makes it hard for them to keep in touch with one another and with the home office. They need better means of technology to stay in contact.” Use personal pronouns freely. Speech that contains first-person and second-person pronouns sounds more personal and immediate. Instead of saying, “People often ask … ,” say, “You might ask…. ” Likewise, say, “Our sales staff found … ,” not “The sales staff found…. ” Use the active voice. The active voice sounds more personal and less stuffy than passive use of verbs. Saying, “It was decided …” is not as effective as saying, “We decided…. ” Do not say, “The meeting was attended by 10 people”; say, “Ten people attended the meeting.” 333 Use contractions. Unless you need the complete word for emphasis, contractions sound much more natural. Instead of saying, “We do not expect many changes,” say “We don’t expect many changes.” Rather than saying. “I do not know; I will find out and give you an answer as soon as possible,” say “I don’t know; I’ll find out and give you an answer as soon as possible.” Address your listeners by name. Using direct forms of address makes it clear you are really speaking to your listeners and not just reading from a set of notes. Personalized statements will help build rapport and keep an audience listening: “Frank, you and your colleagues in the payroll office are probably wondering how these changes will affect you”; “Ms. Diaz, it’s a pleasure to have the chance to describe our ideas to you this morning.” Do Not Emphasize Mistakes Even the best speakers forget or bungle a line occasionally. The difference between professionals and amateurs is the way they handle such mistakes. The experts simply go on, adjusting their remarks to make the error less noticeable. Usually, an audience is unaware of mistakes. If listeners do not have a copy of your speaking outline, they will not know about the missing parts. Even if they notice you have skipped a section in a brochure you are reviewing with them or in a prepared outline you have distributed after your speech for their reference, they will assume you did it on purpose, 649 perhaps to save time. If you lose your place in your notes, a brief pause will be almost unnoticeable—as long as you do not emphasize that gap in the presentation by frantically pawing through your notes. What about obvious mistakes, such as citing the wrong figures, mispronouncing a name, or trying to use equipment that does not work? The best response here is once again the least noticeable. “Let me correct that. The totals are for the first quarter of the year, not just for March,” you might say and then move on. When technology fails, adapt and move on: “The chart with those figures seems to be missing. Let me summarize it for you.” Finally, emphasize what you did do (“I researched the sales figures for the past five years”) rather than what you did not do (“I didn’t have time to create a chart like I wanted to”). Use Proper Vocabulary, Enunciation, and Pronunciation The language of a board of directors’ meeting or a formal press conference is different from that of an informal gathering of sales representatives at a resort. Each situation will call for varying amounts of formality in terms of address, jargon, slang, contractions, and so forth. When making any presentation, it is important to choose language that is appropriate to the particular setting. It is also important to pronounce your words correctly. Few mistakes will erode your credibility or irritate an audience as quickly as mispronouncing a term or name. Bryce Harper, Major League Baseball player and National League MVP, learned this lesson the hard way when he mispronounced meme during an interview on ESPN’s SportsCenter in 2015: “I don’t even want to answer that right now, because I know how many meh-mays are going to be out there of me with a bald head.” Ironically, his pronunciation became a viral meme of its own.6 Enunciation—articulating words clearly and distinctly—is also important. “We are comin’ out with a new data processin’ system” makes the speaker sound ignorant to many people, even ifthe idea was a good one. 334 650 TECHNOLOGY tip Using Your Smartphone to Analyze Your Delivery Seeing yourself from the audience’s point of view can be an effective way to analyze and improve your delivery in presentations. A smartphone (or digital camera) that can record video is all you need to check out your performance. After recording your presentation, view it carefully, taking notes along the way. Make two columns labeled “Strengths” and “Weaknesses.” Then jot down a list of things you did well and areas to improve as you watch the video four times: As is: Replay the video in its original form, just as it would appear to an audience. Muted: Now watch yourself with no audio. Pay attention to your physical presence: posture, gestures, facial expressions, and so on. Audio only: Listen to your voice without any video. Are you easy to understand? Fluent? Enthusiastic? Are you pronouncing words correctly and enunciating clearly? Fast forward: Speed up the video and see whether any important expressions, mannerisms, or other movements become apparent. This simple exercise will give you both a sense of your delivery strengths and a list of areas that need improvement. Vocal Elements During a presentation, how you sound is just as important as what you say and how you look. Speakers’ voices are especially effective at communicating their attitudes about themselves, their topics, and their listeners: enthusiasm or disinterest, confidence or nervousness, friendliness or hostility, respect or disdain. The following guidelines are important elements in effective communication. 651 Speak with Enthusiasm and Sincerity If you do not appear to feel strongly about the importance of your topic, there is little chance your audience will. Yet professionals often seem indifferent when they present ideas to which they are deeply committed.7 The best way to generate enthusiasm is to think of your presentation as sharing ideas you truly believe in and speak with conviction, in your own style. As slam poet Taylor Mali emphatically expressed in his poem, Totally like whatever, you know: … I challenge you: To speak with conviction. To say what you believe in a manner that bespeaks the determination with which you believe it. Because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker, it is not enough these days to simply QUESTION AUTHORITY. You have to speak with it, too.8 In the stress of making a presentation, you might forget how important your remarks are. To prevent this kind of blindness, remind yourself of why you are speaking in the moments before you speak. Thinking about what you want to say can put life back into your delivery. Speak Loudly Enough to Be Heard Speaking ina quiet voice makes it likely that listeners will not hear important information. In addition, listeners often interpret an overly soft voice as a sign of timidity or lack of conviction. (“He just didn’t sound very 335 sure of himself.”) Shouting is offensive, too (“Does she think she can force her product down our throats?”). A happy medium is the goal: A speaker ought to project enough to be heard clearly and to sound confident. Avoid Disfluencies Disfluencies are those stammers and stutters (“eh,” “um,” and so forth) that creep into everyone’s language at one time or another. Other “filler words” include “ya know,” “like,” “so,” “OK,” and so on. A few disfluencies will go largely unnoticed in a presentation; in fact, without them, the talk might seem overly rehearsed and stilted. An excess of jumbles, stumbles, and fillers, however, makes a speaker sound 652 disorganized, nervous, and uncertain. In cases where disfluencies are extreme, listeners may stop listening to the content of your ideas and instead start counting the number of times you say “like” or “ya know.” Vary Your Speech Just as in your best everyday speaking style, the rate, pitch, and volume of your speech in a presentation should vary. Let your genuine enthusiasm for the topic and situation drive your speaking style, just as it does in your everyday conversations. Slow down and speak slightly louder when you are stating your thesis and your main points, however. Your audience will interpret such cues as meaning “This is important.” Use Pauses Effectively Do not be afraid of silence; it can be used for emphasis, to give your audience time to consider what you have presented, to formulate an answer to a question you have posed, or to indicate the importance of what you have just said. Pausing gives you time to think, which can help curtail your use of disfluencies. Being comfortable with pauses also indicates you are comfortable in the role of speaker; every second does not have to be filled in with words.

• Question-and-Answer Sessions The chance to answer questions on the spot is one of the biggest advantages of oral presentations. Whereas a written report might leave readers confused or unimpressed, your on-the-spot response to questions and concerns can win over an audience.

