“Me speak? I’m totally out of my comfort zone!” I often hear this comment from clients who are subject matter experts and have been directed to speak at their company’s upcoming client/prospect/vendor meeting. This might be their first time, or their 10th, but no matter. It’s not in their wheelhouse and they don’t quite know how to approach it. Yikes!

If you are one of these professionals or are tasked with getting these folks ready to rock and roll, this information is for you. 

It’s no small thing to prepare for and deliver a presentation to clients, prospects or vendors. It can feel like a pressure cooker, for sure. The good news is when you believe in the value of your work and the impact it makes, you can be a powerful presenter.

I absolutely love working with professionals who are open, willing, and ready to learn how they can communicate their content with conviction, clarity, and confidence! My goal is to find their sweet spot. Depending on the amount of time we have available, I look for one or two shifts that will really make a difference for them. 

While being an effective speaker is a long-term commitment, here are a few actions you can take to bolster confidence and audience engagement:

  1. Identify your core belief about how your content matters to you and your audience in both performance and wellbeing. What difference does this make in the lives of your audience? Discover what you bring to your audience that will truly enhance their experience, and that matters to you personally. Connect the dots. When you do that, you touch their needs for information and inspiration with enthusiasm and goodwill. 
  1. Choose content you know to be true and worthy of your audience. Doing so, your presence will communicate credibility, believability and trustworthiness. Speakers often include information that isn’t specifically relevant to their audience. They don’t want to leave anything out! So, they decide to just speed by it. This doesn’t do you or your audience any favors. No one presentation can accomplish everything. Save that information for another audience or another time. Only share what you know to be valuable to this particular audience. You don’t have to do it all. What a relief!
  1. Bring your compassionate self to your audience, and that starts with having compassion for yourself. There’s no doubt speaking can be a confront to our sense of self and worthiness. We often compensate for that by either feeling insecure, or cocky! Instead, know this — you are the messenger. It’s not about you. It’s about how you can serve your audience. You can relax knowing you are sharing significant information. At the same time, know that you are powerful by the very nature of being alive! We matter. And on the platform, you have the opportunity to make a huge difference for your listeners. Our words create worlds. You may never know what impact you are having, but you can know you are. 

You can search Google or enlist ChatGPT to get instructions on how to craft a speech and how to get yourself ready. That’s all helpful. I’m talking about how you can get “you” ready. How to tap into your inner resource and bring your best self to your presentation. That’s what the most powerful presenters do. 

When you believe in the value of your work and the impact it makes, you too can be a powerful presenter. So, if you are asked to present at your company’s next meeting, or need to get your presenters ready, consider these steps. And let it be fun! I’d love to support you!