How to Get Ready for a Presentation, Even if You’re Nervous

 

1. Practice

You can’t expect any presentation to go well if you never practice it. Take the time to go through, slide by slide, and rehearse what you’re going to say for each point during the presentation. Use notecards if you have to at first, and work your way up to memorizing the entire thing.

Watch yourself speak in the mirror. Take note of how your facial expressions go with the messages you’re trying to convey, and make improvements wherever necessary.

Once you rehearse your presentation to the point of memorization, you’ve gotten the boring part out of the way. You at least know that, to the best of your abilities, you can give your presentation from memory, without any errors, now it’s time for the challenging portion -doing it in front of people.

 

1. Get there early

The last thing you want is to be rushing into a meeting or conference room filled with people waiting to hear you speak, and being behind schedule. Save yourself the burden and make sure that you arrive early.

Give yourself an hour ahead of time. This gives you a chance to get a feel for the room you’re speaking in, get comfortable with the space, and set up any technology you’ll need for your presentation.

Arriving early will also give you a chance to speak with people prior to your speech or presentation. Speaking with people beforehand puts things in perspective. You’re not getting up in front of a panel of judges -you’re getting out there to educate, inform, and ultimately inspire real people!

 

1. Get moving

All of your activity leading up to your presentation will affect how well your presentation will go. Speaking in front of an audience is almost guaranteed to spark an adrenaline response at some level, so making sure your body is prepared for that ahead of time is extremely important.

If you work out in the mornings, make sure to go a little bit harder the day of your presentation. Get that excess energy out beforehand, and you’re less likely to see it manifest into shaky hands or vocal chords. Even a twenty minute walk can help shake the excess jitters.