When it comes to presentation delivery, the myth goes that good speakers are born good speakers, and bad ones have to do the best they can. Speaking expert TJ Walker totally disagrees.
There are some things that require you to have an innate talent if you are going to do well. Practice as much as you like, but if you don't have an ear for music and at least a germ of talent, you are never going to make a concert pianist or world class actor.
But speaking is entirely different says TJ Walker.
Surely if that's the case, though, why are there so many terrible speakers and presenters out there boring us to death with lackluster Powerpoint slideshows and monotonous, uninspired delivery? TJ Walker explains:
''Think about it: most people hate to give speeches. They actively shun it.
You know people in your office, you know people in your own organization who are very competent at everything else they do. They will write, research, prepare for any type of written report and yet they don't rehearse their speech.
Now what that means is that most people are really lousy speakers. They're down here. So it doesn't take much to be a little bit better
''
Try as much as you like and you will be hard pressed to make the NASA program, but when it comes to speaking, the competition isn't quite so fierce.
If you can take the time to rehearse, walk through and double check the flow of your presentation, you are already going to be a whole lot better than the host of other presenters who just don't put the time in. The only thing you need to conquer is your nerves. As TJ Walker puts it:
''If you've ever had an interesting conversation with one person in your entire life, guess what? You already have the skills to be a great speaker. All you have to do is conquer your nerves so you can do the same thing in front of fifty people, five hundred or five thousand.''
The following short video (3' 26") explains all:
One of the most effective ways to conquer your fear of speaking in front of people is to be well prepared. When you know your presentation or your speech inside out, summoning up the confidence to deliver it to a crowd of whatever size is a whole lot easier than if you aren't sure what you're doing.
When it comes to presentations, practice beats talent any day of the week.
