The idea of ​​having to speak freely in front of others drives many People beads of sweat on his forehead. What if I suddenly can't think of anything anymore? Or when I'm up Ask don't know the answer? But the successful one Presentation of your own skills is an important career building block in many professions today, which you should also use to get ahead.

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This is how you turn uncertainties and knowledge gaps into strengths

If you are a perfectionist and want to do everything well, you put yourself under unnecessary pressure and there is a high risk that something will go wrong. You are human and not perfect. On the contrary:

make small mistakes sympathisch, Perfection works fast unapproachable. Better: Get rid of your fears – even if the presentation doesn't go XNUMX%, it probably won't be the end of you Career. Prepare yourself well, but do it yourself clearthat you just can't answer all the questions. And do some relaxation exercises.

Do not be scared

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The Objective A successful presentation is to get your own content and positions across in such a way that the audience accepts them. Ms. M. makes a mistake that is often made: she tries to guess what the audience wants to know and to prepare as much as possible for all questions and objections so that she is presented in a good light.

Unfortunately, she will hardly be able to do this, because she is not a clairvoyant. Your attitude also has nothing to do with optimal preparation, much more speaks from it Anxiety in Criticism. But this puts her in a defensive position from the start - not a good prerequisite for a self-confident one Appear.

What do you want to say?

Always peel out the core! When preparing a presentation, first make it clear what content you want to convey – for example: “Our Company is the best."

Think about what is the core message of your presentation and make it the guiding principle that keeps coming back in the course of the presentation. Then clarify why you are actually holding the presentation. Make yourself a list of your motives - depending on what you want to achieve, align your presentation form later. You want to:

Sovereign occur thanks to expertise

Discounts for your success (advertising)!

The facts for what your Opinions after it is important to be said, you should really have it ready. If it then turns out during the presentation itself that your listeners expected something completely different from you, you can deal with criticism much more confidently:

After all, you have prepared optimally and implemented exactly what you imagined in the topic.

What kind of occasion does your presentation have?

Make sure in advance which one Sinn and purpose of your presentation.

Checklist: Clothes make people

Your outfit is one of the first things that people perceive in you - not the doctoral degree, expertise, or communication skills. Thirty seconds are enough. And there is no second chance for this first impression.

Even if things are different ...

Of course, your audience can be very different than expected, for example, you have counted with professionals and find lay people. Maybe it's also an open lecture and the group is completely mixed. Or people are just different than you thought - unfortunately you can not plan something like that. However, you can avoid some pitfalls by informing and thinking about the audience in advance. For example, do not host an entertainment show if you have announced a serious lecture. Your listeners are not undefinable masses.

And of course you must not forget your audience during the preparation. Because you do not keep your presentation in front of a wall, but want to evoke an echo. And to make sure that this is as positive as possible, you should first find out who your audience is, because it makes a difference whether you speak in front of an expert audience or lay people, before boys or old people.

Checklist: Stay always confident in presentations

You can do that if you include the audience from the outset. Please consider:

Negative beliefs

Many people are afraid of speaking in front of an audience because it makes you stand out from the crowd feel and at the same time have to face their criticism. They see the audience as a black mass more ruthless critic because as people to whom they want to convey something.

Such fears usually arise from negative experiences and, over time, condense into beliefs such as “I just can't speak freely” or “I'm just a boring speaker”.

Do not be scared!

Ms. M., for example, has often heard the criticism that as a public relations specialist, she has a little bit of everything, but she does not know anything.

So she thinks, “At the convention for sure all experts who know a lot more about the individual special topics than I do”. However, she forgets that these experts certainly have more knowledge of your topic, but they lack the overview.

Make them positive beliefs

Such negative beliefs can make sure that what you fear as a self-fulfilling prophecy actually materializes.

But you can actively do something about it - by making sure your presentation is successful yourself and thus getting rid of the negative ones positive replace experiences. And by highlighting your strengths and weaknesses analyze and work with.

