Reframe your nervous feelings to get into the best shape for your business presentation

I am always seeking inspiration for Presentation Skills from outside the business world and there is a fair amount one can learn from actors. One of my favourite pieces of advice comes from Andy Nyman on the topic of nerves. In his book The Golden Rules of Acting he advises:

Don’t say ‘I’m nervous about…’, say ‘I’m excited about…’. Try it, you’ll be amazed how effectively it gets rid of your nerves.

The clever thing about this particular gem is that nerves and excitement feed off the same sets of energy and emotion, so it is quite easy to swap them around in your mind to positive effect. 

Having said you can learn from actors, there are limits to their usefulness to the business presenter. With all due respect to actors and other performers, most of them have never had a proper job for any sustained period and they simply can’t relate to the situation business presenters are in. This was all too apparent when I dealt with some top comedians seeking continued sponsorship support. One was surprised at a frosty response from a sponsor and said: “They did want us to take the p**s out them didn’t they”? My answer: ‘No and they don’t want to continue with the sponsorship, either’!

Andy Nyman, on the other hand, is a much more well-rounded actor who is an award winning writer, director and magician, highly acclaimed for his collaborations with Derren Brown. His book, therefore, is a treasure trove for actors and presenters. Having worked with a number of people whose nerves are exacerbated by watching videos of themselves, I was fascinated to find Andy saying that actors have similar reservations:

Watching yourself in a film or on TV is horrible – you will think your voice sounds horrible and you look awful. Trust me, it doesn’t and you don’t.

This can be a problem, it would seem, even if you happen to be James Bond! Pierce Brosnan commented that his children used to complain about his refusal to watch the latest 007 movies with them – he simply couldn’t bear to see himself on screen. Similarly afflicted, according to last Sunday’s Desert Island Discs is Bond’s boss – Dame Judi Dench.  She told Kirsty Young that she hates watching herself and has never seen many of her performances. She went on to say: “But fear brings a great energy that you can turn into something useful – that is the secret of success”.

So in the words of Andy Nyman, as endorsed by Judi Dench, don’t say: “I am nervous about my presentation; say I am excited about my presentation” and feel the difference that it makes.

Everyday public speaking scenarios point directly to the dos and don’ts of business presentation

Three principles I find myself instilling in business presenters on a regular basis are as follows:

1.    Focus on your audience first, rather than what you want to say

2.    What is the one big thing that you want to say and have your audience remember?

3.    Don’t even think about opening with a joke

I tell them how PM Tony Blair was slow handclapped by the WI for failing to think about their particular needs and concerns. I ask them to consider how they will recover if no one laughs at the joke that is meant to get them off to a good start. I stress the contextual differences between trying out the joke with their mates one night in the bar and the cold light of the conference room first thing in the morning.

Recently though, I was presented with an array of much more vivid examples of presentation pitfalls on a radio phone-in as I advised callers on speaking at weddings and other family gatherings. Jeremy Vine had invited me to join him on his Radio 2 show and I reassured him that I could adjust the advice from my usual business tips to the day-to-day situations that were likely to be forthcoming from his mid-day listeners.

The calls kicked off with a father-of-the-bride who had been researching jokes on the internet, and was feeling increasingly unsure of himself. “Are you a natural comedian”? I asked him. “No”, he replied without equivocation. “So why have to decided to have a go at something really quite challenging on the most important day of your daughter’s life”?

“What should I do instead of telling jokes”, continued the caller. I advised him – as with business presenters – to focus on the one thing he most wants to say about his daughter, which was probably about how beautiful, precious and loving she is. “You might even open up with this; you should certainly close with it; and anything else you say in between – probably in the form of ancient anecdotes - is simply to bring that message to life. Apply that principle and the speech will start to write itself”.

As more calls came in, we heard of brothers who had not spoken since telling inappropriate jokes and stag night tales as part of their wedding speeches, and wedding celebrations that had been abandoned mid-speech. In many, less damaging situations husbands had neglected/forgotten to say how much they loved their new wife – rather as Ed Milliband famously forgot to mention the economy.

The consistent theme throughout was the need to think first and foremost of the audience you are addressing on this particular occasion. Even if you have an absolutely brilliant joke (and ironically Jeremy Vine’s best man was his comedian brother Tim), is a wedding the time and place to roll it out? You should be thinking first and foremost about the bride, the mother-in-law and various, often elderly relations for whom it is meant to be the most special of days. What can you do and say that is definitely going to make it special for them?

As the phone-in progressed it was fascinating to find that the general principles of business presentation, together with the problems and challenges that arise, were equally applicable in a whole range of day-to-day public speaking situations. And it’s well worth observing them, because it’s in those situations that the essential dos and don’ts really come to life.