6: 101 Holistic Prep for a high stakes Presentation

In this article I will go through steps to take over a period of weeks to prepare for a public speaking presentation. Unlike previous articles there will no specific exercises. Instead this is an example of an holistic process.

Whilst technique underpins the delivery of good communication, a positive and accurate mindset means you can adapt to whatever is thrown at you, never allowing circumstance or the inner critic to define your sense of worth or trouble your presentation.

The combination of mindset and practiced technique is where mastery can be found.

Weeks before:

I don’t know how many weeks this means for you, but take a look at what I suggest and work backwards. As a general rule of thumb, preparation can take 1 to 2 hours per minute of speech. This varies with how much research or supporting material you need, who you are talking to and the amount of experience you have.

Mindset

From the outset I would recommend finding a hypnotherapist or a meditation guide who can help you get into a relaxed state so you can take on and integrate the thoughts and perspectives of someone who is a confident public speaker. This is how you will replace old and inaccurate or fearful thoughts.

Content

Purpose. When working on a dramatic speech, actors are often asked to read out the last few lines of text - because normally this neatly sums up why the speech is happening at all:

“If I can check my erring love I will. If not to compass her I’ll use my skill” (Two gentlemen of Verona - Shakespeare)

“Then throw in the chicken. He’ll geek” (Clem in Nightmare Alley - Guillermo del Toro)

So, know what it is you are going to tell them - the end point of what you want to persuade them to believe and or do. This is the purpose of what you are going to talk about. It’s the establishing of the common ground and the assumptions that underpin it. It can be as simple as “I’m talking with you today to recommend that we accept this bid”. Telling them what you will tell them lets everyone know why they need to listen and what they can expect as a takeaway.

Audience

There’s an old saying (not to be confused with a similar quote from Karl Marx)

“Speak to each according to their understanding”

It is important to keep this in mind throughout the process and check that you are keeping true to the maxim. Yasir Khan of “Speak like a CEO” recently posted a clip of a big public facing Google announcement about its AI, failing, because only those who worked deeply in AI would understand.

In normal conversation we often naturally adapt to the nonverbal signals of the person we are talking to - adapt our messaging when they don’t understand something. Audio book voice actors know that they must speak in a way that allows the listener to follow and keep up. When you imagine speaking to a group, imagine that you may be walking a little ahead but must maintain a pace and language that allows them to follow you and not get left behind.

List your talking points in an order that best suits your purpose.

Simple example:

Central Idea: "The costs of dog owners for pensioners should be tax free"

1 - Statement

"Owning a pet dog is a great idea for pensioners"

a) This is the supporting warrant or reasoning behind the Statement.

"Walking a dog encourages regular exercise for both dog and owner..."

b) This is another different warrant or reasoning behind the Statement.

"Petting a dog has been shown to decrease stress levels."

c) This the bigger picture that allows me to transition to the next Statement

"Exercise companionship and reduced stress means less doctor visits and longer life expectancy"

2 - Statement

"Revenue lost from sales tax saves money in health costs"

... and so on.

The organization of your main points can vary, and fall into different categories. Selecting the right one can either appear obvious or be discovered during early rehearsals. Main points should always be distinct from one another.

Ways of organizing talking points for you to search for: Causal Order, Spatial Order, Chronological Order, Topical Order and Problem-Solution Order.

You might also think of statements being developed along a more story-led approach (More on that in next week's post). Play with different ways of opening the subject - a personal story, a question, a surprising fact or a quote. You can choose a favorite later.

You can start off by listing every major statement and supporting points that support the purpose - knowing you will triage and re-order down to the essentials during rehearsals...

Rehearsal:

Rehearse saying the opening statement and then going through the points using them as triggers to cover something extemporized rather than scripted. Each time you do it you will refine and improve your language and efficiency of communication, and even get to the point when you only need to see one word to remind you of the next talking point. Working from the beginning without a script frees you to come at your points organically - and you won’t have to learn lines! Rehearse, triage, rehearse. Remember to check that in becoming more efficient, your language is still accessible to your audience.

Finally you can add the summary - the best time is when you have triaged your speech down to its most efficient and engaging points. Think of it like writing the summary to a business plan - it’s best done at the end of the process. Tell them what you told them.

