Even blood and guts rugby players get butterflies so why wouldn’t presenters? Ask any salesperson if they are nervous before making a big presentation and they’ll say “Absolutely”. Here are 9 tips to overcome your nerves and make a brilliant presentation.

1. Practice like a maniac.
2. Anticipate objections and questions. Prepare your responses. Knowing you have all the bases covered will calm your nerves.
3. Make small talk. If you don’t know everyone in your audience already, make sure you introduce yourself and find out their roles. You can better direct your value proposition if you know what they care about.
4. Remind yourself that people want to see you succeed. Your sponsors recommended that you be invited to present. They are pulling for you.
5. Memorize the trouble spots. If you practice you’ll know where you have trouble. Memorize key elements of your trouble spots so they will flow smoothly on the big day.
6. Take 3 deep breaths. 10 minutes before you speak. Slowly breath out for as long as you can. Pull back your shoulders and let your body naturally pull in a deep breath.Two more like this, and you will be more relaxed an ready to wow them.
7. Stand up tall and hold your head high. Show confidence in your posture and make eye contact with the customer’s team
8. Speak slowly and clearly while enunciating your words. Nerves can make you talk fast. Slowing your speech can calm you.
9. Accept the fear, don’t fight it. The worst thing you can do when you’re nervous is to notice your own anxiety and start worrying about that too. Just accept any nervousness you feel just as you would accept that the carpet is blue or the walls are white. Trying to force yourself to calm down or hide signs of nervousness can backfire and make your problem worse.

Just as rugby is played by a team, most sales presentations are made by teams. Practice together. Know which of you will talk about each area to be covered. Confidence in your team, your plan and lots of practice will turn your fear into courage. Draw a few deep breaths and take the pitch.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 6th, 2010 at 6:35 am and is filed under Presentations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.