Making a Dynamic Presentation in English
Author: Lydia Fisher
Publication: British Chamber of Commerce Yearbook 2000-2001
Fernando, step into my office for a moment would you? The guys from the UK are over here again. You've got a presentation tomorrow in English."
What do you think Fernando's first reaction is?
Did you know that 90% or more of the business population have that very same reaction?
Did you know that the outcome of the presentation is directly related to the initial reaction?
A negative reaction gives a negative result and a positive reaction gives a positive result. And where does a positive reaction come from? Simple. Confidence.
Fear of speaking is a mental attitude. It can be replaced with confidence, another mental attitude. And how are mental attitudes formed? Very often out of past experiences and are linked to our beliefs and feelings. An attitude is a subconscious reaction to a situation. It determines how we react in any given circumstances either positively: "I like speaking in English" or negatively "I don't feel good when I have to speak."
You were not born with attitudes. They were programmed from past experiences possibly as far back as being a child when criticism from peers, teachers or parents resulted in a negative impact on your self image.
And what is self image? It is the internal picture of yourself and it determines your self esteem. And your self esteem is displayed to others by your attitude confident or other. If you are performing inside your comfort zone you will have confidence and poise.
However in an area such as presentations in English you are performing outside your comfort zone. Your performance is lowered and this causes anxiety and stress your voice cracks and you can't think of what to say. You've moved too far out of your zone.
If your goal is to be confident in presenting in English. What's the solution? Well, the solution is simply to enlarge your comfort zone.
Let me now invite you to hear how some business leaders have enlarged their zones and how they achieve success in their presentations.
Enrique Chinchilla Tax Lawyer from Garrigues Andersen says that preparation is the key. The more preparation you do the more natural is your presentation. You are not tied to it. You can be more flexible, more spontaneous, more sensitive to your audience.
What is the antidote for nerves? According to Enrique it is practise, practise, practise. He advises us to take every chance of speaking formally or informally in public. The more you speak the more you grow. Finally he suggests not to hurry your presentation pace your words and have lots of eye contact react to your audience.
Oriol Oliveras Bagues, Marketing Director from Bagues Jewellers, mirrors this advice saying that after following a seminar on presentations you feel more relaxed. You have all the information you need to handle the situation well. And you realise the importance of preparation before the event.
Toni Moreno, Marketing Director of the Crazy Planet Division from Chupa Chups, declares "Know your subject. Be an expert. You need to tell your audience something they don't know grab their attention. Transmit one message so that all of your audience gets it. When you are confident you communicate better your nerves disappear. Use only key visuals. A picture really does speak at least a thousand words."
Manuel Duran, Vice President of Freixenet, remarks that "How to influence everyone in your audience" is a particularly interesting and useful tool that he discovered after many successful years of speaking in English.
And finally Josep Casellas, Director of Lotus Professional Sevices based in the UK summarises clearly "When you are prepared you have everything under control including your nerves. You must know exactly what you want to communicate the audience want to receive a clear memorable message. You want to see them listening to you, following you and understanding your message. Structure is vitally important. Confidence starts with a smile."
Whatever business you are in raising funds, managing a multinational or dealing with government agencies success depends on your ability to communicate effectively. And communicating effectively is how well your message is received.
Fernando was so glad that he had already followed a seminar on Presentations in English at the British Chamber of Commerce just the month before. He knew his presentation tomorrow was going to be just perfect.
A positive reaction always gives a positive result.
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