After I went self employed one of my “to dos” was to become confident at public speaking. I’m happy to talk for a long time about things I know about, like bikes and the web, to friends but speaking in front of a crowd of people has always filled me with dread.

As a practice I decided I would host small presentations at our monthly jimmyteens.tv team meetings. The next to take place in December I’ll be talking about managing your email inbox. Influenced by Merlin Mann’s Inbox Zero talk it will be more focused on the way things are done at jimmyteens.tv and specific to my audience.

As luck would have it a couple of weeks ago Teenage Cancer Trust asked me to speak as part of their presentation at the “eyeforpharma Mobile Strategies for Pharma” taking place on the 1st of December.

This is a great opportunity – before I’ve implemented my practice regime – and as such I’ve spent some considerable time preparing for it. The only way to conquer the nerves, as I see it, is to be immensely prepared for it.

I asked my Dad who has done a lot of public speaking in his time for some tips, seeing as we’re alike I thought his experience and process would suit me.

This is what he sent me back, which I think are some great tips:

1. Everyone gets nervous. I do too. But I know that if I am not nervous, I will not deliver a good presentation. At the end of the day, it is just a performance. I like to think of these nerves as healthy nerves. My nerves sometimes have gotten the better of me but never to the point where I completely lost it.

2. It is surprising how little people notice if I am nervous. Most of the time, and most definitely when you will be speaking at your forthcoming seminar, the audience is very interested in hearing what I have to say. Most of the time they do not know me well or not at all and therefore they have no preconceptions and tend to just look for the message that I am trying to get across.

3. For me there are three aspects to deal with when having to deliver a presentation:

   a) Nerves.

   b) Excitement.

   c) The message.

4. The nerves disappear to a great degree and are replaced by excitement if I have prepared my message well. With “excitement” I mean looking forward to the opportunity to actually delivering a message. Increasingly, over the years, I have enjoyed giving presentations and the once that have given me most enjoyment are the ones which have been prepared best. Without a doubt, it is ALWAYS down to preparation of the message.

   So how do I put together a good message?

5. I spend much time thinking about what I want to say and want to get across. It tends to rumble about in my brain for days, sometimes weeks, depending on how much notice I have been given. During that time I will also talk to people/colleagues and tell them that I will be giving a presentation to such and such an audience, what I have been asked to talk about and how I am planning to structure it.

   Using that process helps with crystallisation of ideas in my head. When speaking out loud with people about it, I realise what is good and not so good about what I am planning to say and how I want to get things across. (Sometimes people give immediate feedback, which can be helpful, although feedback that you get later in the process is more important. See point 9.) After this “gestation” period, I get everything down on paper.

6. a) Introduction:

   I. Pertinent facts about myself. An audience likes to know who is standing in front of them. I always take a conservative approach and give my complete name, as opposed to just my first name. If appropriate, I tell them how old I am. I give them two sentences about my career back-ground.

   II. With an audience that I have never met, I always provide relevant information about myself. With relevant I mean information that they can relate to. E.g. when giving a talk to a bunch of engineers, I will make them aware that I am a sales guy who has a great deal of experience in working with engineering departments and that I have been involved in the development and project management of technical products. If I am talking to sales people, I put emphasis on my sales background. If I am talking to finance/administrative people, I link my background to areas which they can relate to. Therefore, it is important that you understand who your audience is otherwise you might lose them during the intro.

   III. I provide two sentences on why I am standing in front of them, and THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE INTRO, I tell them what I am going to tell them in the next 10 minutes, 15 minutes or however long I have been given to deliver the message. I invite the audience to ask questions, either during the delivery or afterwards. I much prefer during but sometimes it is not suitable so then afterwards is more appropriate.

   Then:

   b) Bullet point / message part 1

   c) Bullet point / message part 2

   d) Bullet point / message part 3

   etc. etc.

   e. I close with a conclusion or summary and ….

   f. I open it up for questions even if officially I am out of time. I always take liberties with this; if the coordinator wants me off, they always come and tell me. If I know I have a chance to mingle afterwards (during lunch or a break) I tell people that they can approach me then. (I do not know what opportunities you have with your audience but if this is a networking opportunity for possible work then grab it with both hands!)

7. In the early days I used to write the whole thing out in full sentences. It helps with remembering.

8. Then I practice, in front of a mirror. I timed myself with a stopwatch every time. Once I get to the point where my times are consistent, I have it properly in my head.

9. The final test is to deliver it to a practice audience. In my case it is always your Mum. I do this twice, three times and accept criticism. If your Mum does not understand, then I know that the audience does not either. I make the necessary adjustments. By the way, my practice-run is truly a practice run, i.e. I am standing up, adopting the style, body posture, gesticulation of the real performance. I find that if you can do that convincingly, the real performance is easy. The final stage is…

10. Some more practice. Then I leave it for a day or two. I don’t touch it and relax.

11. Two days before delivery I read it again and I am likely to make a few minor changes and do the last bit of fine-tuning.

12. I do some more practice.

13. I practice some more.

14. Finally… I remind myself that I must speak slowly (exaggerate) and clearly and LOUD. I keep this in mind when I am delivering.

I’ll let you know how it goes…