A little self-psychology can go a long way in public speaking.
I had a big event this week: teaching presentation skills, storytelling and writing to senior leaders at one of the big banks in London.
Isn’t Canary Wharf stunning, as you can see, above.
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Because it was a high-profile, high-stakes, full-day session, I did all the usual pre-preparation…
But something else besides.
This trick of psychology, which can help so much.
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I made sure I got to the venue an hour before we were due to start.
I was shown to the room, made sure it was set up the way I wanted…
(Cabaret style, since you ask, even if you didn’t: I find that promotes bonding in the group.)
Checked the IT was working…
But then, most importantly…
- Decided exactly where I would stand.
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Why was that so important?
Because I wanted to be able to dominate the room, see everybody, and know how far to project my voice.
But! It also gave me one added immeasurable advantage.
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When I had decided on my speaking spot, I then did some visualising.
I imagined how I would open the workshop, and the impact it would have on the group.
I saw the first exercise, the quiz I would set them, the entertainment, the light-hearted competition between the tables, as well as the learning…
And then everyone working hard, putting the insights into action for the first exercise.
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I imagined my way through various parts of the talk…
Saw the laughter, the seriousness, the nodding, the understanding, the enjoyment, the appreciation.
- Simply, visualising success.
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It’s a trick often used by sports stars.
They might stand in the middle of a tennis court, imagining hitting winners…
Or a football pitch, seeing themselves spraying around passes, then hitting a long range shot into the corner of the goal.
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And here’s a funny thing.
I never really believed in visualisation until I tried it.
The session last week was a very big one, I was a little nervous, wanted to perform at my peak…
And those few minutes, psyching myself up, visualising success, really helped it to go well.
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Finally, it’s a trick I will certainly be using next week, when I give a couple of talks on public speaking and presentations at a conference in Copenhagen.
I’m preparing to have a very sizable audience, as you can probably imagine from the venue.
Eek!
Which means I'll be in there extra early, busily visualising exactly how successful the session will be.
