Ask Christa! How Can I Improve My Presentation Skills? (S3E36)

Introduction and Listener Question

Hi everyone and welcome to Ask Christa! the place where you can ask questions about how to work through business challenges and workplace issues. I'm Christa Dhimo and today’s listener question is another important question about the business side, which is appropriate because this is also season 3’s last episode before we move to Season 4. Season 3 focuses on The Business Side of things; season 4 is setting up to focus about Doing the Work.

This listener question is in large part about Doing the Work, but it’s also about REALLY important business competencies that shape the capabilities of your organization, so I’m considering it a bridging episode. The listener question is: 

“I’ve been watching your show periodically since you started, selecting specific episodes based on my needs. I haven’t seen anything about presentation skills yet, so I’m submitting this question. I am a scientist who has done benchwork for the last five years. I want to branch out and get more involved in product development, but my manager says I need to work on my presentation skills. I’ve received in-house coaching to minimize my content, I’ve taken classes, and I practice with multiple people before I present, but it seems I haven’t improved. My manager has set me up with a communications coach, and the consistent feedback is that I appear nervous, stiff, and unrelatable. I’ve received tips and new techniques, but they don’t feel natural. I don’t know how to fix this, but I keep trying. I’m going online and I’m now investing in other ways to learn better presentation skills. I’m becoming more and more nervous thinking maybe I’m not built to present well, but I don’t want this to impact my career. How can I improve my presentation skills?”

First, thank you for your mention of how my show is helping you—what you describe is EXACTLY what I hope for: that people will find and choose the episode that will help them the most.

I also appreciate that you are seeing my show and its content as a place with OPTIONS-- where you can find nuggets that help you with your specific needs BECAUSE—when it comes to presenting and upskilling to present well, you’re not alone. Ever. 

And as with ANY communication skill, every day’s a school day, and every day requires practice, no matter how good or confident or even expert you are.

Nerve-Wracking Work Makes Us Nervous

I also want to acknowledge that our listener who submitted this question is clearly under a lot of pressure, and Whew. That’s a lot. I’m going to focus on an answer to the question, but I also want to say that nerve-wracking work makes us nervous. 

But it can also make us BETTER.

My guess is a lot of people can relate— wanting to move into a different role and needing new or improved skills to do it. I’ve had times in my OWN career when I wanted to switch gears and explore other roles and needed to learn a few extras or sharpen up some skills I hadn’t used as much in a current role. 

In this listener case, they have what seems to be a very supportive manager, investing time and resources to help build a critical skill for our listener’s success, and the listener is worried the investment won’t pay off. 

But when it comes to communication, there will always be natural tendencies and long-formed habits in our communication styles that WANT to stay with us, so it’s important to know that doing something new and doing it WELL, ESPECIALLY when SO MUCH of it has to do with behavior, takes time—and not because it takes a while to learn it. It doesn’t. We learn new skills every day, and we’re capable of far more change and adjustment than we ever give ourselves credit for. 

It takes time because it takes PRACTICE. When we learn new skills that require new behaviors, it’s COMPLICATED.

And communication is about as complicated as it gets for us good humans. It’s not just about what we say, but how we say it, where we’re standing, how people are hearing it and interpreting it—and how they hear and interpret what you say is heavily influenced by factors you cannot control, like how much SLEEP they got the night before or whether they’re hungry or thirsty during your presentation, or if they just heard they got the promotion they’ve been wanting.

It’s… complicated.

And on top of that, as I said before, nerve-wracking work makes us nervous, and applying new skills AND behaviors WHILE we’re in front of others who will then tell us how we’re doing… that’s NERVE WRACKING. And we’ll get nervous. And the more nervous we get, the more the work feels… nerve-wracking. Then correlation expands, which is the very definition of a spiral: one side goes up; the other side goes up, which makes the first side go up again. Presenting is nerve-wracking, you get nervous, the feeling of being nervous while presenting is nerve-wracking.. and you get nervous.

You need to break that cycle.

Perspective is Our Best Friend

So my first must-do for this listener and ALL people nervous about doing nerve-wracking work is this: perspective is your best friend. Take a deep breath, then take a step back. Sip some cold water. Stretch. Then take another deep breath, and use one of the most powerful words in the English language:

ONLY.

