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Any form of presentation, speech or address no matter how long or short
it is can be challenging and nerve racking, particularly if you are not
use to standing on your feet and talking in front of an audience. I am
very fortunate in that I have been doing presentations and conducting
training programs for many years, so I have got use to the challenge and
nerves or butterflies in the stomach that always emerge and swell up
inside of you in the days, hours and minutes before you speak.
The challenges, nerves and butterflies are always a good thing for me in
so much as it gets my adrenaline working and allows me to channel my
energy and enthusiasm into what I want to say and the message I have
been asked to deliver. However, I have never really thought very deeply
about how much of my energy it takes to do any form of public speaking.
Just recently I had the pleasure of speaking at a conference about the
key success factors in business and as usual in the weeks and days prior
to my presentation I spent considerable time researching and reviewing
what I wanted cover, as well as preparing the structure and content of
what was an hour and a quarter presentation.
When I was young, my mother and father regularly said to me that 'the
early bird catches the worm', so as I have always done, I arrived early
at the conference centre so that I could make sure that everything I
needed for my presentation was on hand and check out the venue, as well
as prepare myself for my presentation. This completed, I then had time
to speak to a number of the delegates who had also arrived earlier than
the scheduled starting time of my presentation.
I have always measured the level of success of my presentations by the
applause and comments that I receive from those people in the audience.
On this occasion I spoke in the session leading up to the morning break,
so after the applause had ended and the MC thanked me, I had the
opportunity to personally speak to nearly all of the delegates.
The last delegate I spoke with greeted me by taking my hand, shaking it
and saying how much she enjoyed my presentation, and that she had got of
lot of helpful and practical tips to use in her business. For some
reason as we continued to talk she did not let go of my hand and then
placed her other hand just above my wrist and increased the pressure of
her hand shake, whilst gently squeezing my arm with her other hand.
She went on to say that I had put so much of myself into the
presentation that she hoped that my energy levels would not suffer for
the rest of the day and she wanted in some way to return the energy I
had given out. She smiled at me whilst she said this and then let go of
my hand and went to join her colleagues for morning tea.
Usually an hour or so after any presentation that I give, I feel quite
exhausted and I know that this is directly related to what I put into
what I do and the up shot of using a lot of nervous energy, however, on
this occasion, the opportunity for me to receive the words of thanks
from the delegates gave me a genuine lift and recharged my batteries.
The icing on the cake that gave me an even bigger energy lift was the
words of support and encouragement from the delegate with the very firm
handshake.
This experience at the end of my presentation also made me realise that
what we give out in life can come back to us and equally, we all need
and value receiving positive feedback and praise when and where it is
warranted and deserved.
A business associate who works in the field of leadership and people
development refers to the word 'Praise' as an anagram,
although some may consider it
to be an acronym
for - People Really Are Into Sensational
Efforts, and he goes on to say that all people need is regular
praise and encouragement for them to reach new heights in all aspects of
their personal and business life.
As I drove away from the conference I reflected on how
fortunate I had been to receive all those words of appreciation and
praise for what I had done that morning and how refreshed and energised
I felt.
Inspired by a firm handshake and all the genuine words of appreciation
and praise.
Written by Keith Ready
© June 2006
Keith Ready is an Australian based business adviser and trainer
whose specialty is working with his clients to improve top and bottom
line business performance in a measurable way, through people.
Keith is also known as Mr Inspiration and is publisher of InspirEmail
which provides inspirational messages to refresh the spirit and boost
the emotional bank account.
You can visit his website at
www.agiftofinspiration.com.au
www.agiftofinspiration.com.auand
he
can be contacted via e-mail at info@agiftofinspiration.com.au
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