How to be Authentic During Your Next Presentation
After many hours of preparation, the highly anticipated day has come for you to deliver your presentation. Taking every advantage of your presentation skills and your grasp of the material, you touch upon each salient point.
As you reach the end, you gaze out towards the audience, and after your closing, you receive polite applause. The gesture is appreciated, of course, but if you sense a lack of enthusiasm, there may be a reason.
You prepared well in advance, your visuals were fantastic, and you incorporated the constructive feedback from your team that had given you the green light. Even so, when you read the room, it’s clear that your presentation fell flat. What went wrong?
It can be difficult to understand why you may not be getting the desired response from your audience, despite doing all the “right” things. In circumstances like this, it’s possible that you’re lacking authenticity. If your delivery is mechanical or robotic – if there’s no passion or personality behind your words – your audience will notice.
Authenticity is the cornerstone of any great presentation, and you can’t be a successful public speaker without it.
Play to Your Strengths. You’ll find it easier to speak authentically when you play to your strengths.
If you’re an avid story teller, combine a personal anecdote with your main point.
If you are adept at interpreting raw numbers, make them mean something substantial to others in the room, capitalizing on your mathematical prowess.
If your body language and ability to own the limelight is an asset for you, use it to promote trust.
Whatever your strengths are, incorporate them into your presentation. Your talents will connect you with the audience and create a more engaging speech.
Find a Middle Ground
While rehearsed enthusiasm can kill a speech, it’s ill-advised to go in without any preparation. It’s essential that you find a balance, and how your emotions connect to your words can be a fantastic starting point. Your emotions dictate your nonverbal reactions, and gestures often precede conscious thought. If your nonverbal movements do not match your spoken words, the audience will notice almost immediately. Connect with your content and with your audience on a personal level so that your nonverbal language is tied to what you are saying and to whom you are speaking.
Speak with Purpose
There is no standard for public speakers as far as personality is concerned. In an attempt to appear legitimate, some presenters appear over-enthusiastic. Your audience will not only perceive you as artificial, but chances are they will also disengage. And don’t try to mimic someone else that you may have watched. You are not an actor; you are a business person. It’s important to remind yourself that you aren’t only selling a product or an idea: you are selling yourself.
Be Passionate
In a perfect world, every presentation you deliver would be on a subject that you’re truly passionate about. And while this is most desirable, and would certainly help inspire your audience, it’s not always possible. Or is it?
Clients frequently lament to our coaches, “Well, there’s nothing exciting about this accounting rule change!” However, to the right person or group, that accounting rule change is important and could have major financial implications to your firm. Nonetheless, your passion is an essential piece of an authentic speech.
If you’re required to present what feels like boring monthly numbers to a board, find something about the subject that you can appreciate and demonstrate enthusiasm for. Curiosity and excitement are contagious, and your passion will fuel the energy in the room.
Key points to remember:
Authenticity can’t be rehearsed. Rehearse the material, practice speaking, and make yourself comfortable with the content, but don’t try to rehearse authenticity. Just be yourself on stage – use words you’d actually say, and speak conversationally.
Be willing to be vulnerable. Engaging with your audience requires taking a risk. You have to show them your true self, and yes, that can be scary. People are looking for something more than polish, though; they are looking for a real person behind the message. Be yourself.
Have some idea of what your audience needs to hear, to appreciate the urgency of your message. Do they need you to set the stage for why something is important? Do they need an opportunity to provide feedback? What will make it matter to them?
By shifting your perspective, you can bring a much higher level of authenticity to your delivery. Authenticity drives credibility, and your audience is more likely to retain your message if they feel connected to its source.
Originally posted on LinkedIn