Audience questions are a part of almost every business and professional talk, from sales presentations and training sessions to boardroom meetings. Sometimes question-and-answer sessions are a separate part of the presentation. At other times, they are mingled with the speaker’s remarks. In any case, responding skillfully to questions is essential. When to Answer Questions 653 The first issue to consider is whether you should entertain questions at all. Sometimes you have no choice, of course. If the boss interrupts your talk to ask for some facts or figures, you are not likely to rule the question out of order. In other cases, the time allotted for your talk or the risk of being distracted will lead you to say something like, “Because we have only 10 minutes on the agenda, I won’t have time for questions. If any of you do have questions, see me after my presentation or during the break or lunch.”9 If your presentation does call for questions from the audience, you can control when they are asked. During the Presentation Speakers often encourage their listeners to ask questions during a talk. This approach lets you respond immediately to your listeners’ 336 concerns. If people are confused, you can set them straight by expanding on a point; if they have objections, you can respond to them on the spot. CAREER tip Minimizing Audience Interruptions A few kinds of interruptions can rattle even confident speakers. The following tips can help minimize the chances that deliberate or unintentional interruptions will throw you off: Post a sign outside the room warning that a presentation is in progress, and close the doors to the room before you begin speaking. Program telephones in the room to ring elsewhere, or activate voice mail to prevent them from ringing during your talk. Ask your audience to silence their cell phones and mute the volume on their laptops for the duration of the presentation. 654 Ask that questions and comments be held until the end of your presentation (if you are not comfortable responding to them during your talk). Let the audience know when there will be a break in the presentation. Check with service personnel or post notices outside the room to ensure that refreshments are not delivered in the middle of your presentation. Be certain that setup for another event is not about to begin in your room before you are finished. (This consideration is especially important if you are the last speaker in a program.) Dealing with your listeners’ questions during a talk does have its drawbacks. Some questions are premature, raising points that you plan to discuss later in your talk. Others are irrelevant and waste both your time and other listeners’ time. If you decide to handle questions during a talk, follow these guidelines. Allow for extra time Answering questions sometimes occupies as much time as your planned talk. A 15-minute report can run 30 minutes or longer with questions. If your time is limited, keep your remarks brief enough to leave time for the audience to respond. ©vitranc/iStock/Getty Images RF Promise to answer premature questions later You should not feel obligated to give detailed responses to every question. If you plan to discuss the information requested by a questioner later in your talk, say, 655 “That’s a good question; I’ll get to that in a moment.” After the Presentation Postponing questions until after you finish your prepared remarks lets you control the way your information is revealed. With this approach, you will not have to worry about someone distracting you with an irrelevant remark or raising an objection you plan to address. You will also have much better control over the length of your talk, lessening the risk that you will run out of time before you run out of information. Sometimes, however, when you deny listeners the chance to speak up, they may be so preoccupied with questions or concerns that they miss much of what you say. For instance, you might spend half your time talking about a product’s benefits while your listeners keep wondering whether they can afford it. In addition, because most of the 337 information people recall is from the beginning and the end of presentations, you risk having your audience remember the high price you mentioned during the question-and-answer session or the tricky question you were unable to answer rather than the high quality you emphasized in the body of your presentation. CAREER tip Anticipating Customers’ Questions When creating a sales presentation, it is important to anticipate the types of questions that prospective customers will ask. Following are a few of the many questions that best-selling author Jeffrey Gitomer suggests preparing for: What do you offer that no one else has? How does your product compare to others? Will the product work in our environment? 