I found myself watching The X Factor the past couple of nights and it had me thinking of the similarities between the singers learning to expand their repertoire and improve and win, to those of you who want to lift your presentation skills.
The singers have improved immensely during the past few weeks and that would be because of the amount of mentoring they have, being continually challenged and the amount of practice they do. They have all spent a lot of time out of their comfort zone. Sound familiar?
One of the contestants changed a song at the last minute because what he was attempting to achieve with the song he was practicing was simply not working. He worked with his mentor and they chose a song that was more suited to his style.
This is no different to working on a presentation, and accepting that something is not right for you. Test and measure. Change it around. Do something different. Learn from your mistakes. Give something else a go. Have fun! Stand out in the crowd by making your presentation really show your personality.
There were some other really relevant points I heard from the judges and mentors when they were giving feedback to the contestants.
Here are some standouts you can apply to improve your presentations –
- Turn nerves into positive energy
- Practice
- Show more emotion
- It has to be real
- Step up and believe in yourself
- Your audience will know if you are only performing at 95%
- Let it go and let it out
- Move out of your comfort zone
- Give the emotion
- Connect with you – the essence of you
- The difference when you are “on” or “doubting” is huge
Remember most of all the difference between good and great is the work you put in.
M 🙂
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