This is how you deal with fears and stage fright

Do not try to get used to stage fright, because it is important. In stage fright, your body spills out the stress hormone adrenaline, which spurs you to peak performance. If you stand in front of your audience and you do not care, it will not be a good and rousing lecture. And your audience will certainly be less aware of your nervousness than you think. Nevertheless, with a few measures you can reduce the tension slightly:

Checklist: The best preparation

But not only that circumstances are important, you should also be optimally prepared.

How to skilfully deal with your own weaknesses

Do not make yourself a target. You can not eliminate all weaknesses even with optimal preparation. And unfortunately your listeners do not always react the way you want them to. Some listeners are looking for mistakes.

There is only one thing to do: make yourself very well aware of your strengths and weaknesses so that you can handle them confidently.

Analyze your strengths and weaknesses

Create a table for your strengths and weaknesses as shown below. But do not just list these in writing:

Also record how you deal with the properties in a result-oriented manner and how you want to use them. Important: Don't just criticize your weaknesses, criticize them forms Be positive and think constructively about the benefits you still get from it:

Powerpotential for improvementBring
Expertise
Professional experience in the PR fieldWell-founded Reche, good style at the lectureTo convey to the listener my expertise as a PR specialist
individual competence
creativityI can structure my ideas even better.Surprise the listener with new ideas
social skills
communication skillsI can respond even more to the audienceInvolve the audience, respond to them
Conceptual competence
Vision capabilityI can better structure my ideas.I can convince listeners with my ideas
weaknessesDecrease by:Still useful because:
Expertise
Something about everything, but no special knowledgeContacts to specialistsCommunicate knowledge in such a way that everyone understands it, submitting information later on special questions
individual competence
I am nervous quickly, then speak too fastI do relaxation exercises and pay attention to good breathingPrecisely because I speak fast, I can also get some people excited
social skills
I am often offended by criticismI practice sovereignty and repartee.I specifically seek eye contact with nice listeners.
Conceptual competence
I am a bit chaotic on occasionIf I organize and structure better, I can do everything betterI am flexible and can decide spontaneously in difficult situations

Once you have made it clear how to handle your weaknesses positively, you can confidently handle them in the presentation as well.

Start the escape to the front

Face criticism confidently. Ms. M. is late for the presentation. Actually unforgivable, but she smiles charmingly at the group: "You know, the traffic, and unfortunately I left too late..." A clever immunization tactic: She gives the offense Honestly and doesn't make excuses.

So criticism becomes ineffective

When you openly admit your shortcomings, you take the wind out of the sails of a potential critic, because you make them boring: they would only repeat what you have already said yourself. The immunization works especially in the case of misconduct of so-called secondary virtues such as punctuality or Order.

If you are concerned about an objection, you can anticipate it and refute it: “A question that is often asked at this point…”, “You must have noticed that…”, “You will definitely ask yourself the question…” or "You are probably asking right away ..." This shows that you have thought through the whole topic.

The Do's:

The Don'ts:

Caught - and now?

Ms. M. has tried to order and Structure to bring into the presentation, but it is criticized for its messy documents.

Counter criticism confidently

An embarrassed justification doesn't seem confident: "Unfortunately, I didn't get to close the notes sortieren…”. Equally inappropriate is the snippy reply: “That's not you Problem!” Better: quick-wittedness with a dose of humor: "I need such a creative chaos".

Yes, exactly: you agree! It can also be tougher: Let the criticism come to nothing by emphasizing your informational character, saying thank you and - agreeing: “Thank you for the hint. Somebody has already told me that ”,“ Of course I'm chaotic - what did you think? ”,“ Well observed that it is chaotic on the table. Now you can also look under the table. " or "You will have to get used to this."

Show your self-confidence

This makes the criticism boring because you confident own up to your weakness. And if you don't care what other people think, you can top it off. To an accusation like "That's not ok..." you answer: "Yes it is."

However, before bringing up such heavier artillery, give it a try sovereignty and kindness. Openly admit weaknesses when they are approached and try not to make excuses. That makes you likeable. Do not be embarrassed, but stand firm and secure: you have finally made it clear where your weaknesses lie, but what you can do with them!

