Firstly apologies to any of my lovely readers who received the unfinished version of this post yesterday. I pressed publish instead of save! Well, there’s a first time for everything.
Last week’s post, in this five-part series on the art of presenting, explored the energy of understanding and the part it plays in helping you to create the energy needed to move audiences from awareness to belief to trust; to move ideas out of the darkness into the light; to move you to share and articulate in new ways.
To recap, the five energy sources are…
- Understanding
- You
- Choice
- Delivery
- Development
And here, in part two, we take a look at the marvellous movement maker, the energy of you.
Presenting with Confidence and Credibility
Regardless of your career stage or experience, if you are being asked to present to an audience, large or small, a key ingredient is you.
People want to hear what you have to say and are investing their time to be part of the experience.
So why is it that, despite this, many are racked with fear, overcome by nerves and avoid presenting at all costs?
There are many reasons. All natural. All valid.
What if I forget…? What if they hate me? I’m not expert enough. They’ll see I’m a fraud. I haven’t shared these ideas before. They’ll all be judging me. I haven’t presented to this type of audience before. I’m not very good at it. And…
Recognise any?
The surprising fact is that, perceived and nurtured in the right way, these inner doubts and concerns can be transformed from energy sappers in to your own personal energy makers.
Let’s say hello to the energy of you.
Energy of you
When it comes to this energy source, its power is amazing because it brings together confidence, nerves and enthusiasm.
These help you generate the energy of you because they…
- show you care about what you are sharing which helps others to start caring too
- put your audience at ease which in turn encourages openness to you and your ideas
- bring authenticity to the ‘stage’ and, in combination with accessible content, demonstrates credibility and builds trust
The energy of you encourages and enables movement because…
Mindset – crafting your story, stepping out into the spotlight and sharing with others shows strength. Putting your fears to one side so that others can step into your world, access new knowledge, be inspired unites you and your audience through the potential of positive change.
Opportunity – the excitement and trepidation of doing something new creates a powerful mix. This applies to you and your audience alike. The possibility for growth and learning; the anticipation of moving forward helps you and your audience connect through this shared experience.
Voice – finding your voice is part of developing your presenting style. Although you may adapt this to suit difference audiences and aims, your core heart and soul stays constant. Showing your stories, insights, ideas matter to you brings authenticity and encourages audiences to listen.
Energy – the energy of you combines the energy of potential, possibilities and authenticity.
Putting it into practice
Confidence
Calm confidence in yourself is a powerful energy source.
The brilliant and frustrating fact about confidence is – it grows when you try new things or challenge yourself in different ways. When you do something you’re not confident about. And confidently presenting to an audience comes from, amongst other things, getting out there and… presenting.
Your confidence in yourself and what you are sharing helps the audience to believe in you. Belief sparking curiosity and interest, and contributing to credibility.
Here are a few things to help you if you feel you might be having a confidence wobble or you have lost perspective on your presenting opportunity…
- Don’t wait until you feel confident. Approaching challenges; having a go builds confidence. Avoiding challenges; waiting for confidence, does not.
- If self-doubt creeps in your own beliefs, assumptions and actions can get skewed. You can start standing in the way of yourself. Maintain a healthy perspective by keeping a check on reality.
- Remember it is natural to sometimes feel lacking in confidence. It is how you deal with those feelings that is key. Reflect on ‘what’ you are feeling and come up with ideas and actions to move things forward.
- And don’t forget… your sense of achievement feeds your confidence and your confidence energises you and your audence.
Nerves
Nervous energy, managed in a positive way, is a special superpower.
In her book Playing Big, Tara Mohr shares two different words for fear, pachad and yirah.
Pachad is the fear which builds thanks to over-emphasising worst case scenarios; of imaging everything negative. It’s our irrational fear.
Yirah on the other hand is the feeling you get when you ‘inhabit a larger space than we are used to’. When you feel like you are ‘in possession of more energy that you’ve had before’. Yirah is the energy which comes from possibility.
“That’s all fine, Elaine, but how can I tell the difference if my inner critic goes into hyper-drive!”
To help you understand more about what’s going on with you and access this excellent energy source here’s a mini exercise…
Step 1 – Shine a metaphorical spotlight onto what it is that is making you feel nervous or onto what you know will make you feel nervous beforehand.
Step 2 – Set your timer for 5 minutes and write down or doodle everything you can think of that is making you feel this way. Don’t censor yourself. There are no right or wrong.
Step 3 – When you have captured all you can, take a look back at what you have written or doodled.
Step 4 – Next sort out, what is true, what is false, what you don’t know.
Step 5 – Say goodbye to the false, make a plan for the true and re-assess the don’t knows.
Enthusiasm
Enthusiasm is genuine focused positive energy.
Eagerness to get involved; a desire to learn; being interested and proactive.
When you are presenting to an audience, your enthusiasm shows you have a deep connection to, and care about, what you are sharing. Helping them to be inspired and engage with whatever ideas or content you are presenting.
Real enthusiasm is infectious and you can nurture and tap in to yours by…
- Remembering to be true to yourself. Enthusiasm is not about over-excitement or being excessively showy. Find your own ways of demonstrating your positive self. Real spark brings real connection.
- Taking time to reflect on why you care about what about what you are sharing. Why does it matter to you and the world? Why are you doing what you do?
- Using your insights from the energy of understanding – what is the purpose of your presentation?
So before you say ‘no’ to a fantastic opportunity or shrink yourself with skewed perspectives, remember that the energy of you is possibly your most potent energy source of all. And a source which helps you present with confidence and authenticity.
And what about next week and part three of Energise and Engage?
Well, that’s all about the magical movement maker…
…the energy of choice.
Career Energiser Blog 
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