18 Tactics to Increase Confidence for Your Next English Presentation
By overcoming challenges, like giving an English presentation, the more confident you will become at speaking English in front of an audience.
And furthermore, the harder and more uncomfortable the challenge is, the bigger your confidence boost will be after successfully completing it.
Conquering the uncomfortable zone undoubtedly leads to increased self-confidence.
An example of the uncomfortable zone for many professionals is being in a situation where you have to speak a foreign language in front of colleagues.
International professionals can sometimes feel very exposed and vulnerable when they have to speak English in a challenging situation, such as giving an English presentation.
When you successfully get through this kind of challenge, you will see a boost in your confidence speaking English in public.
If you are not yet feeling confident about speaking English in a pressurized situation, you have to ‘stretch’ yourself by stepping into this uncomfortable zone.
But before doing so, you have to know how to prepare for it. And what I am going to teach you in this post, is how to prepare for an English presentation, which is certainly a challenging and uncomfortable place to be if you’re a non-native speaker.
I have broken it down into 3 phases: Leading up to the presentation, on the day, and during the presentation. In total, there are 18 tactics that you can start using today to make sure you win in your next English presentation.
How to Succeed in Your Next English Presentation
Phase 1: Leading up to the Day of Your English Presentation
1. Make sure you start preparing in advance. Even if you have 3 months to prepare, be careful not to procrastinate and don’t leave it to the last minute. We learn new skills quicker and more effectively when we are under less pressure. This is called “No Stakes” practice. Studying for an exam on the day of the exam causes high anxiety levels, and it is the same for a business presentation. You want to be going into your presentation knowing that you did everything possible to prepare for it.
2. Practice in front of colleagues, family, and friends. The more you get used to practicing in front of people, the easier it will be on the big day.
3. Record yourself regularly to see if you can improve. This is useful because you will notice things which you wouldn’t have noticed during practice, such as an overuse of “hmm” and language mistakes. You will also be able to see if you need to pause more often, or if you are speaking too quickly.
4. Ask yourself good questions. Instead of focusing on the negative by asking questions like, “What will happen if I mess up?”, instead ask, “What will happen if I give an incredible presentation?”
5. Practice the transitions alone. Your linking phrases are like threads that hold the presentation together.
6. Memorize the sequence of the slides. By not having to look at the slides to remember what’s coming next in your speech enhances your credibility. When you are perceived as credible it boosts your confidence.
7. Prepare backup slides and answers to possible questions. If you are afraid that you will face questions which you can’t answer this produces anxiety. Prepare slides for complex issues to help you explain.
8. Use visualization to your advantage. It is a powerful mental rehearsal tool that peak performers use regularly. Visualize your talk in detail, as well as visualizing yourself making a great presentation.
9. Reduce worrying time by focusing on preparing for your presentation.
Phase 2: On the Day of Your English Presentation
10. Breathe deeply directly before the presentation. 6 seconds in and out. This will help you relax.
11. Practice out loud 5 times on the day of the presentation. You will feel more confident and less anxious.
12. Treat the presentation as a person to person conversation. Do not think that you are giving a performance. This will ease the pressure and anxiety.
13. “Power pose” moments before the presentation. Amy Cuddy (Harvard University) reveals the benefits of this in her TED Talks presentation. Basically, by power posing for 2 minutes your testosterone levels (feeling of power) increase, and your Cortisone levels (feelings of stress) reduce. An example of a power pose is standing up with your arms stretched above your head, looking like you have just won an Olympic Gold Medal. You can do this in the bathroom just before your presentation.
Phase 3: During Your English Presentation
14. Adopt a powerful posture. Stand straight, shoulders out, chest back. Smile. You will look confident and it will help you to feel confident.
15. Do not over think your audience reactions. Don’t take “bored” body language personally. Yawning and bored expressions will always appear in the audience, even during the most charismatic presentations. It doesn’t reflect you. People are tired or easily distracted.
16. Only you know the presentation so it is ok to change it. Don’t worry if you use a different expression to what you practiced.
17. You don’t look as nervous as you feel. It is difficult for the audience to detect if you are nervous. If you adopt a good posture and smile you will look confident.
18. Strategic pauses between sections have a calming effect and help your audience take in what you are presenting. When we are nervous we tend to speak faster. On the other hand, if you speak slowly you command more authority. I suggest choosing a few slides throughout the presentation as reminders of slowing your speech down.
Conclusion
Even though the tactics above are related to giving a presentation, you can apply most of them to meetings and interviews too.
It’s natural for us to shy away from uncomfortable situations. But to develop our confidence speaking English, we must step in. And, most importantly, be prepared sufficiently for when we do step in so that our confidence isn’t affected in a negative way.
When I look back on my progress speaking foreign languages, I will never forget giving a presentation in Portuguese for the first time to a room full of potential clients for my language school.
Yes, I was nervous. But, I followed most of the tactics I outlined above, and because of this, felt very prepared on the day.
As a result, my presentation was a success and my confidence speaking Portuguese to other people increased 10x.
You can do it too!
