The quick tip…”Go and see it!”
And for those with more curiosity…
Watching the film, it occurred to me that whilst the technology of presentations advances almost daily, the fundamental elements which create powerful presentations remain the same as they have always been.
Interestingly, the worries and barriers portrayed within the film are still present for modern-day presenters. Whilst few if any of us will be called upon to make presentations or speeches of the importance and magnitude King George VI was called upon to give, I’m sure we all feel the same pressure to perform!
Amongst the many gems portrayed within the film, five things were priceless!
We don’t stammer, stutter or get tongue-tied when we talk to ourselves. Our internal dialogue runs a constant and flawless conversation. Proof if proof were needed that we can all string coherent sentences together. Go to any primary school and see how our children will eagerly talk to their class about ideas, stories, anything in fact! As we get older we learn to pay more attention to our internal critic, making us cautious…too cautious. By tuning out the critic and focussing on the great things you want to say, you’ll discover your ability to speak effortlessly.
Continuous sound creates flow. Just as every journey begins with the first step, every presentation begins with the first word. Say something. Say anything to begin the flow. Once you’ve got those first words out, more will come, almost as if they have always been there for you, just waiting to be spoken. Many people find that once they’ve started, the problem isn’t what to say next but how to finish!
Copying others can create difficulties. We’re surrounded by ‘experts’ telling us the best way to do this or say that. Their advice has obviously worked successfully for them in the past but may not necessarily work for you. Anything that forces you to behave in any way that is not natural to you will take up valuable concentration and energy that would be better spent on your presentation. It will also be detected by your audience and make them suspicious of you.
Practice, but not too much.Your audience like to know you’re human…just like them. A flawless and perfect presentation could potentially alienate them. Use your practice less to learn your script and more to explore the feel and flow of your material. Plot your movements, discover the best positions to present your material and the ideal slots for questions and interaction with the audience. Most importantly make mistakes. Lots of mistakes! Each mistake you make will teach you another way to recover effortlessly. When rehearsing, Keep It Real. Remember, two rehearsals in an environment as close to reality as possible are worth a hundred mental run-throughs or twenty presentations to the mirror.
Conversation not performance!
“Forget everyone else. Say it to me as a friend.” Lionel Logue
The pressure we place upon ourselves when presenting often leads us to approach them like a performance. There is much to be learned from performers in how they project their voices and deal with nerves but if they wanted performance, your audience would buy a ticket to the theatre. A presentation audience want to feel part of a conversation, to be talked with, questioned and involved rather than to passively be performed to. Create your presentation as if you were speaking to equals or friends. This will make you appear more natural, engaging and approachable to your audience.
Call to action
Make time this week to see The King’s Speech
Unleash more of your natural presenter! Join me for Naked Presentations this February to discover more ways to present naturally, simply and powerfully.
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excellent points Steve, I thoroughly enjoyed the film (far more than I thought I would!) and as you have highlighted couldn’t help but think about some of the ‘problems’ that we (and certainly I) encounter regarding public speaking & presentation.