Time and time again, research on the subject of fear indicates that, for most people, public speaking tops the list.  To put that result into perspective, dying ranks anywhere between third and seventh in that same research.  As Jerry Seinfeld once said, “At a funeral, most people would rather be in the coffin than delivering the eulogy!”

The ability to deliver an engaging presentation is extremely beneficial if you are a leader, a sale professional or a person who wants to influence and inspire others and create a call to action.  Here are a few tips to enhance your ability to deliver an effective speech without the influence of performance diminishing fear.

Be Mindful of Cognitive Load.   Think of your brain as a computer.  It has a finite amount of space to store data and run applications.  You ever notice how your computer slows down when you have too many windows open and too many processes working simultaneously?  Your brain has the same limitations.  During a presentation, you have three huge programs running:  content delivery, speaker credibility and audience management.  Your goal is to reduce the cognitive load required to run these.

Content delivery refers to both familiarity with your subject matter and clarity on how you plan to share it with your audience.  Limit this to three main ideas and practice delivering these at least 10 times before your actual presentation.  Of these 10 practice sessions, make sure at least three are in front of other people.  The more comfort you have with your content, the less cognitive load is placed on your brain to deliver it.  Here’s a tip for you PowerPoint users; develop your presentation first and then construct your slides.  This will ensure that your slides support your message and are truly visual aids for your audience.  If you do the PowerPoint first, you will develop them as public note cards for you rather than your audience.  This inevitably leads to the dreaded, “death by PowerPoint” experience.

Speaker credibility begins with an excellent introduction provided by someone else who is respected by the audience.  Whenever possible, get an introduction from a leader who represents the group to whom you are speaking.  Write your introduction out and coach the person on how to best deliver it.  Be sure to dress slightly (only slightly) more formal than the audience.  Do NOT tell a joke, but embrace stories that are mildly and harmlessly self-deprecating.  And ALWAYS begin by thanking the audience and extending your appreciation and respect for them.  Because you are speaking and standing, while your audience is seated and silent, you have a level of power and authority over them psychologically.  To make you more accessible and likable, insert humility and vulnerability into your presentation.  Sincere gratitude, the confidence of self awareness and displaying the ability to laugh at yourself will go a long way toward achieving a stronger relationship with your audience.  You can reduce your cognitive load in this area by spending additional time practicing the first four minutes of your presentation.  Your first impression with the audience is the most powerful, so you will want to be particularly strong at the beginning.  So often, I hear people tell me that they are pretty good speakers once they get going.  To me, they are saying that they only suck when it really matters.

Audience management refers to all the platform skills that make your presentation engaging.  These include vocal intonation, dramatic pauses, using audience names, smiling, moving naturally around the room, using your hands and face to reinforce your words.  Most speakers undermine their content by delivering it in a way that is…well…BORING.   In the words of Theodore Roosevelt, “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”  Your passion for the content shows how much you care.

I actually approach a presentation by focusing on Aristotle’s Appeals:  Ethos, the credibility of the speaker; Pathos, the emotional appeal of the material; and, Logos, the reasoning of the content.   Most of your cognitive load during a presentation should be related to the passion and delivery of your message (Pathos), not your content.  By knowing your content and delivery and executing some strategies for enhancing your credibility, you can free up cognitive space to convey a persuasive, passionate message.