I was never a huge fan of public speaking. I was always very nervous and had this overwhelming feeling the audience was judging my every word. I now know how to overcome my fears and deliver a memorable presentation.
I have summarized for you the top 5 strategies I use to make sure every presentation is a showstopper.
Realize 90% of Nervousness Doesn’t Even Show
The audience usually cant see the telltale symptoms of nervousness. The butterflies, the shaky hands or the sweaty palms. The key is for you to not focus on them either. You need to focus on the audience. When you do this two things will happen: 1) they will like you more, and 2) much of the nervousness that you feel will go away.
Dont Avoid Eye-Contact.
When we are nervous, it is a natural reaction to want to hide. When you are standing in front of a group of people where do you hide? You cant. So you will tend to look down or look away from your audience. If we cant see them they cant see us, right? Wrong.
The other trick people try is to look over the tops of their heads. The idea here is that by looking a peoples foreheads, they will think you are looking...