Quick tips for boosting your confidence during your next business presentation

Shutterstock Even the most confident individuals can feel nervous when giving a high-stakes business presentation. I’m not talking about leading your weekly sales team meeting. I’m talking about the yearly investor relations meeting, the keynote address, the big pitch to the potential client who will take your business to the next level, or the board of directors meeting you have to nail. In these make-or-break situations, it’s natural to feel less than confident. Obviously, you want your content to be spot-on and your talk (or script, outline, or PowerPoint deck) well crafted. But if you’ve made it to this point and think you’re 100% done, think again. Even after getting the content where you want it, you’re only 70% prepared at best. What’s next? How can you boost your confidence and achieve the results you want? The following seven tips will help take your business presentation to the next level. 1. Practice out loud The No. 1 rule to follow when it comes to preparing a powerhouse presentation is to practice or read your talk out loud. No matter how well it sounds as you read it to yourself silently, when you practice out loud, you will hear it from a different perspective. I frequently suggest practicing in the shower, while driving or when doing a routine chore. Yes, even if it feels odd to practice in an empty room or in front of the mirror, saying it out loud is crucial. Did you know that on average it takes reading out loud a minimum of three times to finalize your talk or script? It’s true. When you hear it out loud, you are hearing exactly what your audience will hear. This simple exercise will lead you to simplify complex sentences or concepts, identify places in the text where […]

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