Opening a speech
Apologising for nerves during a speech
Dave has a night out the day before the big presentation. He wakes up bleary eyed, hung over and goes and gives the presentation of his life. Dave’s lucky, a little cocky and gets away without the preparation and nerves that everyone else has about speaking. Lucky Dave.
So what should the rest of us be doing the night before a big speech or presentation?
Chill, relax, have a little you-time.
Hopefully you’ve spent some time preparing your presentation already. You have the facts, the data, the slides if need be, what you are going to present is ready. But are you ready?
The night before a big speech should really be all about making sure the instrument that will be delivering the speech is in top condition – that’s you.
What makes you relax? What makes you feel confident? What makes you feel good about yourself? If you don’t feel like a million dollars about yourself before giving that speech then your nerves will most likely be greater, you’ll feel more tension and you won’t perform at your best.
Get a good book, run a bath, make sure your ‘power suit’ is ironed and ready to go, exfoliate, eat some chocolate, take your partner out for dinner, do what makes you feel good. Get some sleep, wake-up, feel a million dollars and be ready to floor your audience with a stunning presentation.
Don’t do a Dave. He’s just the guy that got lucky and can nail a presentation on a few hours sleep and no preparation. Chances are you’re not, and do you want to risk finding out?
The night before a presentation is all about you, not the people you will be talking to.
You’ve spent days and weeks preparing a talk for them, spend a few hours on you!
