“One minute of preparation will save you 10 minutes of rambling”
– Ed Tate
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when presenting is not rehearsing.
If you’re not prepared at your organization, it could impact your career.
If you’re not prepared with a prospect, you won’t get the business.
Rehearsing gives you confidence.
People buy confidence.
Practice builds confidence and profits.
I’ve created a list of 20 presentation rehearsal techniques to build your confidence. Below you will find the first five tips to put into practice for the coming week.
- Rehearse in Reverse™ – Divide your presentation into multiple equal parts, five, for example. Assign a number to each section. Have a Rehearsal-Buddy call out a number randomly (“3,” for example). Go to that spot on the stage and deliver that part of your presentation. When done, the Rehearsal-Buddy calls out another random number. Go to that spot. Repeat.This process will help you rapidly retain and internalize your material– you will remember all the content correctly. Distraction-Proof: You will know the material so well; interruptions will not bother you.
- Practice in front of a camera, not a mirror. Record all your rehearsals and review every video to identify areas to improve. See the article: How to watch your video.
- Practice the words out loud. The majority of your presentation preparations are done aloud. You must hear what you are saying.
- Practice in front of a mirror to observe your gestures, facial expressions, and body language.
- Slide Deck. Rehearse using your slides. Blank the screen when you want the audience to focus on you (e.g., telling a story). To blank the screen, hit the “B” key on the keyboard or the blank button on your remote.
Stay tuned next week for tips 6-10 where I provide more #rehearsal techniques!
If you find yourself practicing the first five tips and have a story you’d like to share, send me a message with the details here and you may be featured in a future article.
See you on stage,
Ed
#pitchdeck #highstakespresentations #businesspresentations #storyselling