It’s only a moment in time. It’s only until I’ve practiced it enough. It’s only until it becomes more natural for me. It’s only a presentation. It’s only until I find the right way that works for me. It’s only…

Make. This. Temporary. Because ALL new learning is temporary. At some point, it’s not new anymore. It will be more comfortable. It will feel less daunting. But… this is where practice comes in. Practice Practice Practice. And not just in front of people.

Practice at home. Practice while driving. Practice while making a meal. Practice while commuting on a train or a bus. Set aside time during your day to practice.

You don’t need a presentation to practice communicating information, and at the foundational level, presenting is about communicating information. But anyone can do that. An email can do that. Power point or Canva can do that—and by the way, what’s on a screen behind you is your side-kick. It’s also competing for your audience’s attention, and it will win unless YOU present and communicate YOUR words in a more engaging and meaningful way.

You see, communication isn’t about the mechanics of communicating—well, some of it is about mechanics: projecting your voice, enunciating clearly so people can understand you, using ALL forms of communication we as humans have to offer. Such as facial expressions, physical changes, bringing your voice UP or DOWN… SOFT or MORE FORCEFUL. 

But if we say presenting, at its core, is about communicating information, then we must say that communication, at its core, is about connection, and THAT must be your mindset if you want to strengthen your bigger-picture perspective.

It’s ONLY a presentation because the REAL value is in how YOU’RE connecting.

It’s ONLY a moment in time because if you practice and keep up with your learning, you will get better.

It’s ONLY until it becomes more natural for you because presenting is mostly about your BEHAVIOR while you share information.

So… practice… and when you become overwhelmed, take a step back from the nerve-wracking work, and focus on the bigger picture. Perspective is your best friend.

Presenting is First and Foremost about Human Connection

OK, once you get that down pat, you need to ALSO look at what a presentation is for and its base level: sharing information. And… you’re NOT sharing information you know or have, but rather, you are sharing information OTHERS need to know and have for an important reason that they, too, believe is important. Otherwise, why are they there?

This is where connection comes in. You can design and plan the best presentation, you can practice and check off all the practice boxes, but the magic sauce for effective presentations is making a connection with your audience.

To help with this, consider reframing your presentation away from giving a presentation and toward providing a SERVICE to your audience. You are offering something your audience needs, and it’s your job to earn that trust, keep them engaged, and motivate them to go to your next presentation, whenever that may be.  Gain their attention, then MAINTAIN their attention, and AIM for them to return to your next presentation.

Here’s a real-world example, what’s your honest reaction if I asked you to attend a two hour meeting with me so we can listen to software and hardware engineers give us different presentations about their technology?

Now… what if I asked you to attend a two hour Apple Keynote so we can listen to software and hardware engineers give us different presentations about their technology?

Here’s the difference: in the first example, several of you probably thought of what most of us think of: how awful most presentations are. 

That changed when I mentioned Apple Keynotes because you know why they work? Why every-day people AND industry professionals want to attend? 

Because the entire event is designed in service to the audience with a primary goal of making connections. 

Purpose, Objective, and Design: The Critical Trifecta

So… gain and maintain. This isn’t too different from the points I offered for Episode 35 which just dropped, and that’s the importance of preparing a structure that invites attendees to experience it.

You aren’t GIVING a presentation. You are SHARING vital information they care about.

You aren’t ASKING them to attend. You are INVITING them to participate and guarantee a good use of their time.

You aren’t HOPING that they listen. You are EXCITED about what they will hear because of what it will mean to and for them.

Gain and maintain. Earn their trust, earn their attention, earn their listening skills. Earn use of their time, then honor and respect their time. You owe it to them to put that much work into a presentation.

For some, this will feel natural, but for most, it’s… work. Maybe even nerve-wracking work. But… it’s a highly competitive skills and sooooooo worth doing well.

Master Presenters Obsess About Audience Time

Then, overall, presentation skills involve the usual check list to be effective with your time—but more importantly, with OTHER PEOPLE’S time. 

Know the purpose of your presentation—why YOU have been asked to deliver it and why you believe it SHOULD be delivered. Make sure your audience knows those why’s also.