Cleverly transfer to another topic

The motto is: honest, but not embarrassed. Just divert to a topic that you are familiar with to get from dangerous black ice to safe ground. However, this requires rhetorical skill, so it does not seem like an excuse or an escape.

You should quickly move off the ice. During the presentation, Ms. M. is asked about a technical detail that she has no idea about. She replies: "This detail is rather secondary to the overall understanding, but thanks for your interjection: To make it clear to you, let me explain the main function of the device again using an example" - and you are back with your well-prepared script .

Reset the throw-in

You can also postpone the throw-in: “This is an interesting statement. But I would like to deliberately go into this later. ” or “Your question is absolutely justified. But before that we have to… ”. Also good: refer to the end of the presentation: "This requires a detailed answer, which I can give you better in a one-on-one interview." You save time and with a bit of luck the listener will have forgotten to insert it.

Fight back

Perhaps you don't just want to distract yourself, but also want to defend yourself at the same time, for example against the accusation that you have no idea: "I have my lack of Background always successfully compensated with a flourishing imagination.”

An exciting start is already the half success

The first impression counts. This also applies to presentations. Therefore, your entry should sit.

Checklist: With a top entry from the beginning to distract from weaknesses

The first few minutes are crucial: Now you can break the ice, build a good relationship with the listener, captivate him and at the same time face exaggerated expectations. As a result, you will listen more interested and overlook weaknesses:

Include your audience

Why rhetoric is necessary: ​​Not every listener listens patiently and is interested in your explanations and supports the presentation constructively with factual contributions. Unfortunately, there are always those who interrupt, pester you with questions Fun criticize the joy or want to distinguish themselves. Nevertheless, cut a good figure by spontaneously assessing the situation correctly and countering it with quick wit.

Are your listeners

Checklist: dealing with difficult listeners

But how do you deal with difficult listeners? The following overview tells you.

Find friends in the audience

When the audience is on your side, every presentation becomes a success. But you have to do something actively, because unfortunately you can not always put good friends in the audience who nod to you encouragingly and defend you against criticism. A good way: Build sympathy bridges:

Include the audience during the talk

That too is a good tactic: involve other listeners.

Checklist: Make accomplices out of your listeners

Make accomplices out of your listeners. Only use the rhetorical devices, if need be, because the shot can backfire:

Skillfully answer all questions

In presentations, it is common for the listener to ask questions afterwards. There are different types of questions - and different ways to address them.

Constructive questions

Questions from the audience can change your presentation decide improve; eg if someone did not understand something that you now explain and thus make it easier for everyone to understand.

Or if you are asked for additional information and complete the presentation with them. A question can also activate knowledge and experiences that you would not otherwise have thought of. Therefore, take each question first positive.

Why ask

But there are also questions to which you initially have no answer. Rhetorical skill is required here so that your presentation is not endangered. You can recognize questions that do not bode well from the “why” at the beginning.

Because the questioner shows his incomprehension and, in the worst case, even makes you a hidden accusation: "Why do you treat this aspect first?", "Why do you interpret the facts in this way?" Do not be provoked or urged to justify yourself. Answer the question calmly - but confidently without “because”: “I find this order more sensible!”

Factual questions

Take this to heart with factual information questions such as "Can you give me the sales figures from the year before last?". Many people like to ask themselves the why question if they don't know the answer: "Oh dear, why don't I know that now?" and accordingly the answer is: "Sorry, I don't know because ...".

Better: confidently confess that you do not know something, but without any justification, and offer to provide the information later. You can also ask the question for discussion. But this only works if the audience plays along and they do not do it too often.

counterquestions

Another Technology: Ask a factual counter-question that is personal but not provocative, such as “How do you always prepare for presentations like this?”. Put extra emphasis on the word “you”.

It makes the questioner talk about himself (which many people like to do anyway) and he's distracted by you.

