As someone who went from 'nervous the entire day leading up to The Talk' to knocking a presentation out of the park with not much more prep than bullet points, I agree with goobster in that there is no trick out there. There's practice, in the case of public speaking practice really makes perfect. I do recognize the flipped-switch feeling. For him it was improv that did it, for me it was a debating course. What I think is key to getting comfortable is having some kind of structure that really works for you. Essentially, you're telling a story, and there are many tools that can help you do that. Find the tools that fit you. For me the most useful tools to enhance my speaking abilities were debating methods like "tell, tell, tell", articulation / manner guidelines. I realized that when I have my presentation's core arguments / structure nailed down, I can just explain / improvize what I want to tell around it. I'm guessing goobster found a bunch of useful tools in his improv classes. Genuine feedback and constructive criticism was also an eye-opener to me; other people are way better at pointing out your idiosyncrasies than you think.
Wow, you and I have the same methodology, I think. I have a bullet list in my head of the talking points I want to hit, or the key phrases I want to use. Then I just stitch together a store live, in front of the audience, that links these bullet points together into a single, cohesive narrative. That way I don't get wound up about remembering the exact wording of a paragraph of text, or whatever. I know what I want to say. I can see if the audience is glazing over, or if they are engaged. And I adapt my story as I go along, and get a feeling for how the audience is receiving it, and how quickly I am getting through my points. Sounds similar to your process? when I have my presentation's core arguments / structure nailed down, I can just explain / improvize what I want to tell around it
Almost identical! I approach the audience as if I'm explaining or telling a story to a friend. The exact words or sentences don't matter most of the time as long as you can get the point across. I also love to intertwine earlier discussions or news events in my story on-the-fly. Especially in a smaller group I've found that people listen better when my story is less isolated from the rest of the day. A while ago a professors of European Studies did an even better version of that technique: instead of bullets, his presentation slides were simply a bunch of seemingly unrelated photos. Each photo fit the story he wanted to tell or the concept he wanted to explain. It was impossible to study his lectures unless you were there and had notes on the stories. (That pissed off a lot of students.) When I have the chance, I now also use photos as slides, with my bullets as presenter's notes.Sounds similar to your process?
My friends developed a tool - HaikuDeck - that constrains you to making these kinds of slide decks. Great images. Simple text. It really is an elegant tool, and forcing yourself to use such a think can REALLY have a meaningful effect on your entire presentation. This is cool... glad to know we share such a similar methodology!
And how does that technique work for you? When I think about it, I can't recall the contents of a single slide I've ever seen.When I have the chance, I now also use photos as slides, with my bullets as presenter's notes.
Yeah, it's remarkable how unremarkable presentation slides have become. It works quite well but it doesn't fit all types of presentations. I gave a presentation to my department last week and a bunch of the slides still had bullet points on them. Formal situations don't lend themselves well to creative presentations.
I agree that there's probably no amount of practice that makes any high-stakes public speaking event not a little bit nerve-wracking in the anticipation. I hear that even seasoned stand-up comics, the few hours before the show are the worst. It's the "c'mon, c'mon" killing time part. It tends to disappear on stage, but the waiting is the difficult part. Sweaty hands. The genuine feedback piece is very true. It's humbling to find out that the things you believe work don't, and people don't even care about your acne or high-pitched voice, and that they instead love the things that you didn't even consider highlights.As someone who went from 'nervous the entire day leading up to The Talk' to knocking a presentation out of the park with not much more prep than bullet points, I agree with goobster in that there is no trick out there. There's practice, in the case of public speaking practice really makes perfect.