Next, understand and agree to the objective of your presentation: what is the goal? When you conclude your presentation, what will people say they got out of it? Is it related to why you asked them to attend? You want them walking out saying, “I’m really glad I attended that presentation because now I know… how the recent shift in strategy impacts our project… or… how my budget just increased because of the new client… or how I should encourage my team to take advantage of new perks the company is offering.”

Last, design a presentation that follows some general ground rules in support of your audience and their time. Our listener mentioned receiving help to minimize content. That’s about structure, and so much of that is related to time—or length of your presentation. It also includes PACE, which is the speed of your presentation. 

Both matter in terms of an effective presentation, and both MUST be heavily considered during your preparation.

For example, use only 70% of your presentation’s allotted time to present—the rest is discussion or Q&A, and if there is no need for discussion or no one asks questions, end the presentation and meeting. YOU just gave them 30% of their time back.

So if you’re allocated for 30 minutes and you start on time, your talk-time is 20 minutes (or technically, 21 minutes). That leaves time for Q&A, or you can agree to offline follow-ups, OR release attendees early, which everyone appreciates.

But the 70% content approach also means if you’re allocated for 30 minutes but you start 10 minutes late either because everyone is running behind or there are technology issues, your allocated time just reduced from 30 to 20 minutes, so now you have only 15 minutes (or technically, 14 minutes) of talk time, which is the time you have to speak. 

And you have to be prepared to make the adjustment. It might mean you get through the key points, get to the end of your time, and suggest a brief follow-on meeting for Q&A. Or you ask if people can stay later to make up for the time. OR, it means you reschedule the presentation. 

One note about adjusting your content if you start late, and this is something I say a lot and it has to do with pace: speaking faster will not slow down time. If you start late, you cannot make up for the time by speeding through your presentation. Remember: it’s not about getting the information out, it’s about making a connection and providing important information your audience needs to know for their benefit.

And Oh Boy, Style Matters

Finally, and very obviously style matters. My guess is this is where our listener is getting the most help based on the question where the listener shares feedback that they are: “seeming nervous, stiff, unrelatable.” 

And that “unrelatable” piece is critical—because that’s about… connection.

Now, there’s only one guaranteed style that will never work for anyone, and that is when you try to adopt someone else’s style that simply doesn’t work for you. 

Everyone’s style will be different, and this is when communication coaches and A LOT of practice can really make a difference. It’s important to adopt a style that works best for you because it feels somewhat natural.

Generally speaking, if you appear nervous, stiff, and unrelatable, it’s because you ARE nervous, and therefore stiff… but that’s doesn’t mean you’re unrelatable forever. If you can feel more at ease, a lot of that goes away. 

 I know not everyone has those resources available. For sure, our listener is getting  A LOT of excellent resources, but if you’re in an environment where there is no Learning and Development budget or where no one thinks about improving communication skills by way of presentations, join a local Toast Masters or any other Speaking association where you can learn some grounding techniques supportive of your natural speaking style and then… practice, practice practice.

Style matters. Find your style then practice it. 

Additional Resources

For your resources, I’ve included an article from Quartz called “The hidden structure of the Apple keynote.” It’s from July 2022, written by Dan Frommer. You’ll learn some interesting nuggets about how they view the keynote from an audience perspective, and I’m here to say: that is a key winning factor for these meetings.

You’ll see information about Toast Masters, too, and I’ve also included a fascinating, informative, and really well written article from Vogel and Viale called “Presenting with confidence.” It’s from July 2018 and is listed in the PubMed Central index from the NIH’s National Library of Medicine. It has a wonderful list of Do’s and Don’ts, and also breaks down some of the barriers everyone experiences when it comes to effective presentation skills.

Wrap Up & Submitting Your Questions

And that’s a WRAP!!! for Episode 36 AND Season THREE. We have Season FOUR coming up, which focuses on Doing the Work. 

You can submit your question directly on my show’s site, AskChrista.com, that’s Christa with a C-H, where you can also browse through various episodes based on category. While your there—sign up for my More Answers… newsletter, where you will receive additional content on Sunday nights to set you up for the work week.

As always—thank you for your support. And remember, if you have a business challenge or a workplace issue—Ask Christa!