On D-Day (Delivery Day) you will have to deal with:

Murphy’s Law

I have already talked about Murphy’s Law in the previous article. It states that “everything that can happen will happen.” Do not panic, have a plan B and C in case of a power shutdown, a computer update, or a problem with a PowerPoint. Giving a speech is already stressful so make sure to plan things just in case.

Your stress

Yes, you will be stressed on D-Day. You are most likely to feel various symptoms such as a fast heartbeat, excessive sweating, shaking hands, and a hard time to breath. Remember, in the previous article I talked to you about practicing. Therefore you will not improvise on the day of the delivery. This technique will help you improve your performance as well as reduce stress. Careful, however, it is good to keep a little stress, it will give you energy for your presentation.

Your voice

Obviously, the voice is important on the day of your presentation. However, sometimes the stress can trick you. Indeed, you might speak really low or very fast. On D-Day, remember to take a deep breath and speak calmly, vary the tone and speak up. You can also use strategic pauses, which will force you to slow down and will participate in increasing your impact on the audience.

Your nonverbal

Once again stress can trick you. There are two types of people: the ones who freeze and deliver their speech like a Greek statue and those who walk so fast that the audience thinks they are at a Wimbledon game. Do you see yourself in one or the other? Do not worry it is normal. Yet, on D-Day remember to walk slowly, once again think about the strategic pauses.

With your hands, it is the same thing. Be careful not to put them in your mouth or your hair and also avoid the Eve and Adam’s position. For a better impact on your audience you need to establish eye contact with them. They need to feel that you are talking to them and not a wall. If you do not establish eye contact your group will lose interest.