Do You Have Bad Presenting Habits?

One of the most common concerns in public speaking is the fear of developing “bad habits.” In fact, it consistently ranks among the top three requests we receive from delegates at every presentation skills workshop.

“How can I get rid of my bad presenting habits?”

Most people assume they have at least one. Many are convinced they have several, and the list of usual suspects is well known:

• Reading from notes or slides
• Filling the silence with umm, err, you know, sort of
• Speaking in a monotone
• Pacing or swaying
• Hiding hands behind the back or in pockets
• Fidgeting with pens, remotes or jewellery
• Playing with hair
• Speaking too fast
• Ending statements as though they’re questions (uptalk)
• Avoiding eye contact

These behaviours are rarely intentional; they’re involuntary, automatic responses to pressure.

At Mindful Presenter, we define a bad habit as:

“Anything said or done repeatedly, to the point that it distracts your audience.”

If you agree with that definition, here’s where the challenge begins.

The Surprising Stand‑Off

In every workshop, at least 80% of participants insist they have one or more of these habits. Yet, when it’s their turn to present and we ask the room for feedback, something intriguing occurs.

Most of the habits they fear simply aren’t visible.

A presenter might insist they spoke too quickly, wavered constantly, or said ‘err’ every few seconds, but their colleagues watching intently often report seeing none of it.

So how can the speaker be so sure they were fidgeting, swaying or stumbling… while everyone else saw something entirely different?

This phenomenon extends far beyond habits

Every day, we coach professionals who tell us they feel very anxious about giving presentations. When they finish, we ask them to rate their anxiety on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest.

Many say 8, 9 or even 10.

Then we ask the audience what they saw, and most people don’t see or feel what the presenter does. In fact, the room often reports seeing no visible signs of anxiety at all.

Why is that?

The Real Culprit: “Head Stuff”

We’re not psychologists, but we do have a technical term for the cause: Head stuff.

Head stuff is that relentless inner voice whispering:

“You’re not good enough.”

“You umm and err far too much.”

“Everyone will see how terrified you are.”

“You’re rubbish at presenting.”

It’s the voice of the ego, and it’s loudest when we stand up to speak.

According  to the American motivational speaker, author, and life coach Tony Robbins, we each have six fundamental human needs:

– Significance

– Certainty

– Variety

– Growth

– Contribution

– Love and connection

The moment we present, every one of those needs lights up:

“This is my chance to impress.”

“This MUST go well.”

“I need to stand out.”

“This could raise my profile.”

“I hope they value what I’m saying.”

“I just want them to like me.”

No wonder the head stuff kicks in, and it’s easy to understand where it comes from.

What’s harder to grasp is why we feel it so intensely while our audience sees almost none of it.

Passion: The Antidote to Bad Habits

When we invite delegates to share something they truly care about, something almost magical happens. Suddenly, their:

– Voice changes.

– Posture shifts.

– Energy lifts.

– Message flows.

The bad habits either disappear entirely or become irrelevant.

Do they truly vanish, or do we simply stop noticing them?

Does it matter?

If a habit no longer distracts your audience or yourself, then for all practical purposes, it’s gone.

Every time someone speaks about something they care deeply about, the habits they fear either dissolve or become invisible.

So, if passion is the antidote, why don’t we use it more often?

The Passion Paradox

It’s easy to speak passionately about something personal. It’s harder when delivering a quarterly update, a sales pitch or a team briefing.

That said, just because you’re talking about work doesn’t mean you have to lose your passion. You owe it to yourself and to your audience to find something in your message that matters.

Every now and then, someone says, “I can’t be passionate about this. It’s boring.”

Our response is simple and sometimes uncomfortable: You have two choices:

1. Find something in your message that you genuinely care about, something that will make a difference to your audience.

2. If you truly can’t find anything to care about, you owe it to yourself and your audience to find a new job.

Passion is the elixir of high‑impact presenting; it’s the antidote to bad habits, and it’s the force that allows both you and your audience to feel:

– Significant

– Certain

– Different

– Growing

– Contributing

– Connected

Why deprive your audience of that?

Try it the next time you present and watch your bad habits dissolve into the ether.

If you’d like to overcome your bad presenting habits:

– 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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