Yes, You Need a Coach To Give a Great Presentation in English
Today I’ll uncover why working with a coach can revolutionise your English presentation skills for work.
Getting guidance from a coach can be extremely beneficial, especially if you lack confidence about giving presentations in English.
For over two decades, I’ve helped non-native professionals refine their presentation skills in English and It’s astonishing to witness how just a few focused sessions can transform hesitant speakers into confident, organized communicators.
However, a common obstacle is finding the right coach. This is because your coach needs to have a combination of four fundamental factors that are sometimes difficult to find. These are:
1. The ability to understand the specific challenges non-native speakers face when giving work presentations in their second language, English.
2. The presentation skill itself: the coach needs to know what factors make an impactful presentation and how to transfer these to the client.
3. How to work with the mindset and increase the client’s confidence specific to speaking English to an audience.
4. Experience in giving presentations in English and in a second language.
The best way to see if the coach has what it takes to help you achieve your presentation goals is to check their testimonials. Feel free to see my testimonial page here.
Your coach should specialize in addressing the unique challenges non-native speakers face, combining presentation skill development and confidence-building strategies.
So today, I want to share 3 reasons why hiring a coach can radically improve your presentation skills in English. These are:
1. Targeted Feedback
2. Strengthening Self-Belief
3. Organised Skill-Building Sessions
Let’s break down each point.
1. Targeted Feedback
A coach provides personalised feedback based on what you specifically need to improve for your presentation. They can identify areas that need improvement and offer constructive criticism that you might not notice on your own.
To illustrate this, I worked with a client who spoke too quickly while presenting and I suggested techniques to help him slow down. Just giving this feedback alone dramatically improved his speech as a slower speech can help you organise your thoughts better and can make you sound more authoritative.
Additionally, some clients have had to improve their ‘linking’ between stages of the presentation. While others needed to structure their message better to maximise audience engagement and impact.
The point is that without personalised feedback from a coach who knows what they are looking for, you won’t know what you need to improve.
2. Strengthening Self-Belief
Practising with a coach helps to build your confidence. There are a few reasons for this.
First, knowing that an expert has vetted your content and delivery can make you feel more secure and less anxious during the actual presentation. You will be confident that your choice of words and speech structure work well according to the message you want to communicate.
Second, a good coach will work on your mindset. As an example of this, one of my clients tried all kinds of things to improve her confidence in giving presentations such as acting classes and hiring a public speaking coach for introverts. But none of it worked.
After only a few sessions of working on her mindset and helping her understand why she felt insecure about speaking in front of others, she grew in confidence and was able to eradicate her anxiety before giving presentations.
3. Organised Skill-Building Sessions
A coach should provide a structured rehearsal schedule, ensuring that you practise regularly and systematically. This consistency helps to reinforce your learning and improve your fluency for the presentation. Additionally, regular practice is great for confidence building.
During the sessions, I give feedback on my clients’ English and overall presentation delivery followed by teaching them new vocabulary, expressions and structures so their message has more impact and flow. After that, we work on putting the new learnings into practice.
After frequent sessions of doing this, coupled with the client’s practice outside the sessions, dramatic results can happen in a short space of time.
Conclusion
In summary, working with a coach can significantly transform your English presentation skills by offering personalized feedback, boosting your self-confidence, and organizing effective practice sessions. By focusing on the specific needs of non-native speakers, a coach can help you overcome language barriers and feel more confident presenting in English.
