How to Overcome Your Terror of Making an Off-the-Cuff Speech Flashcards
What can panicky thinking cause?
Panicky thinking can cause what researchers call COGNITIVE INTERFERENCE, which eclipses the brain’s ability to think and reason.
As well, it can cause EMOTIONAL EXHAUSTION that can lead to INDISCREET BEHAVIOR, eg. trying to cover up your embarrassment by telling a bad joke.
What helps to improve presentation performance?
- Monitoring your anxiety before it mounts to debilitating levels
- Redirecting your thoughts to the task at hand
- Interpreting the anxiety as an energizing force, telling yourself “I am excited”
Who should the focus be towards, when it comes to presentations?
Toward your listeners, away from yourself.
When making a presentation, what should you strive for, and not strive for?
You should NOT strive for greatness, but rather, just challenge yourself to accomplish the task at hand.
How do you lay the groundwork for an emotional connection with the audience?
Start with a positive emotion, eg. “I was really excited when you asked that.”
To manage presentation stress, what question did Dr. Knowlton, president and co-founder of Tabular Rasa HealthCare Inc., ask herself, in order to focus on the audience?
“What are people waiting to hear from you?”
- She kept her answers succinct and clear, organizing them around three questions:
To manage presentation stress, what affirmation did Dr. Knowlton, president and co-founder of Tabular Rasa HealthCare Inc., use, in order to summon positive emotions?
She thought: “I am grateful that they asked the question.”
To manage presentation stress, what questions did Dr. Knowlton, president and co-founder of Tabular Rasa HealthCare Inc., focus on, to keep answers succinct and clear?
- Where did we come from?
- Why are we here?
- Where are we going?
What is the three-part framework for structuring off-the-cuff remarks?
Approach 1:
- State the problem
- Describe the solution
- Summarize the benefits
Approach 2:
Using the mental roadmap of:
- What: State the issue/topic
- So what: Explain why it matters
- Now what: Laying out next steps
How should you practice speaking off the cuff?
Anytime and anywhere!
Treat every opportunity as a practice round. Just like professional athletes, “the best are ready to go at any time.”
How steps can one take to be prepared to be spontaneous?
- Develop a positive story about your job/role
- When asked to speak, strive for a warm emotional connection
- Imagine a string connecting you with every listener in the room, and strive to make the strings taut with excitement and positive energy
What is the importance of awareness of body language?
Poor body language can telegraph to listeners you’re nervous, or even worse, that you’re lying.
On the contrary, positive body language keeps the exchange friendly in tone, and gives you more energy to come up with succinct answers.
“If your body language is open and agreeable, you will feel that way.”
