5 Ways to Look Confident During a Presentation
If you’re nervous about speaking in front of an audience, it can be hard to look confident while you’re delivering your presentation. If you want to look and feel as confident as possible when you’re giving your speech, consider these five tips on how to look confident during a presentation.
1. Relax
If you feel nervous before a presentation, take some time beforehand to visualize yourself being relaxed and in control. This will calm your nerves and keep you from fidgeting or forgetting what you wanted to say. You could also try using a mantra before presentations that tells yourself I am confident or I am great at public speaking. This will help boost your confidence and make it easier for others to see that as well.
2. Speak clearly
Poor pronunciation is distracting and makes you appear less confident. If your audience can’t understand what you’re saying, it can affect how well they listen to what you have to say. Take care when choosing words, making sure you pronounce everything correctly. Speak slowly and clearly enough that your audience can follow along easily. It’s also important not to sound monotonous. Read this blog to find out how you can prevent sounding monotonous.
3. Smile
One of the most important things you can do when giving a presentation is smile. This can help your audience feel more comfortable and relaxed. You’ll also appear confident and competent, which will boost your credibility. The right body language goes a long way toward making an impression, so smile!
4. Use body language
According to studies, your body language is responsible for up to 60% of how you’re perceived by others. You can appear more confident just by adjusting your physical presence. People are more likely to think you’re confident if you stand up straight, use hand gestures and hold your head high. Your posture speaks volumes about how you feel about yourself, and other people pick up on that.
5. Engage your audience
From your first sentence, you’ll want to make sure your audience is engaged. Engaging your audience by asking them questions, responding when they speak up, or even calling on different members in different parts of your presentation can help reduce nervousness and engage attendees. The more time you spend engaging with them before getting started, during and after your speech or presentation, the more confident you are likely to look. Sendsteps allows you to easily engage your audience. You can use Word Clouds as icebreakers or organize quizzes to test the knowledge of your audience.
Looking confident while presenting will improve your speaking abilities and presentation skills. Practice these tips before your next presentation, and you’ll be sure to impress!
Robert Daverschot
Robert is a professional moderator, presenter and speaker coach. Robert has years of experience at home and abroad and works for a broad range of industries. He has interviewed ministers, captains of industry and even His Holiness the Dalai Lama. In his dealings with the audience, he always uses Sendsteps. With it, an audience is able to voice their opinions, whereby attendees can cast votes or send in comments to speakers and panels on stage. As such, events turn into lively dialogues with everyone being able to speak up!