Jumpstart Confidence in Business Presenting

True confessions time.
Corporate leaders around the world confess to a singular dread of presenting in front of groups. It's shocking, really. Grown men in dark blue suits. Successful women who have smashed the glass ceiling.
They should be confident. They should feel great and ready to jump up and take center stage. But, it's not the case.
In the quiet safety of a hallway. Next to the elevator. Over a cup of coffee. These men and women tell a simple story:
"I dread presenting."
"I get nauseous just thinking about it!"
"I've had presentation skills training on my development plan for the last 15 years."
This is bad news. Smart, well-educated professionals who would rather stay under the covers than step into the spotlight. All that knowledge, insight and contribution hidden or lost. This is a sorry shame.
But good news is close behind.
Learning how to feel confident giving presentations has gotten easier than ever before. An entire new source for professional development training is now available: online presentation skills training.
Previously, busy professionals relied on expensive in-house training programs, exorbitant coaching fees and public seminars. No more. Now, the choice is clear: self-study courses are the way to go.
These leaders are men and women who know the importance of professional skills training. It's a career booster like no other. It is the critical key to unlock more job opportunity, better promotions, and greater success.
While senior leadership promotions often look for work experience, smart organizations value communication training and leadership presentation skills.
The big question every professional should ask is this: what's on your calendar for becoming a confident presenter?
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Hear What People Are Really Saying

Listening is one of the most important skills you can have. How well you listen has a major impact on your job effectiveness, and on the quality of your relationships with others.

We listen to obtain information.
We listen to understand.
We listen for enjoyment.
We listen to learn.

Given all this listening we do, you would think we’d be good at it! In fact we’re not. Depending on the study being quoted, we remember a dismal 25-50% of what we hear. That means that when you talk to your boss, colleagues, customers or spouse for 10 minutes, they only really hear 2½-5 minutes of the conversation.

Turn it around and it reveals that when you are receiving directions or being presented with information, you aren’t hearing the whole message either. You hope the important parts are captured in your 25- 50%, but what if they’re not?

Clearly, listening is a skill that we can all benefit from improving. By becoming a better listener, you will improve your productivity, as well as your ability to influence, persuade negotiate. What’s more, you’ll avoid conflict and misunderstandings – all necessary for workplace success. )

Good communication skills require a high level of self-awareness. By understanding your personal style of communicating, you will go a long way towards creating good and lasting impressions with others.

Continue: Mindtools

How to Improve Communication Skills With People

Effective communication skills are an asset in many life situations. They can contribute to a higher level of success in your career, open up opportunities to make new friends and give you a sense of confidence when faced with a room full of strangers. According to Don Hofstrand, Co-Director, Ag Marketing Resource Center, good communication skills can enhance relationships, while poor skills can deplete them. There are many people who may need work when it comes to communication skills, but the effort can make a positive difference in business and personal relationships.

Instructions

Make eye contact with the person to whom you are speaking. This serves to establish a sense of trust among people because it shows you have confidence in what you are saying. If you are speaking to a room full of people, you can make periodic eye contact with different people as you speak. If you are speaking one-on-one with someone, make the level of eye contact comfortable by making periodic breaks in contact. Too little eye contact will make people feel uncomfortable and make them think you have something to hide or that you are not being honest with them.

Be aware of your body language and facial expressions. A friendly, warm smile can make you seem more approachable. You don't have to constantly bare your teeth at people; a closed-mouth smile works just as well and may feel more comfortable. Make sure your body language conveys a sense of openness and interest. Crossed arms and legs convey a sense that you are closed off and not interested in communicating. Sit or stand in an easy, relaxed posture to show you are interested in the conversation.

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Fearlessly Communicating and Talking with Confidence

I am going to start off by telling you about the problems I had in communicating confidently. I have not seen much variation between people who lack confidence when talking with others so if you are short in the confidence department or just want to have more confidence in your conversations, you’ll definitely be able to relate and learn from my experience. You do not need to go through life lacking confidence and feeling dominated by others and situations.

From an early age, I was always the quiet boy. I’d sit in school knowing the answers to a question but would be too afraid to answer. I couldn’t talk to someone new. I wouldn’t look someone in the eyes if they looked back at me and I’d hardly argue with anyone. Yes arguing is a bad thing, but I avoided arguing not because it was the right thing to do, but because I was too afraid to speak up and voice my opinion. I was passive and unconfident in letting people verbally trample over me.

Being so passively accepting like I was is dangerous for your mental health. A fear to speak from poor confidence can manifest in huge forms of resentment, ill will, and anger which in turn destroys relationships, happiness, and success. You can probably see that talking with confidence is strongly related to assertive communication. Rarely do you see a person who lacks confidence asserting themselves. I’ll try to stick to the confidence side of things as you can read more about assertion in the assertive skills section.

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How to Take Control of your Self Confidence

Having confidence is all about believing in yourself and the only way you can build your belief in what you are capable of is by taking action in the world and learning through trial and error.

If you think success, happiness and love are going to happen without learning through mistakes along the way you are mistaken.

Our brains are wired to learn from our own experiences as well as those of others. Without experience how are you going to learn anything?

Let me give you an example. At my local bank a number of weeks ago I attempted to make small talk with the cashier and she completely ignored me.

Last week I was in the bank and tried my small talk routine again, and again I failed. She ignored me again!

There are a number of ways to view this situation:

1. My communication strategy is not working
2. I need to change my approach
3. I will learn from this experience and become better

A number of years ago I would have given this situation a different analysis:

1. She is rude and ignorant. She thinks I am a moron
2. I feel crushed by this blatant rejection
3. My confidence depends on this person liking me

Notice the difference. My old outlook sets me up for pain and frustration and puts the ball in the court of the other person. My confidence depends on how the other person responds.

My new outlook puts me in control. I created the results I am getting, I can choose to change my approach and I can decide to learn and grow from every experience.

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