656 How will the product impact our people? Our success? How will we profit as a result of purchasing your product? How do we buy it? Will you/your company keep its promises? Will you be my main contact after purchase? Are you being truthful? Keeping in mind customers’ goals—such as profiting from the product and being able to trust and develop a long-term relationship with the companies and salespersons they do business with—will help you craft a more effective sales pitch. Source: Gitomer, J., “The Questions That Matter Most in a Sales Presentation,” Grand Rapids Business Journal, 33(11), 2015, 9. How to Manage Questions Whether you handle them during or after a presentation, questions from the audience can be a challenge. Some questions may be confusing. Others may be thinly veiled attacks on your position: “How much time have you New York folks spent out here in the Midwest?” Still other questions may not be related to the topic you are discussing: “Your talk about film projectors was very interesting. I wonder, do you ever teach classes on making films?” No matter what the audience member’s question, it is important to respond to it carefully. Researchers have found that how presenters respond to questions and objections affects the audience’s perceptions more than the quality of the presentation delivery itself. A speaker who delivers a good presentation but handles questions poorly is typically rated lower than speakers who deliver a good speech with no questions.10 Furthermore, speakers who deliver a poor presentation and also handle questions poorly may be rated lower than speakers who just give a poor speech.11 You can handle questions most effectively by following these suggestions. 657 Start the Ball Rolling Sometimes listeners may be reluctant to ask the first question. You can get a question-and-answer session rolling with your own remarks: “One question you might have is …” or “The other day someone asked whether …” You can also encourage questions nonverbally by leaning forward as you invite the audience to speak up. You might even raise your hand as you ask for questions. Anticipate Likely Questions Put yourself in your listeners’ position. What questions are they likely to ask? Is there a chance they will find parts of your topic hard 338 to understand? Might some points antagonize them? Just as you prepare for an important exam by anticipating the questions that the professor is likely to ask, so you should prepare responses to the inquiries that you are likely to receive in relation to your presentation. Clarify Complicated or Confusing Questions Make sure you understand the question by rephrasing it in your own words: “If I understand you correctly, Tom, you’re asking why we can’t handle this problem with our present staff. Is that right?” Besides helping you understand what a questioner wants, clarification gives you a few precious moments to frame an answer. In addition, it helps other audience members to understand the question. If the audience is large, rephrase every question to make sure it has been heard: “The gentleman asked whether we have financing terms for the equipment.” Treat Questioners with Respect There is little to gain by antagonizing or embarrassing even the most hostile questioner. You can keep your dignity and gain the other listeners’ support by taking every question seriously or even complimenting the person who asks it: “I don’t blame you for thinking the plan is far-fetched, Nora. We thought it was strange at first, too, but the more we examined it, the better it looked.” Even when you are certain you are right, it does not pay to argue with audience members. A “yes-but” reply (“Yes, we did exceed the budget, but it wasn’t our fault.”) is likely to make you sound argumentative or 658 defensive and antagonize the questioner. Instead, you can use a “yes-and” response: “Yes, we did exceed the budget, and that bothers us, too. That’s why we included an explanation of the problems in our report.”12 Keep Answers Focused on Your Goal Do not allow questions to drag you off track. Try to frame answers in ways that promote your goal: “This certainly is different from the way we did things in the old days when you and I started out, Steve. For instance, the computerized system we have now will cut both our costs and our errors. Let me review the figures once more.” You can avoid offending questioners by promising to discuss the matter with them in detail after your presentation or to send them further information: “I’d be happy to show you the electrical plans, Peggy. Let’s get together this afternoon and go over them.” Buy Time When Necessary Sometimes you need a few moments to plan an answer to a surprise question. You can buy time in several ways. First, wait for the questioner to finish speaking. Besides being courteous, this gives you time to mentally compose an answer. Next, reflect the question back to the person who asked it: “How would you deal with the situation and still go ahead with the project, Mary?” You can also turn the question to another audience member: “Chris, you’re the best technical person we have. What’s the best way to save energy costs?” Address Your Answer to the Entire Audience Make eye contact with the person asking the question while he or she is asking it, but address your answer to everyone in the audience. This approach is effective for two reasons. First, it keeps all the audience members involved instead of making them feel like bystanders to a private conversation. Second, it can save you from getting trapped into a debate with hostile questioners. Most critics are likely to keep quiet if you address your response to the entire group. You may not persuade the person who has made a critical remark, but you can use your answer to gain credibility with everyone else. 339 659 Follow the Last Question with a Summary Because listeners are likely to remember especially well the last words they hear you speak, always follow the question-and-answer session with a brief restatement of your thesis and perhaps a call for your audience to act in a way that accomplishes your purpose for speaking. A typical summary might sound like this: I’m grateful for the chance to answer your questions. Now that we’ve gone over the cost projections, I think you can see why we’re convinced this proposal can help boost productivity and cut overhead by almost 10 percent overnight. We’re ready to make these changes immediately. The sooner we hear from you, the sooner we can get started.