Slides and Aides (If required)

Now you can find simple slides (if that is what you are using) that reflect visually or with a small number of words the “headlines” of your statements and your supporting evidence. Many people rush to the slides too early, overload them with text and images that will only distract or overwhelm the listener, and end up wasting valuable time removing things later. Public speaking is primarily a vocal and physical medium - even on a webcam (Don’t get too close!), it’s not a read-along book.

Rehearse with the slides and record a video of each rehearsal and replay to improve on body language, tone and timing. Videos of ourselves are more ubiquitous than ever, but even so, watching yourself with a compassionate and fair assessment, is a skill that can start with discomfort. It’s worth it though. With the right mindset you will find it easier to stand without shrinking, gesture freely without constriction, and gesture less, and do less up-talk. (Going up at the end of statements as if they were a question)

Finally present (live) to a friend or colleague and ask for specific supportive and constructive feedback. You might agree on how you would like feedback to be given - for example to mention what worked first, then what might be improved, and then see improvement as an outside problem that can be solved together. The problem is not you. The mistake or error doesn’t say anything about your value or the achievement as a whole.

Vocal Practice:

The majority of our speaking lives are spent talking to people in close proximity, in a process of discourse. Turn-taking is key. Each speaker takes turns in the listener role, making clear through verbal and nonverbal cues when something is understood or not. These are called “regulators” as they help regulate the flow of conversation.

In situations where there is a presentation of one to many, there is normally less, if any, turn-taking. Regulators must be nonverbal and the greater the distance between speaker and and the audience, the less perceived need to show understanding - which may not be able to be seen anyway.

It is this unfamiliar lack of ongoing assessment of what you are saying, that can be uncomfortable. A common response is to turn the assessment lens on yourself whilst speaking. Such self assessment is useful after the event (as in the recorded rehearsals above) but never during it. Self focus will only find what it fears and make it a reality. Stress affects breathing and that affects the voice and so compounds negative self assessment.

The good news is that if stress affects breathing that also means breathing affects stress. Training yourself to speak with proper breath support means you have a hard wired tool to calm your body’s response to stress and start with a confident voice - and that can compound the sense of self reassurance: “You’ve got this”.

Often overlooked in Public Speaking coaching is voice - perhaps because it is seen as a separate coaching field. For actors, working on breathing and voice is accepted without question. But clients may need to be persuaded to appreciate why such unfamiliar regular exercises are sometimes necessary. The ability to talk and the ability to speak publicly may seem like a much shorter distance than the ability to play a recorder and to play a flute. However your voice is no less a tool and instrument, used to one thing but needing to adapt to another. Public speaking requires breath support, and the vocal clarity that comes from a supported voice and clear diction. That requires practice.

It is notoriously difficult to describe with words and images even something apparently simple: how to breathe a full breath without tension.

"Allow the diaphragm and perineum to drop and the intercostal muscles to stretch whilst keeping the shoulders relaxed.... "

You see? Doesn’t help much does it?

This is where engaging a vocal coach would be a good early move, even if only to check in. Communicate a clear goal to speak clearly and authentically with well supported breath. They won’t turn you into a Shakespearean performer, but instead give you practical exercises to change unhelpful habits, or install new more useful ones.

A note on Body Language

Much is made of "steeple hands" and "power poses", and as with all shorthand of nonverbal behavior there is a decent amount of behavioral psychology that supports their use (although support for "power poses" has waned in recent years). There is a truth that if you change your body's shape - for instance walk stooped - you are more likely to feel negative emotions (affect). If you walk more upright and head straight, you will feel more positive.

However, many approaches to improving body language rely too heavily of "fake it until you make it" and that sense of fakery - of arbitrary and/or rehearsed gestures can lead to a feeling of inauthenticity, for both the speaker and the listener.

Instead, getting the correct mindset will help you stand straight and relaxed taking up the space you need to communicate, gesturing when appropriate and useful and no more.

At this point it will be useful to have someone help you have an authentic physicality that matches your authority, or make the changes yourself using the resources that are available from the many coaches out that give gesture and posture "tips". Now you will be ale to apply them with fearless authenticity.

Body language is a big subject and deserves and article of it's own, at a later date. Onwards...!

1-2 weeks before:

Rehearsal Tapering

You should now be confident that you have an increasingly efficient and well laid out presentation. Taking 20 minutes a day to rehearse one part of the speech in turn is like the “tapering down” that runners and other event sports people do. You will go through the entire speech before the day of course - but if you have reached a point where you cannot refine much further and you know your content by heart you are safe to “taper down”. This will allow you to put a final version of your presentation onto a flash drive (just in case - see “Venue” below).

