How to Be Confident During a Presentation

Confidence during a presentation makes you more credible.

If the thought of giving a speech makes you nervous, you may think it's impossible to learn how to be confident during a presentation. Even the best speakers were nervous the first few times they gave a speech. They improved their delivery with practice and by learning from their mistakes. There are tricks you can learn to hide your nervousness and appear confident. As you continue to practice, you will naturally become more confident.

Instructions

1. Dress for the occasion. Wear clothes that make you feel good about yourself to enhance your confidence.

2. Know your material. You will feel more confident if you research your material thoroughly and practice repeatedly.

3. Prepare a written version of your presentation, but don't read it verbatim. This gives you a crutch to rely on in case you forget what you want to say. Number the pages or staple them in case they get out of order.

4. Make eye contact with people in the audience who are giving you positive feedback by nodding or smiling.

5. Focus on handouts, PowerPoint or other visuals if you find yourself getting too nervous. Visual aids take the attention off yourself long enough to allow you to calm down.

6. Move around during the speech to prevent freezing up. Moving around will calm you more than standing still.

7. Relax your shoulders rather than tensing them and breathe deeply to overcome moments of tension.

8. Act confident during the speech and the feelings are likely to follow. Your show of confidence will generate a good response from the audience, which makes you feel more confident.

9. Don't mentally critique yourself during the speech. Doing so focuses on real or imagined mistakes and makes you feel less confident. Think positively and focus on giving the best speech possible. Save the critique of your performance for after the speech.

Tips & Warnings

• Realize that you are probably the only person who knows you are nervous. Most of the time, the audience doesn't notice a speaker's anxiety.

• Take comfort in the fact that the audience wants you to succeed. The average audience will support you and root for you.

• Take comfort in the fact that the audience wants you to succeed. The average audience will support you and root for you.

References

• University of Pittsburgh: Speech Anxiety
• University of South Florida College of Education: Speaker's Anxiety