Presentation Tips You Don’t Hear – Write in Your Diary

Presentation Tips You Don’t Hear – Write in Your Diary

I often find that the most valuable presentation tips are the ones you simply don’t hear or read every day.

Picturing yourself in the comfort of your own mind succeeding at something before you actually do it is an extremely powerful tool known as visualization. Regardless of the pursuit, anyone who has achieved excellence in anything understands the value of seeing, before doing.

It is a widely recognized technique which can be used to influence performance across a broad range of activities. Visualization for high impact presenting can be very effective when used well.

You don’t have to be a top athlete, musician or artist to benefit from using visualization

In my experience as a presentation coach its power can be harnessed in business too.

One way of heightening the impact of seeing the successful outcome of an activity before you even begin it is to write about it in your diary.

Write as though the event has already taken place.

It’s an exercise I often use to good effect when asked to present.

 72 Hours Before

Three days before I’m due to give an important presentation I sit quietly in the quiet of my own mind and make a diary entry.

I’ve already carefully researched and crafted my content. I’ve  also practiced my delivery.

I now write as though the presentation has already taken place.

I write in my diary imagining it is the evening of the day of the presentation itself; it’s all over.

The purpose

The idea behind the exercise is to allow me to project myself forward in time.

To envision everything I did on the run up to the all-important presentation and on the day itself. This allows me to foresee and predict with  clarity, exactly what I need to do to fully prepare myself for the event.

The entry

Rather than using the rest of this article to set out how to make the entry I thought it may be more helpful to share one I recently made in my own diary.  Every presentation I make is important to me but this particular one was to an audience of several hundred people at a learning and development conference.

I really wanted to see everything before it happened

‘Dear Diary,

Having that early night last night was a great move. 

I’m so pleased that having spent so much time preparing my presentation that I used my time so wisely over the last few days. Stepping up my fitness regime to burn off all of that excess adrenaline, eating from a more nutritional perspective and taking time out for my mind to meditate and slow down the noise and doubts really paid off today.

Having had that early night, I woke up this morning with the energy and consciousness to tell myself the moment my eyes opened that today was going to be a great day.

I was ready to make an impact and a difference

It was an early start rising at 5am but I have to say it really was worth it.

It wasn’t easy but I put my dressing gown on, opened the back door and stood in total solitary silence for 10 minutes.

I felt like the whole world was still asleep and I was at bliss with just me and my thoughts.

I knew in those few quiet moments that the sun was rising and setting all over the world. Tides were moving in and out and stars shone with the same brightness thousands of miles apart.

That made rising so early feel like such a great thing to do on such an important day. It still feels good now.

Today was a day to be heard and to make a difference

I’m so pleased that I had my haircut yesterday because I look and feel so much smarter.

Before going to bed last night I made certain that my two favourite shirts were hanging up clean and crisp ready for the morning. I didn’t need two of course but I didn’t want to take the chance of spoiling one by cutting myself shaving in the morning or spilling tea down my front.

After 10 beautiful minutes staring up at the stars and contemplating the vastness of the universe around me and the brilliance of the world that surrounded me every moment I stepped back inside.

Grounded, centred and focused I then sat quietly in the warmth meditating

The peace and grace I felt just sitting in silence for 10 minutes focusing on nothing but my breath was so powerful.

Despite the solitude and meditation, I could still feel the noise and anxiety creeping in.

The self-doubt, the uncertainty and feeling of inadequacy about who on earth would really want to listen to me present today was very discomforting.

Instinctively, as difficult as it was at such an early hour I went for a run. Burning that adrenaline, cortisol and other debilitating chemicals generated by such toxic thoughts served me well.

A well-deserved shower, followed by a nutritional breakfast set me up beautifully for the morning.

I’m pleased I polished my shoes last night. That was one less thing to do today.

Rested, energised and nourished I drove to the venue listening to one of my favourite TED talks by Sir Ken Robinson ‘Do schools kill creativity?

That really gave me the lift I needed this morning

As soon as I arrived I headed straight to the room I would be speaking in.

I had a chat and thorough review with the audio visual team.

I ran through my slides and made sure everything was set.

I’m so pleased that I’d left plenty of time

It gave me the luxury of spending 10 minutes in the room on my own, to literally just be in the room.

I absolutely love that feeling of just taking time to be totally present in the room.

I stood where I knew I would be speaking from and did nothing else but take in the room. The temperature, the sounds, the air-conditioning, lighting, everything.

When I felt that I owned my own space I then spent a few minutes sitting in a few of the seats the audience would be sitting.

I wanted to see things from their perspective too.

That was time well spent

I made my way to the gents where I spent a few minutes stretching my voice with a few short vocal exercises.

In the process I received some rather disapproving looks but that was something I was used to and prepared for. 

Engaging my audience with my voice as well as my content was of paramount importance. A little embarrassment was a very small price to pay.

I’m glad I paid it

Just when I thought it couldn’t feel more embarrassing, I moved on to practice a few stretching and breathing exercises. That’s when I really got some funny looks.

I guess it was when I started vigorously shaking my limbs and really tensing and relaxing my facial muscles that others began to feel really uncomfortable.

Voice stretched, muscles moved and relaxed, breathing all done I went back to the room .

I sat quietly for 5 minutes at the back of the room

There in the quiet of my own mind I imagined my audience smiling, relaxing, sitting attentively forward looking completely engaged. 

I saw them participating, asking questions and giving me a rapturous round of applause.

Now in my mind it was time to mingle with the audience and get to know a few people as they entered the room.

Everyone seemed so pleasant

Today was an amazing day.

It really was a day to be heard and to make a difference.’

All of the best performers understand the importance of picturing themselves succeeding in their minds before they actually do what they do.

It takes time, discipline, focus and practice

The activity of writing in detail in a diary exactly what you saw happen before and during the presentation is an immensely powerful tool.

Many people will agree that intellectually it makes sense but that’s really quite irrelevant.

The important question is will they have the heart to actually do it?

Try it for yourself and let me know what happens

If you need a little help with your public speaking and presentation skills:

– Book yourself onto a powerful public speaking course.

– Invest in some really good one to one public speaking coaching.

– Get yourself some excellent presentation training

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