Working Under Pressure: Not Too Hard

Picture this: You're on a stage. 500 some people watching you...you got 15 minutes to do what you do. So, what do you do?

If you weren't prepared for this speech well enough, some things like a slideshow froze up, you froze up...now you're freaking out?! How do you handle pressure-full times like this?

Your skin starts tingling, your eyes are darting back and forth - your body tenses. Being under pressure is quite extreme sometimes, and some people cannot handle it.

However, you can do this! You can handle it!

As Beilock and Carr describe it, "Pressure raises self-consciousness and anxiety about performing correctly, which increases the attention paid to skill processes and their step-by-step control. Attention to execution at this step-by-step level is thought to disrupt well-learned or proceduralized performances."


Here's how you can manage pressure when it comes to hunt you down:

1. Demo the basics to yourself.
   
   Run through your presentation to yourself a few times. Smooth out kinks. Tell it to a friend or two or family member(s). As long as you know it cold, you'll be good for step one.
   
   Many people don't think about what happens when a client asks a question, or wants to see something again. However, you need to get this straight from the start.
2. Rework the basics and demo again.
   
   You may not think it's true, but if you don't have another avenue to take, just in case if plans change or you decide to take a different avenue while your presentation is happening. You should definitely be prepared to change things up.
   
   How to do this? Start at the end and work backwards, go to the middle, skip a few steps, etc. Plan out all possible scenarios.
   
   When you know what you're doing, there won't be any need to say "we'll get to that later", or "I didn't think about that."
3. Prepare and practice for those "what if?" times.
   
   Once the presentation is ready to go, make sure you're ready to deal with technical difficulties and things that may delay you. Having a hard copy, if working with a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation, would be the best idea. Think of some crazy things, and have a backup.
4. Time to visualize.
   
   Think of athletes. They mentally rehearse - imagining themselves succeeding in a ball game, for example. That works for them, so it should work for you, right?
   
   Rehearsing your presentation in your mind is perhaps the best idea to make sure you know how you're going to look. Visualization is effective, so when you do it, it has a calming effect.
5. Feedback is highly important!
   
   What's most important is finishing a presentation without looking foolish. Of course you can do it. But, having feedback, which will be coming to you if/when you do a good job. Let that feedback drive you forward next time you do a presentation, and you'll have no problem.

What is your opinion in making a presentation less troublesome? Let me know below!