Presenting to teams is a big part of my role as a user researcher. I’ve probably done hundreds of presentations by now but no matter what I still get nervous. How nervous I get varies wildly, sometimes it’s a mild and helpful amount of nerves, and other times I’m overwhelmed by nerves in a completely unhelpful way. Reflecting on times when I’ve felt confident presenting vs times I’ve felt overwhelmed with nerves has uncovered some interesting learnings.
I feel more confident when presenting to groups of people I don’t know.
Why: I worry less about how I’m coming across with a group of strangers. If I mess up, I’ll likely never see them again, so it doesn’t feel so scary.
Learning: Focusing on how you’re perceived by others can lead to nerves.
How to use this learning to increase confidence:
Shift the focus from how you are being perceived to what you are trying to communicate. What do you want people to take away? How do you want people to feel?
Turn off your self-view on virtual calls, seeing your video can make you self-conscious and draw your focus away from what you are communicating.
Remember we all live in our heads and nobody is as concerned about how you are coming across in your presentation as you are!
I feel more confident presenting something I’m passionate about or feel is important
Why: I have confidence that what I am communicating is valuable.
Learning: Worrying if what you’re communicating is valuable can lead to nerves
How to use this learning to increase confidence:
Filter down your presentation to only share the most valuable or interesting parts.
Think about the audience's point of view, you might not think this thing is interesting because you’ve been working on it for ages, but it could be the first time they’ve ever heard anything about it!
If the subject matter doesn’t interest you, think about how you can make your presentation interesting in other ways, can you design your slides to be really engaging? Can you include an interactive element, Mentimeter is a great tool for this. Or why not try a new style of presentation, check out a PechaKucha
I feel more nervous presenting data to technically-minded people like engineers
Why: I worry they’ll be able to spot mistakes that I’ve made, numbers that don’t add up and reveal to everyone that I have no idea what I’m talking about.
Learning: Feeling like other people are smarter than you can lead to nerves
How to use this learning to increase confidence:
Remember you are the expert in what you are presenting and nobody has spent as much time thinking about this as you.
If someone does point out an error, or asks you a question you don’t know the answer to, it’s ok. It doesn’t mean you’re incapable, it’s unrealistic to know everything. Thank them, say you will look into it and get back to them and move on.
Present information you’re confident in that is simple to convey- don’t try presenting fancy charts or statistics you don’t fully understand.
So here are my key takeaways to increase confidence in presenting:
😎 Worry less about how you’re perceived, shift your focus to what you’re communicating.
😎 Filter down your presentation to the most interesting parts and come up with creative strategies to keep it engaging.
😎 Remember you are the expert, present simple information you are confident in and don’t worry if someone points out a mistake or asks a question you don’t know the answer to.
Other confidence-boosting tips I love are
🙌 Wear something that feels like you! It doesn’t have to be fancy but you do have to feel comfortable and yourself in it.
🙌 Nerves are normal, acknowledge them. Trying to suppress them will only make them bounce up bigger (like trying to push a big beach ball underwater). Notice how nerves feel in your body, and try telling someone else you’re feeling nervous.
So those are my learnings from a nervous presenter. Can you uncover any confidence-boosting insights from times you felt particularly confident or nervous presenting?