I was asked to make a presentation to a group within my organization, and I totally lost it. I became very nervous and looked like an idiot in front of everyone. I think this has seriously hurt my career prospects, at least here. What should I do?

Presentation frustration

Before you start looking for another job, let’s look at your current situation in more detail. It appears from the information given that you are demotivated because you felt humiliated due to your presentation performance. This is quite natural, since making presentations is one of the most daunting things any of us can do. There is an often-quoted statistic that more people fear making a presentation than fear dying. As Seinfeld says, “Most people would prefer to be in the coffin than making the eulogy.” So at least you are not alone in your dilemma.

The decision is yours at this stage. Do you want to get back on the horse, or slink away, never to present again? Before you decide, there are many excellent presenters today who had similar or worse presentation experiences than yours. If you do want to take the challenge, here are some simple things you can do to make sure the next presentation goes much better.

Presentation = Preparation

Really great presenters make it look easy, leading to the natural conclusion that they were able to simply get up and talk “off the cuff”. With very few exceptions, all great presenters will spend many, many hours preparing and rehearsing their presentation or speech before stepping in front of their audience. The more you rehearse the talk, the better it will be – five rehearsals in front of people who can constructively criticize you is a good base. Consider videotaping your presentation to see for yourself how you look and sound. This will make you feel more comfortable, and confident that you can cover the material in the allotted time, with much less chance of a “brain freeze” during your talk.

Speech structure

Start with the core message you are being asked to present to your audience, and then look at how you will convey that message.

The best structure for most presentations is:

1. Tell them what you’re going to say. (Introduction)
2. Say it. (Body)
3. Tell them what you just said. (Conclusion)

This may appear to be oversimplified, but the steps involved are very fundamental. Most people have very limited attention spans, and your major challenge is to keep them focused on what you are telling them. Therefore, the more you can simplify your message, the more engaged your audience will be. Think of this when you are an audience member at the next presentation you attend. It will help to give you perspective on your audience when you are presenting.

Slide rules

MS Powerpoint slides can provide a structure and help the general flow of your talk. There are some fundamentals on preparing good slides:

• Avoid too many details (they won’t be remembered anyway)
• Use only one idea or concept per slide
• Not everything has to be written down on a slide. Your speech can and should complement the information on the slides, otherwise, you could simply e-mail the slide show
• Try to cut out as much as possible; less is better
• Good looks are important:
  • Look online for Powerpoint templates you can download (for free), but make sure any graphics are appropriate, and that the text is readable.
  • White text over a dark background, or dark text over a light or white background work best.
  • Use uniform capitalization rules
  • Put very little text on a slide, or avoid text completely if you can. If you have lots of text, people will read it faster than you talk, and will not pay attention to what you are actually saying
  • Do NOT use small fonts – many in your audience could be quite far away
  • Do not put useless graphics on each slide: logos, grids, affiliations, etc.
  • Spell-check. A spelling mistake is an attention magnet and detracts from your professionalism.
  • Use animation with restraint – fancy but useless animation effects simply distract the audience
  • Use thick lines in drawings to make them readable from far away

There are more rules than these – look at the slides for presentations you attend for more ideas of what works and what doesn’t.

Part of your preparation process is to prepare for and avoid any last-minute surprises (projector bulbs blown, no lights in the meeting room, etc.) Try to scope out the room well before your presentation to understand the physical aspects of the space. At this time you can also consider your back-up options (old-fashioned transparencies and overhead projector, etc.) On the day of the presentation, make sure you arrive early to set up and prepare.

During the presentation

The most obvious obstacle for many presenters is dealing with their nerves. Being nervous is a very natural response under the circumstances – you should be nervous! The real challenge is in how you manage those nerves. Many professional speakers will admit that they get nervous before they speak and they channel those nerves in a constructive way to give them an adrenalin and energy boost for their talk. Again, rehearsing will help to alleviate excessive nervousness.

You have to care about and be enthusiastic about what it is you are presenting in order to get your audience to care about it. Essentially, you are part presenter and part actor. Try to enjoy your time in the spotlight.

Another common presentation mistake that is often made is to rush through a presentation – something that usually happens subconsciously. Make a real effort to SLOW DOWN. You may think that you are speaking impossibly slow, but to the audience, you are speaking normally.

Humour in presentations is very useful; however, if you’re not good with jokes, it is better to avoid them altogether, and improvising humour can be very dangerous.

Onward and upward!

This is not a career-stopper; it is an opportunity. Many people in your original audience will be willing to give you another chance, since many of them are likely pleased that it wasn’t them up there presenting. Simply put the experience behind you, learn form it, and move on. Try to embrace presenting – get involved with Toastmasters or other speaking associations, and do as many presentations outside of work as you can to rebuild your confidence for next time.

Good luck!

Michael Mayne, M.B.A., CMA, is Managing Partner and a Certified Professional Career Counsellor at Catalyst Careers, a Career Transition, Counselling, and Outplacement firm. Michael has been involved in the not-for-profit sector for many years, and is Past President and Treasurer of ALS Canada. To contact Michael, visit: www.catalystcareers.com.

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Disclaimer: Advice and recommendations are based on limited information provided and should be used as a guideline only. Neither the author nor CharityVillage.com make any warranty, express or implied, or assume any legal liability for accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information provided in whole or in part within this article.