• Speaking with Confidence If the thought of making a presentation leaves you feeling anxious, you are in good company. According to Irving Wallace and David Wallechinsky’s Book of Lists, a sample of 3,000 Americans identified “speaking before a group” as their greatest fear, greater even than death.13 This does not mean most people would rather die than give a speech, but it does underscore the fact that public speaking can be a nerve-wracking experience.

Stage fright—or communication apprehension, as communication specialists call it—is just as much a problem for businesspeople as it is for the general population. Communispond, a New York communications consulting firm, surveyed 500 executives and found that nearly 80 percent listed stage fright as their greatest problem in speaking before a group, putting it ahead of such items as “handling hostile interrogators.”14 Another survey found that roughly one-third of a city’s population suffered from more-than-normal anxiety about speaking to an audience.15 660 ©Blend Images - Hill Street Studios/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images RF When the demands of your job include presentational speaking, speech anxiety can jeopardize your career success.16 If you get butterflies in your stomach at the thought of giving a speech, if your hands sweat and your mouth gets dry, if you feel faint or nauseated or have trouble thinking clearly, you might be comforted to know that most people, including famous performers, politicians, and business executives who frequently appear before audiences, experience some degree of nervousness about speaking. Although it is common, communication apprehension does not have to present a serious problem. It is reassuring to know that, however anxious you feel, your apprehension is not as visible to others as you might fear. In several studies, communicators have been asked to rate their own level of anxiety.17 At the same time, other people gave their impression of the speaker’s level of nervousness. In every case, the speakers rated themselves as looking much more nervous than the observers thought they were. Even when such anxiety is noticeable, it does not result in significantly lower evaluations of the speaker’s effectiveness. These research findings are good news for anxious speakers. It is reassuring to know that, even if you are frightened, your listeners are unlikely to recognize that fact or find it distracting. 661 340 Knowing the audience is not bothered by your anxiety can actually reduce a major source of nervousness, leading you to feel more confident. ETHICAL challenge Walking Out of a Presentation Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made headlines in early 2017 for walking out of a series of presentations, which was reportedly unusual behavior for the politician. Prime Minister Modi was allegedly unhappy with the presentations. Sources say that he told the presenters—a group of secretaries on agriculture and allied sectors—that it seemed they had not put enough effort into their ideas and presentation. In what situations, if any, is it ethical for an audience member to leave a presentation before it is over? How would you handle a high-profile audience member criticizing and/or walking out of your presentation? Source: Dash, D. K., “PM Narendra Modi Walks Out of Presentation, Hints Officials Not Serious,” The Times of India, January 14, 2017. Accept a Moderate Amount of Nervousness A certain amount of anxiety is not just normal—it is actually desirable. One consultant says, “If I had a way to remove all fear of speaking for you, I wouldn’t do it. The day you become casual about speaking is the day you risk falling on your face.”18 The threat of botching your presentation can lead to what Edward R. Murrow once called “the sweat of perfection,” spurring you to do your best. The adrenaline rush that comes as you stand up—your body’s response to a threatening situation—can make you appear more energetic, enthusiastic, and forceful than if you were more relaxed and casual. 662 The proper goal is not to eliminate nervousness, but rather to control it. As one experienced speaker put it, “The butterflies never go away; it’s just that after a while they begin to fly in formation.” The time of greatest nervousness for most speakers is before they even begin speaking, when they are thinking about an upcoming presentation.19 Once you get under way, your anxiety will likely decrease. Keeping this fact in mind (“It will get better once I start speaking”) may even help reduce your pre-speech nervousness. Speak More Often Like many unfamiliar activities—ice skating, learning to drive a car, and interviewing for a job, to mention a few—the first attempts at speaking before a group can be unnerving. One source of anxiety is lack of skill and experience. In addition, the very newness of the act is frightening.20 Since newness generates anxiety, one way to become a more confident speaker is to speak more. As with other skills, your first attempts should involve modest challenges with relatively low stakes. Speech courses and workshops taught in colleges, corporations, and community organizations provide opportunities for a group of novices to practice before one another and a supportive instructor. Once you are on the job, it is a good idea to make a number of beginning presentations to small, familiar audiences about noncritical matters. 