Why Most Presentations Fail

(and how yours won’t)

Face your fears, don’t run away

How well do you understand the sources of your anxiety?

When you run away from your fears, they will intensify. Avoidance leads to procrastination -> Procrastination leads to lack of preparation -> Being unprepared causes anxiety to spike.

BUT run TOWARD your fears and your fears will back down. This is true in almost every aspect of life – especially public speaking. Run toward your fears and watch your anxiety shrink.

Here are some of the most common fears of Public Speaking and some perspectives and tips for running toward that fear:

Fear of Forgetting:

The worry of having a brain freeze, losing your train of thought, or forgetting your message increases your anxiety. Ironically, it increases the likelihood of your mind going blank as stress shuts down the part of the brain responsible for retrieving information.

Perspective:

Consider an everyday conversation, have you ever lost your train of thought? What do you do? You pause for a moment, and then… KEEP GOING. It’s okay to do the same with an audience. It gives you and the audience a moment to reflect… PAUSE… and press on.

  • Tip: Start with a detailed draft, full sentences and paragraphs, but your end goal should be to practice speaking extemporaneously to a word outline or images/slides. It is easier to visualize a series of images vs a word document. If you practice with images or an outline, you will see the word or image and automatically be able to speak to it.

Fear of being judged:

Your speech is a statement about you, so, when you put yourself “out there” it’s easy to think the worst – that the audience will be overly harsh and critical.

Perspective:

The fact is, people don’t think about you nearly as much as you think they do. When you listen to a speaker are you there to judge or learn? Rather than seeing the audience as an assembly of critics, see them as learners who want to be informed.

  • Tip: Walk through the audience before your speech, introduce yourself and shake a few hands. When you engage with the audience beforehand, you realize they are real, approachable people just like you.

Fear of inadequacy:

This is the “Why would anyone want to hear what I have to say?” or “I’m not Enough ” fear.

Perspective:

Remember better. Remember that you have been invited to speak because someone believes in you and/or believes you have something valuable to offer the audience.

  • Tip: It is NOT about you. Instead think: “What’s in it for the audience? What gift am I giving them? Why are they here and how can I improve their lives with this message?” Ask yourself, “How will the audience’s lives be better because of my message?

Fear of failure:

The source of most of our nervousness comes from a fear of failure – losing face, making a mistake, not being liked, accepted, or understood. It’s the fear of fumbling the sales pitch, not honoring the person you’re toasting or freezing in front of an important group.

Perspective:

Seasoned speakers spend little or no time worrying about speaking. Most of their energy is focused on “mastering the content” for the audience. Your goal is to ask: “What do I need to share to engage my audience? How do I serve them? Inform and excite them? How can I deliver my message so it makes sense to them?” Once you master the content, your eye contact, gestures, vocal intonation and movement will more naturally “work” in sync to engage the audience and keep them interested.

  • Tip: Package information so you do 4 powerful things: 

    • Connect with the audience. Open with something you have in common or that you appreciate about them. 
    • Clear. Be sure your information/message is clear, logical, and concise. Practice/master your content. 
    • Contribute. Be sure your message adds value to your listeners by sharing something helpful, surprising, fun, insightful, or even shocking. Do your homework and add value.
    • Compelling. Use examples, illustrations, quotes, and statistics that draw people in and keep them engaged. Know your audience and make the information relevant to their interests, frustrations, pain points, and challenges.

Fear of rejection:

The fear underlying all of these fears is rejection. The fear of being excluded, excommunicated, or dismissed.

Perspective:

If you tie your worth to your performance and the way people respond to you, the emotional roller coaster will make you very insecure. Your ultimate worth does not depend on one speech or the audiences’ response.

  • Tip: Think about the presentation as a conversation vs. a performance. If there are 200 people in the audience, focus on a group of 5-10 at a time, look them in the eyes and have a conversation. Then, move on to 5-10 more. Then, 5-10 more, until you’ve had a conversation with the entire audience. You’ve just broken an audience of 200 down to 25 audiences of 5-10 people where there is more intimacy and connection, which can reduce your fear of rejection.

Fear of identity loss:

Myth: Your sense of identity and acceptance are tied to your performance and the way people respond to you.

Truth: Your worth is planted deeply within you and it is in your best interest to manage and protect it, so don’t wing it!

  • Tip: Block and Tackle! When you block time and tackle what it will take to master the message, there will be very little, if any, time for ruminating on your fears. Don’t leave space for fear. When you fill your time with researching, organizing, and mastering your message… fear will FADE.

Fear of speaking leaves you with one of two choices:

It can shut you down… “I’m not playing.” Or it can wake you up and give you energy… “Game on, let’s go.”

Are you ready to play?

Enroll in a free “Presentation Makeover” webinar or workshop demo with Drs. Jackie & Kevin Freiberg today. Email us here!