Anticipating Questions

Now is also a good time to anticipate any questions you may get - from hostile and impassioned to rambling statements that contain no question. Work on a variety of responses to each and add them to the rehearsal. You can find some examples of how to respond to a variety of types of questions here.

Mindset

Using a sleep hypnosis or guided meditation recording can help install good habits of thought and responses to busy brain or late night negative thinking. When we are tired we can be more vulnerable to that negative voice and fearful predictor. A stressed mind might fall into the trap of running through the things done or undone on repeat. Giving yourself time to repeatedly use sleep recordings means those skills are pre-proven and available the night before the speaking event, ensuring a good sleep that means you can wake refreshed and ready.

The Day Before

Prepare for technical failures. That flash drive of your presentation is a good example - you can give it to the guys at the desk, or you can use it in someone else’s laptop. Have a spare clicker if you are using one, or at least bring spare batteries.

Rehearse the procedure you plan to use on the next day. Include a quick voice and breath exercise (See the humming and straw exercise in a [previous post] here). Go through the presentation as if you were telling a friend and don’t be tempted to make too many changes. With all the preparation you have done and the improved curation of your thoughts you can quite fairly predict success, and that the day will end like any other.

Hydrate

Depending on how dehydrated you are, returning to the right level of hydration can take hours. Not drinking enough water can have an effect on serotonin levels and therefore make it harder to turn the volume down on those negative thoughts and fearful imaginings. It can also interrupt sleep cycles. Of course, you also don’t want to be up all night, so make sure you are hydrating throughout the day, and stop as you approach bedtime. But…

The day that includes your presentation:

… because you lose water in your sleep, make sure you drink at least one cup of water with your breakfast, and keep topped up. Plan to visit the washroom just before your presentation.

Mindset

Ideally listen to a pre-recorded hypnosis session or guided meditation that speaks to your success over the past weeks. It will also remind you that you can be your own source of reassurance and encouragement; that your mind and body can work together, accepting any apprehension as natural because you care. That apprehension is something that will pass. This is no less than something a sportsperson might do before an important game.

The Venue

In many cases there will be a technical rehearsal for each presenter. This is an excellent opportunity to get familiar with a territory that you will soon claim as your own. Look at the seats and remember human to human. Feel any apprehension? Allow it to also be exciting (there’s no difference physiologically and neurologically speaking) And practice the breathing and other techniques you have learned reassures your body’s limbic system and calms the stress response. You’ve got this!

Now is also the chance to speak clearly and with well supported breath. You might be surprised how your voice sounds - whether mic’d or not. Each venue has different acoustics and set ups, and this is something that regular speakers expect. So use this occasion to apply those tools you learned and practiced over the past weeks.

The Presentation:

Walk on. Take time to allow any apprehension to pass. Look at the people in front of you as a bunch of humans who are like you. Who like you, drink coffee, like you travelled to the venue. Look at them as a bunch of individuals who will benefit from your act service - and speak.

If you lose your place, pause and take a deep low breath to collect yourself - this will actually be seen as an example of mastery. If there are any failures of tech, own up to them and get back on track with your message all the same - you know your stuff - and adapt accordingly. As I noted in my 3rd post "The Tyranny of Perfection" - your audience will not remember errors, but will always remember how you made them feel.

Summary and an offer.

I hope this 101 gives you an idea of a holistic approach to preparing for an important presentation. You will note that an holistic approach means that you may need more work on one area than another. That is why when you work with me we establish the best course of training, tailored to your particular needs. Perhaps more time needs to be spent on the voice, perhaps it’s storytelling techniques, or perhaps it's your physicality. However, all of these are supported by helping you develop the right mindset of fearless authenticity. In my experience that is what makes all the other skills fall into place.

If you’ve read this far, perhaps it makes sense to subscribe to my newsletter and waitlist and you’ll receive three short guided hypnosis sessions. These will help you become your own source of reassurance and calm; focus on public speaking as an act of service; and quiet a busy brain to ensure a good night's sleep - great for each stage in your preparation.

Alternatively complete this quiz to zero-in on areas you need to focus or book a discovery call  . Let's find out how we can work together.