Accessorize for Success

Yesterday I had to present in a meeting at work. It wasn't a formal presentation, more of a sit-down meeting where I walked through some concepts with upper management. Gulp.

I don't know about you, but I put a lot of pressure on myself in these sorts of situations. I am actually pretty good at presenting - when I know the topic well - but if I am not completely confident in what I'm talking about, I freak out a little.

I really wanted to do well during this one, so I took a little extra time to prepare. This extra effort really paid off! I felt SO much more confident walking into that meeting than I would have had it been on Monday. Here's what I did:

Go in with a plan: A solid plan is essential. But so is the ability to go off-course if that's how the meeting unfolds.

• Walk through how you anticipate the entire presentation/meeting will go.
• Practice with the actual materials that will be used, to make sure the flow makes sense. (PowerPoint, handouts, etc)
• Take tons of notes, but be prepared to throw them out. You don't want to read from a script! The notes will serve more as a security blanket you while you practice.
• Make a list of speaking points. These should be high level things that you want to be sure to mention. Write a concise note so it only takes a glance to remember. ex: If you need to remember to tell them that you are using September data to represent October, jotting down the word "September" might be a good trigger.
• If you're speaking from a PowerPoint or handouts, make an outline of what you want to talk about on each slide/page. If the conversation spins to another topic for awhile, it can help remind you where to pick up again.

Practice speaking: It sounds intuitive, but at the same time feels awkward. However, I think it's extremely important to actually practice saying what you want to say. It will help commit things to memory, as well has help flush out any pieces you stumble over. And you'll probably start building internal triggers that help remind you what's coming next so you can make smooth transitions.

1. First, rehearse in the shower or to your dog. Somewhere others can't hear you. You want to give it a solid try without worrying about embarrassing yourself. And no "yadda yadda yaddas"! Do the whole thing.
2. Next, rehearse in front of a person who won't be part of the presentation. Someone like a spouse or friend that you don't work with. They'll help you shake out the public speaking nerves without judging you on the content.
3. Finally, do a dry-run with your boss. Someone who can actually give you feedback on the topic and help you clear up points that might sound confusing. (I did this the morning of my meeting, and it felt great to see him nodding along while I spoke - a sign that I was doing well!)

Know what you're talking about: Duh, right? Well, maybe not. You may have a beautifully laid out plan and an eloquent speech ready, but you never know how the meeting will go. You're oftentimes talking to people with different experiences, motivations, and interests. It's important to know how to rephrase and relate what you're talking about so everyone understands.

• Spend some extra time learning the topic inside and out.
• If you are showing examples with numbers, play with the calculations by tweaking the numbers to see if you can anticipate outcomes.
• Try to foresee questions. This is hard! But thinking about it may help you clean up your presentation or prompt you to clarify things ahead of time. And even if you don't include it, you look like a rock star when pull out extra materials to answer someone's question!

Do something to make yourself feel confident:

• Get ample rest the night before.
• Make sure everything is ready the day before, so you're not scrambling.
• Listen to upbeat music (a la Dwight from The Office).
• Dress for success! Have you ever noticed that when you spend a little more time on yourself, you walk a little taller? Make sure you are comfortable and feel good about the way you look. The last thing you want is to be worrying about your hemline while you're talking to a room full of people!

I've been feeling especially frumpy in my work clothes lately. Our office is business-casual, which means I've spent this whole winter in, essentially, 2 pairs of brown pants, 2 pairs of black pants, a few tops, and cardigans in every color. Blah.

I know that I feel better about myself when I dress well, or at least with a bit of style, so I took a little extra time picking out my outfit yesterday. We have Casual Fridays at my office, but I didn't want to look like a slob. So instead of my standard jeans, sneakers, and a sweater, I spruced it up a little.

I pulled one of my favorite necklaces out of my jewelry box. I don't where it often because I deemed it 'fancy'. But yesterday I decided "What the heck!" I paired it with a bright colored top and a casual, yet fitted, khaki blazer.

And at the last minute I swapped out my blah shoes for these cute flats.

I felt great! And I exuded confidence. Plus, I got compliments from 3 separate people on my necklace, jacket, and shoes! Talk about a boost!

How do you feel about presenting? Do you have any tips or confident boosters to share?