If you are an introvert and you are being asked to present, I want to throw out a handful of things that you can do solo to boost your confidence before the actual presentation occurs. So, assuming you have figured out your message, assuming you feel good about it, assuming you know why you are presenting, and you feel good about that, here’s what I want you to do.
First, present your material out loud. Don’t just practice it in your head; actually practice it out loud. Say the words. Don’t do this in front of a mirror. A lot of folks say, “Yeah, it’s really smart to practice in front of a mirror.” I recommend not doing that.
Instead, practice in front of a camera and then watch it. Because you are your own worst critic, you’re going to find a lot that you hate, and most of what you find that you hate will be somewhat meaningless and somewhat irrelevant. So, what I suggest you do is ask yourself two things: ask yourself, “What’s one thing that’s good about this delivery?” and “What’s one thing that I can do better?”
Just answer those two questions. You’re just finding one thing about the delivery that you like and one thing that you can do better. Then, present your content to the camera again, and then watch it again. When you watch it this second time, ask yourself two questions:
The first thing is, “What’s one thing that’s good about this delivery?” and maybe that thing is the thing that you were looking to improve the last time. Then ask the second question, “What’s one thing about this delivery that I can improve?” Do that multiple times.
Don’t expect to get to a point where you are 100% satisfied; it’s possible, certainly possible, especially if you’re not too hard on yourself. But instead, look to get to a point where you are satisfied, satisfied enough where you can practice in front of someone else. Too many introverts leave this whole process up to outside folks, and it’s like trying to go from 0 to 100 miles an hour without any guidance at all. So, this is like going from zero to say 50 in a slower ramp-up. You’re giving yourself the time that you need to get up to a point where you feel like, “Okay, this is something workable. At least I’m in the neighborhood of reasonable, at least in my own eye.”
And again, because you are your own worst critic, when you get up in front of your peers and/or your boss, you will be feeling much better about your presentation.
yourself much more confident than if you had done it without any practice at all.
2 Replies to “Hi-Speed Growth For Introverts”
Helpful suggestions for anyone, not only people who are introverted. Practice is always helpful. I like the focus on one good thing, and then one thing to improve.
Great, Arona! Yes, people tend to overwhelm themselves with too much negative, and with this model, there’s no negative at all. I’m glad this resonates for you!