Many of the clients I've worked with over the years would rather skip presenting all together. That's not reality if you want to advance (or keep) your career these days, so a lot of people begin presentation planning with panic. In this episode, I give you clear steps you can take to reduce the panic and lay groundwork for a truly effective presentation. Community Feedback USA: (949) 38-LEARN Global: +1 (949) 385-3276 Twitter: @DaveStachowiak #CFLshow feedback@coachingforleaders.com To prepare a speech without panicking... Consider yourself honored Many of my clients in the past have been less than enthusiastic about speaking opportunities. Not speaking (and building your communication skills in general) can really harm your career. Must Have Job Skills in 2013 from the Wall Street Journal. If you can learn to speak at least reasonable well, you can influence your work, decisions, direction, and so much more. A lot of people fear speaking - but you can do it! Stay away from the computer Don't start with PowerPoint or Keynote when planning a presentation. You only make it more likely you will read from slides. It's likely you'll draft much of the presentation before considering the overall goal. Slides are NOT the presentation - they are just there to enhance it. YOU are the presentation...so start there. Ask yourself, "What's the purpose of this presentation?" Three likely zones - which pertains to your talk (might be more than one): Persuade Inform Entertain Ask yourself, "What do I want someone in the audience to say about my talk at lunch?" It's important for us to think through how we want our talk to be remembered. It's also important that it's memorable enough to be discussed later. We all have limited bandwidth these days. Mind map Start the mind map with the answer to the previous question - and work backwards. Use paper, a dry erase board, or a tool like iThoughtsHD. Examples, examples, examples, examples, examples… People remember examples, stories, evidence, demonstrations, experiences, etc. Don't be fooled - content almost always trumps delivery (see CFL episode #38) Share stories whenever possible (see CFL episode #51) Prepare to change the world…seriously. Stay home or get someone else to do it if you're not game for this. Sin by Silence is a great example of a project (and speaking) where a few people have change the world. Community Feedback USA: (949) 38-LEARN Global: +1 (949) 385-3276 Twitter: @DaveStachowiak #CFLshow feedback@coachingforleaders.com One Coaching for Leaders article is showing up weekly in your inbox - stay connected with the show mid-week and keep getting ideas and tools that will keep you moving forward. If you're not already receiving the weekly articles, you can subscribe at this link. Thank you to Barbara Swanson, Michele Coble, Annie Grenon, and Pam Uzelac Brown for liking our Facebook fan page! If this show has been valuable to you, please rate this show on iTunes to help others find it for the first time. Wherever you are in the world, whatever is on your agenda today, take one idea from this show to engage and develop someone you lead.