Offensively confront the objections and criticisms of your listeners

Some objections are really nasty. Then you can not continue with objectivity, but it will only help you with repartee.

The game with the eyes

Look at attacks on the right or left Eye your opponent over. Even more effective, but also more aggressive: Squint!

Banish unwelcome objections

If you do not respond to utterances but do not want to be speechless: Explain the throw-in as trivial that you do not need to answer. At the same time you make ridiculous to the one-thrower. This can become a boomerang, because it only works if the audience is on your side.

Very simple, but rather clumsy: do not let the person throwing in speak at all, say immediately: “Papperlapapp” and continue. A little more subtle: "Who knows where you heard that again?" In doing so, you assume that the other person does not have his own opinion.

Cut off the word

Generalize. Cut the red thread right away. Or: Turn a reproach like "Statistical studies contradict your statements" into a blanket statement, for example:

"Do you always blindly believe any statistic?" In doing so, you indirectly assume that the listener concerned believes in the statistics more than you and that anyone who does so apparently believes everything and is therefore naive. If the listener continues to ride around on his throw-in, he risks losing his image.

irony

Ironize unwanted comments with a deliberate exaggeration. Example: "May I ask something?"

Her answer: "What do you have great things to say?" If necessary, exaggerate to the absurd; in the case of “Why don't you know this detail?” your answer might be: "I can't always walk around with the entire manual under my arm."

superior attitude

This one is very aggressive Method: You will be corrected and reply: “Yes, Mr L. knows it again exactly” and Mr L. is there as a know-it-all.

I do not understand…

Or you simply refuse to understand the throw-in. A simple "I don't understand" is enough without justification and completely dry. Or a quick remark. Your listener says, for example, "I knew something like this when I was 13 and then became an engineer."

They answer dryly: “At 13?” This is based on the general custom: if you don't understand something, the other person has to explain it. With each new utterance you can continue to play the game until the other runs out of air.

Manslaughter arguments - how to remain sovereign anyway

That's one more increase. With manslaughter arguments, your audience will want the scepter travel and you can't think of anything else.

That sits!

Ms. M. presents the new products of the Company for the coming year. Suddenly an interjection: "Well, I don't think anyone would buy something like that." And now? First of all, Ms. M. stops spitting. It would be wrong now to convince the critic with facts (e.g. market studies), because you can't do that anyway and verlieren additionally on Expertise with everyone else, because you justify yourself.

That's behind it!

Dismantle manslaughter arguments by understanding the mechanism behind it: a social consensus, something that everyone supposedly believes in and that always implicitly resonates. For example, the new product is criticized: “Nobody will buy it, studies with thousands of people show that customers.” Make the audience understand the shaky consensus: “What about the other few million?”

Underpin your position

Better: Let the critic think what he wants - but underpin your own position in front of everyone. For example, answer: "We remain friends, even if I have a different opinion!"

Or show yours self-confidence: "I can live with that!" Then break eye contact and just move on. Parry skillfully in battles of words.

Only courage!

A bold variant is a short demonstration: “Who among you in the room wouldn't buy that? Hand high!" They count hands and comment "2 out of 50!" and keep going. You run the risk, of course, that the majority will suddenly vote against you.

But usually the audience solidarises with the speaker and just undecided participants will hardly dare to oppose the majority opinion.

Repeat the charge

It all works particularly well if the homicide argument with “I think…”; "I think ...", "I think ..." or "I don't like ...". But even if the interjection is "Nobody buys that", "That doesn't work anyway", "You fall on your nose", you can use these answers:

Just repeat the reproach, but put a “you believe” or “you find” in front of it. Now you have made it clear that it is only a subjective opinion. Example: “Do you think we would end up on the nose with this? I can live with that!"

Checklist: To breathe the stress away you are always good at voice

nervousness and Stress immediately hit the voice down and reveal your weaknesses. That doesn't have to be the case: train your voice so that you have it under control at all times. You will also learn to breathe calmly and relax at the same time. Do each exercise about three times. With the right tuning technique, you don't need a megaphone, even in large rooms.


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