In your technical career, you will realize you must sell your ideas to get ahead in your career.

To a large extent, you can sell your ideas through presentations. However, how do you overcome your lack of confidence in delivering presentations?

Below are three effective strategies to overcome your lack of confidence in delivering presentations.

Practice and Preparation

Confidence often comes from familiarity. A familiar routine, whether setting up breakfast in the morning, driving a familiar route to work, or practicing a technical presentation repeatedly until it becomes routine, gives you confidence.

You may not like to practice your technical presentation, but it is the most effective way to gain confidence.

There is a saying: “Forewarned is forearmed.” The more you practice your presentation, the more you will be ready to deliver it effectively.

There is a chronology of practicing your technical presentation.

Start by practicing by yourself sitting down. In this practice step, you are simply getting familiar with the words you will speak. Are there any problematic words you need to practice more? How does the flow of your presentation seem? Do different parts of your presentation flow easily from one to another?

Your next practicing step is to deliver your presentation standing up. Since this is your stance when you deliver your presentation, it makes sense to practice it this way. Again, observe the flow of your presentation.

Next, practice in front of a mirror. This will “open your eyes” to see exactly what your audience will see. You may be surprised. You will see what might be distracting the audience, such as rocking back and forth, gestures that don’t match your words, or poor eye contact, just to name a few.

The last practice step will teach you most about your presentation delivery – practicing in front of colleagues and/or friends. This step is closest to simulating the audience you will encounter in your presentation.

Some of the advantages of practicing in front of colleagues and/or friends are (1) they will provide you feedback on your presentation you cannot gain in any other practice step, (2) they give you experience talking to a live audience, and (3) you can deliver your presentation over and over to your live audience.

Throughout the various practice steps, record your presentation. Audio recording of your presentation is good. Video recording is best. Evaluate yourself by listening to the audio recording and/or viewing the video recording.

So, practice and preparation are essential to overcoming your lack of confidence in delivering presentations.

Another effective strategy is to start with small audiences and then build up.

Start with Small Audiences and Build Up

Before moving on to larger audiences, begin by presenting to smaller groups, like project teams or small seminars.

Starting with small audiences and building up is essential for overcoming a lack of confidence in delivering technical presentations for several reasons:

Small audiences are often less intimidating, making you feel more at ease. This environment enables a smoother introduction to public speaking without the overwhelming pressure of a large crowd.

Smaller groups are more conducive to interactive feedback, making it easier to gauge the audience’s understanding and adjust as needed.

This real-time feedback will help you improve your clarity and adapt your technical explanations, building confidence for future presentations.

Starting small allows you to gradually build your speaking skills, from managing technical language to engaging listeners.

With each presentation, you will become more comfortable with your material, pacing, and handling audience questions, strengthening your confidence as you move on to larger audiences.

So, practice and preparation and, starting with small audiences and then building up to larger audiences, are essential to overcoming your lack of confidence in delivering presentations.

Another effective strategy is to develop a growth mindset

Develop a Growth Mindset

Instead of focusing on perfection, you can focus on improvement.

Treating each public speaking opportunity as a learning experience can help you feel more comfortable with mistakes and develop resilience.

Seeking feedback after each presentation helps you learn and improve, making each subsequent presentation easier.

For several reasons, building a growth mindset is essential for overcoming a lack of confidence in delivering technical presentations.

A growth mindset encourages you to view each presentation as an opportunity to improve rather than something that has to be flawless.

This perspective reduces your fear of making mistakes, allowing you to approach each experience with curiosity and less pressure.

A growth mindset helps you embrace challenges as part of the learning process. Instead of feeling discouraged by setbacks, you learn to view challenges, such as handling tough questions or adapting explanations, as valuable experiences that help you grow.

With a growth mindset, you will be more open to constructive criticism and feedback, essential for improving your presentation skills.

This openness to feedback enables you to refine your technical communication and become a more effective, confident presenter.

So, practice and preparation, starting with small audiences and then building up to larger audiences, and developing a growth mindset are essential to overcoming your lack of confidence in delivering presentations.

These strategies, used consistently, can help you overcome speaking nerves and gain confidence.

Call to Action

• Practice your presentation sitting down, standing in front of a mirror, and before a practice audience.

• Start with small audiences and build up to larger ones. This will be less intimidating, making you feel more at ease.

• Develop a growth mindset that will encourage you to view each presentation as an opportunity to improve rather than something that has to be flawless.

Being a confident, engaging, and effective technical speaker is a vital personal and professional asset. With more than 40 years of engineering experience and more than 30 years of award-winning public speaking experience, I can help you reduce your presentation preparatory time by 50%, overcome your fear of public speaking and be completely at ease, deliver your presentations effectively, develop your personal presence with your audience; and apply an innovative way to handle audience questions deftly.

Working closely with you, I provide a customized protocol employing the critical skills and tools you need to create, practice, and deliver excellent technical speeches and presentations. Let’s connect and explore how I can help you become the exceptional speaker you were meant to be. Please reach out to me at frank@speakleadandsucceed.com or 703-509-4424 for a complimentary consultation. Schedule a meeting with me at calendly.com/frankdibartolomeospeaks. Listen to my Successful Speaking for Technical Professionals podcast