341 Rehearse Your Presentation Many presentation-related catastrophes stem from inadequate rehearsal. Problems with missing note cards, excessive length, clumsy wording, and confusing material can all be remedied if you practice in advance. As you add more and more technological aids to your presentation, the need for complete and careful rehearsal increases dramatically. Projector bulbs can burn out, extension cords can be too short, Internet connections and presentation files can crash, and microphones can fail. It is important to 663 prepare a backup plan that accounts for all of these scenarios and to rehearse before you face a real audience. As you practice your talk, follow these guidelines. Pay Special Attention to Your Introduction and Conclusion Audiences remember the opening and the closing of a talk most clearly. The first and last moments of your presentation have special importance, so make sure you deliver them effectively in a way that makes every word count. Rehearse on Your Feet, in Front of an Audience Mental rehearsal has its place, but you will not know if your ideas sound good or if they fit into the available time until you say them aloud. Rehearse several times in front of live listeners. In fact, the more closely the size of your practice audience resembles the number of people you will face in your real presentation, the more confident you will feel.21 David Green, a curriculum director for Dale Carnegie & Associates, explains: “That’s what rehearsal is for—to get your mind off the content and onto connecting with an audience.”22 Rehearse in a Real Setting If possible, rehearse in the room where you will actually speak. Make sure you have all the equipment you will need and that it all works correctly. Focus on Your Topic and the Audience Thinking about your feelings—especially difficult ones such as anxiety— is understandable. Obsessing about your nervousness, however, will just make you more anxious. It is far more productive to focus your energy on the message you are delivering and on the audience to whom you are delivering it. If you believe in what you are saying and you have a genuine desire to have your audience understand and accept your message, then your natural enthusiasm will take over and your nervousness will shrink to a manageable size. Think Rationally about Your Presentation 664 Some speakers feel more apprehensive because of the way they think about the speech than because of the act of speaking.23 Researchers have identified a number of irrational but powerful beliefs that lead to unnecessary apprehension.24 Among these mistaken beliefs are the three myths described in this section. Myth: A Presentation Must Be Perfect Whether you are addressing a meeting of potential clients worth millions of dollars to your company or a small group of trainees, your presentation must be clearly organized, well documented, and effectively delivered. Expecting it to be perfect, though, is a surefire prescription for nervousness. According to Otis Williams Jr., founder of a professional development and training firm in Cincinnati, “Practice only makes you better, but perfection doesn’t exist. The goal is to become so comfortable with what you’re saying, it’ll roll off your tongue with minimum effort.”25 A talk can be effective without being flawless. The same principle holds for other types of speaking errors. Most listeners will not notice if you omit a point or rearrange an idea or two. 342 CAREER tip Confidence-Building Strategies Sooner or later, even the most confident speakers will encounter a situation that generates anxiety. When this happens to you, the following tips can help you keep your feelings under control: Rehearse your presentation in front of friends or colleagues. Make sure your test audience tells you honestly what works and what doesn’t. It’s better to learn about your presentation’s weaknesses while there is plenty of time to adjust your approach. 665 Wear clothing that projects a professional image. Putting on a new suit jacket or even a freshly pressed shirt and slacks can give you a quick boost of confidence. Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and carbonated beverages before speaking. Before the presentation, walk around or stretch to relieve stress and burn off excess nervous energy. Before speaking, walk around the room and talk with people who will be listening to your presentation. This step can assist in bridging the speaker–listener gap and help you think of audience members as real people. Remember that you are sharing what you know with people who also want to know it. Keep the presenta

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