My daughter will present her school project on General Boomer tomorrow. She is an introvert. (By the way, my son got the extravert gene in our family.) I suggested we practice and on the first attempt she lost it. She stumbled on the opening and froze after that saying, “I don’t do this, I don’t like presenting.”

Time out…..Let’s talk……

Then we got back to it and took it in very small steps, one sentence at a time. After fifteen minutes she was running through it fine. She was remembering new facts from her research and getting the timing right. She is ready to go.

How many times have you seen a business person get up and wing it? How many times has that been you? Yes, the presentation went OK but could it have been outstanding? Better communicators get promoted more quickly and make more money. A short practice session can make all the difference.

For keynotes and new material I spend alot of time in my basement practicing. As a professional speaker I must do this. My daughter knows I do this so I guess it helped when I suggested she practice. But the stakes are high for you too.

Allow time for practice and your presentations will improve and so will what everyone else thinks about you. You will be more effective at work and the practice will ease any stress or anxiety. Not bad for a few minutes effort.

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