Flow Friday, Presentation Skills #2

Be Prepared!!!

Yes this is #2 from the do’s and don’ list.   It is important enough to flesh it out more.

Here is my personal example speaking to this that I have adopted into my entire life since.

In Jr High School and through High School, we were given tests each year to determine what grade level we were at in all the main subjects.   I consistently scored about 4 years ahead of my actual grade level in everything except English, where I was always at grade level.

Fast forward, I am a senior in High School and am in need of a couple of credits to meet the required amount to graduate.

All the cool classes were already full so I had to take an English class, specifically a Speaking Class.   Yea the one class almost no teenager would ever want to take on purpose in their whole life and the subject where I barely am at grade level.

I was skating by and was told that I was failing the class, not surprising right?   But she told the class toward the end of the semester that we all had to give a minimum 3 minute speech on whatever topic we wanted and we had to use 3x5 cards with our notes on them and had to actually reference them.

As the bell rang, she said that it would count for 50% of our grade.   So I asked her to clarify, we can speak on any topic we want???   She said absolutely.   Cool, I had this in the bag.

I have been an aviation nut my whole life.   The one thing that was talked about in all the aviation magazines at the time was safety concerning all the “Jumbo Jets” and the runway lengths to accommodate them.

So I created my notes, though I did not actually need them, and went to class.

On the day we were to give our speeches, I hoped that I would have a number of students ahead of me just to get a feel for how they were presenting.

Ha, no such luck, I was the 2nd one to go.   So to the front of the class I go.   Did I have some butterflies?   Absolutely, but not due to the lack of preparation and knowledge on the topic.

So I gave my speech and ended it with a question to the audience and stepped down to take my seat.   As I was walking back to my seat, I looked up at the teacher who was seated at the back of the class.   She was slack jawed not knowing what to do with my speech.

She gathered herself and had at least one more student present with the time remaining.

When the bell rang, the teacher pulled me aside and informed me that I went over on my time that she had set for us.   I asked how long was my speech?   She replied, 15 minutes.   She also said that she had never seen anyone present a topic of that nature in that much detail and with such an advanced ending to the speech that she did not teach in that class.

I had to ask her, did I pass then?   She replied definitely.   I got a C in the class and to me that was good enough.

The point of this story is, due to my passion for aviation I was very well informed about the topic that I had chosen to speak on, which allowed me to be comfortable and reasonably confident in front of everyone.

In short I was the expert in the room on that topic.

You are the expert in your room and on your topics.

As the old saying goes… Knowledge is power, and that power comes across as confidence on camera for Live Streaming.

Just remember, your audience can tell if you are faking it… always.

Do you still have more questions than answers…

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