The drive to do better exists in everyone, and excelling in presentation delivery is no exception.
Yet it seems that developing confidence, a crucial part of delivery, takes a backseat. To make up for this, presenters just end up putting up a front.
When confidence is just a mask, we eventually slip back to our old habits as soon as the situation that calls for it ends. You effectively stall your presentation skills and never hone real confidence as a result.
You can apply confidence to many other areas in your life, so it makes sense to develop this important skill even outside the context of presentations.
It takes a lot of hard work to become a confident presenter. Get a better look at yourself to see the areas that need your attention so you don’t have to fake it to make it.
1. Awareness
Total awareness of your habits and actions is the first step to knowing yourself better.
Your body language reflects how you feel without you realizing it. Are you constantly shifting your gaze? Do you slouch? Are your hands constantly by your sides?
These gestures don’t display confidence, so learn to change these habits.
Connect with your audience and make them feel involved by establishing eye contact. Good posture will boost your confidence and make you look confident as a result.
Use your hands to persuade your audience and emphasize points in your speech.
2. Observation
Charismatic people project confidence effortlessly.
One of your favorite actors or actresses can serve as an inspiration to develop your presentation style.
However, don’t imitate another person’s speech or delivery style to avoid looking unnatural.
Be yourself, and the audience will react positively to authenticity which improves your audience engagement.
3. Authenticity
Introverts shouldn’t force confidence when they have to give a presentation.
You can still be confident while staying true to yourself.
It will take a lot of preparation and practice in order to mitigate anxiety, but the contemplative nature of introverts help them overcome their hang-ups faster in order to improve.
Due to their limited energy reserves, it’s only crucial that they must plan their actions ahead.
4. Qualifiers
Do you fill in your speech with these words: might, probably, generally, kind of, and mostly?
These words are called qualifiers, and the given examples above express doubt. Use will instead of might, or certainly instead of probably to create a strong and confident argument as necessary.
It‘ll take some time, but speech habits and patterns can be corrected.
5. Expertise
There’s no single, true expert when it comes to reading body language. Nick Morgan, one of America’s top communication coaches, asserts that even you’re much better at reading the body language of people you know than any expert out there.
Don’t overthink how others might interpret your gestures, but be aware that your true intentions can easily be picked up.
This is why faking confidence can be an unreliable tip to follow. You’re constantly trying to be someone else and the audience only needs you to slip up once in order to see through your façade.
Build trust by being confident in your own way.
Confident and Prepared
You should be a lot more relaxed now when you deliver your presentation. Confidence is all about the effort and hard work that you invest in yourself and expressing it naturally.
These tips encourage you to build confidence in a way that will benefit you more in the long run. Don’t settle for a mask of confidence, temporary results don’t last.
Build the right habits and take an honest look at yourself so you can let confidence flow within you.
Once you’ve naturally grown more comfortable under your own skin, it will no longer be necessary to feign confidence.
References
Morgan, Nick. “7 Surprising Truths about Body Language.” Forbes. October 25, 2012. Accessed December 11, 2015. www.forbes.com/sites/nickmorgan/2012/10/25/7-surprising-truths-about-body-language
Perugia, Sarah. “Body Language at Work: How to Connect, Inspire and Project Confidence.”
“Qualifiers.” TheGuardian. December 10, 2015. Accessed December 11, 2015. www.theguardian.com/women-in-leadership/2015/dec/10/body-language-work-project-confidence
White, Martha C. “4 Extremely Easy Ways to Fake Confidence.” Time. August 18, 2014. Accessed December 11, 2015. http://time.com/3131130/fake-confidence
Winch Ph.d., Guy. “10 Things Passive People Say.” Psychology Today. November 12, 2015. Accessed December 11, 2015. www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-squeaky-wheel/201511/10-things-passive-people-say
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